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advice

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    Send in your green questions for Grist for Earth Day answers

    Got a burning green question Grist hasn't answered yet? (Hard to believe, I know.) Think quick because you have until 3 PM Pacific today to send 'em in because our big brains -- along with a few other online eco-friends' -- will be answering them in a video montage for Earth Day.

    Ashley Braun Culture

  • Umbra advises on running shoes

    Q. Hi Umbra, I’m a long-distance runner in need of a new pair of shoes. I’m looking for the company with the most sustainable practices. Any suggestions? I’ve heard some promising things from different companies (e.g., Nike’s shoe-recycling program, ASICS’ commitment to recycled materials), but I remain undecided about what which company offers the best […]

    Ask Umbra® Technology

  • Umbra advises on tuna and mercury

    Dear Umbra, Big, mature tuna have a lot of mercury in their bodies and are often caught with longlines that snag endangered sea turtles and sea birds; smaller juvenile tuna have less mercury, swim near the surface so they can be caught with less destructive fishing gear, but they have not had the chance to […]

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  • The straight dope on local, organic weed

    Is it better to buy locally grown marijuana which may have been fed with chemicals, or organic hooch from far away?

    Lou Bendrick Food

  • Umbra on mean drivers and other questions

    Dear Umbra, Your kindness article inspired a question: Is it possible that pesticides make people mean? Perhaps because their bodies sense that they are under attack? The parking lot behavior at regular food stores versus organic stores serves as my non-scientific database. Pedestrially yours,Pat G.Albuquerque, N.M. Dearest Readers, RoundUp rage? iStock Back again for another […]

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  • Umbra on composting mucus and other conundra

    Dear Umbra, My girlfriend and I are having a bit of a disagreement. When she is in the kitchen she uses paper towels to wipe her nose. She then proceeds to put the used paper towel into the compost bin in the kitchen. I’m sure that the microbes and worms in the compost pile could […]

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  • Umbra on burning wood and gas

    Hey Umbra, I’m from Quebec and there is a movement underway to prohibit the new installation of wood burning fireplaces. I’m curious about how much carbon is produced by burning a cord of wood in a fireplace, compared to a tank of gasoline burned by an automobile. Ron F.Montreal, Quebec How does firewood stack up? […]

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  • Putting organic baby foods to the test

    Mmm. When I had my son last year, I wasn’t lulled into thinking his body was a pure, unsullied canvas. I knew that babies are born polluted and that breast milk is full of rocket fuel. Still, it’s nice to maintain the illusion of purity, so as not to go completely insane. So I buy […]

    Katharine Wroth Culture

  • Umbra on the other greenhouse gases

    Dear Umbra, I have heard and am beginning to understand one of the biggest movements of social change occurring right now: we need to reduce our carbon footprint. I have also heard that while carbon is our most abundant greenhouse gas byproduct (by way of the burning of fossil fuels) other gases, such as methane, […]

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