advice
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Ask Umbra on low-e window films
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I have noticed window film applications available at local home improvement stores that claim additional insulation qualities when used, in addition to a sleek look when compared to window blinds. In comparison to the standard winter window applications you can buy to help with drafty windows, but […]
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Reveling in the season’s tomato bounty, from pasta sauce to easy preserving
The jewels of summer, in their glory. Photo: April McGreger Would a summer without garden-grown tomatoes really be summer at all? For me, summer is: tomatoes ripening on the windowsill; picking the hornworms off the tomato plants; a huge bowl of tomatoes on the kitchen counter; tomatoes at every single meal; farmer’s markets so packed […]
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Ask Umbra on (gasp) throwing stuff out
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, About a year ago I made the whole body switch to organic and all-natural shampoos, body lotions, makeup, etc. In an attempt to stop my packrat-like habits, I want to know, what do I do with all of my old chemical-laden bottles and tubes? I can’t bare […]
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Ask Umbra on green burial
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, At bedtime last night, my significant other remarked that when her time comes she would like to be disposed of in an earth-friendly way, rejoining the soil and not mummified forever in chemical preservatives. Is this even possible and legal? And how about the fiery alternative (no, […]
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With a gust of wind, an Iowa crop duster can squash an organic farm
A crop duster in action.Photo: Roger Smith via FlickrGrinnell Heritage Farm is 152 years old. Andrew Dunham is the fifth generation of his family to work this land about 50 miles east of Des Moines. He is a direct descendant of Josiah Grinnell, founder of the town and the man Horace Greeley once famously quoted […]
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Ask Umbra on turpentine disposal
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where recently our city made a splash when our newly minted sewage system — which had been roundly celebrated for making the harbour swimmable for the first time in years — failed. Now we’re back to flushing it all into the […]
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A tasting of nine “natural” root beers yields surprising results
Nothing hits the spot on a hot day like an icy glass of all-American root beer. (Okay, if you want to split hairs: Nothing hits the spot on a hot day like an icy glass of all-American root beer when you must stay sober.) The problem is that when you take your wilting self to […]
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The perfect lawn doesn’t require a gas-powered mower
The following essay was written by Paul Tukey, founder of SafeLawns.org and the author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual. The perfect lawn doesn’t require gasoline or synthetic fertilizer.Muffet via FlickrGrass Happens. As a former lawn care professional, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when I first saw that bumper sticker on a passing […]
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Ask Umbra on buying a convertible
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Long story short, my parents have been thinking about buying me a car since soon I will be going to University and that way, I won’t constantly be using their cars. My mom suggested a Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, which I love the look of. However, it doesn’t […]
