advice
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A guide to non-toxic pest control
You know how it goes: you’re in your kitchen, happily chopping veggies for that night’s meal, when an ant comes wandering by to check out the menu. Or you turn on the light in the bathroom and spot a silverfish scuttling away. Or you finally lie down for a well deserved rest, only to be […]
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Cobbling together a delicious and easy summer dessert
Life’s a big container of cherries.All photos by April McGreger I’m bored by chocoholics. Don’t get me wrong; I very much appreciate good chocolate. But after attending four cookouts in the past month without a fruit-based dessert in sight I have had enough. Had the scent of perfectly ripe peaches somehow escaped my hosts? Are […]
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Ask Umbra on paperback writers
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Hi Umbra, I’m in the book business, and there are many who try and make sure books never make it to landfills and are donated to worthy causes. However, I have been wondering for some time about the environmental impact of such authors as Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, and […]
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Ask Umbra on green moving companies
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Hi. I love your column. I just wanted to see if you were aware of the company Mean Green Trucking and Transport … We run our fleet of moving trucks on recycled veggie oil and biodiesel. Our NYC warehouse is solar powered. And we plant a tree […]
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Grist’s guide to green iPhone apps
Wondering what brand of toothpaste is the most eco-friendly? There’s an app for that. Need to know which species of fish on the menu were caught sustainably? There’s an app for that. Long to plant a tree with every swish of your PhoneSaber? There’s not an app for that … yet. But check out the […]
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Ask Umbra on moving boxes
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I will be moving soon, and a friend suggested buying cheap but durable plastic storage bins with lids as an alternative to traditional moving boxes (or whatever empty boxes I can find from local stores). The idea is appealing, especially for a lot of stuff that I […]
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A review of six non-dairy ice creams
This is part two of a two-part series on organic ice cream; see our previous review of conventional, dairy-based ice creams by Tom Philpott. Cow juice alternative?The Sheppard family has what you might call an ice cream problem. When I was 8 and my brother was 5, we went to Disney World. After a day […]
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Ask Umbra on moving cross-country
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, We have to move a small apartment from New York to LA. We can rent a diesel truck that gets 8-12 mpg (yikes — but the best we could find) OR sell the furniture, ship some stuff, and fly. Both options are about the same price, but […]
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Ask Umbra on meating your needs
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Hi Umbra, I was shopping in the commissary (our lovely military grocery store) this afternoon when I noticed the “reduced for quick sale” meat section. [As a former vegetarian], I literally feel the weight of the world when I buy meat … but when I saw this meat, it […]
