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advice

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    Umbra on heat and pipes

    Dear Umbra, In your video advice, you warn people not to set their heat below 55 degrees for fear of frozen pipes. My question is, “On what do you base the 55 degree number?” … I “core heat” with a stove in the fireplace. It heats the core of my house (kitchen and family room) […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • How to maintain a green, healthy diet on a budget

    Dear Lou,

    With the economic crunch, how is it going to be possible to afford healthy foods for my family, especially organics? It's not like I can go foraging in the medians of the major roadways.

    Karl from Southern California

     

    Lou Bendrick Food

  • Take the chill off the bad economy with a frugal, delicious vegetable soup

    Photo: Library of Congress In our food system, the part of the animal that delivers the most flavor — the bones — often gets thrown away. Purveyors then sell the boneless meat at a higher price. During hard times, such wasteful practices come into relief. We explore humbler, bone-in cuts of meat and underappreciated vegetables. […]

    April McGreger Food

  • Umbra on organic fabric

    Dear Umbra, First let me say that I just discovered your column and have been happily spending most of my time reading your archives. Excellent stuff! I am a total fabric geek; I love to make my own clothes and other fabric-y items, but I worry about synthetics and chemical dyes and chemically grown fibers. […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • A nosy review of recycled facial tissue

    As any sensitive nose knows, the quest for facial tissues that are gentle on you -- and the earth -- is nothing to sneeze at. Is it possible to find a strong, soft schnoz-swiper that doesn't strip the forest?

    Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • Umbra on smoke detectors

    Dear Umbra, How should we safely dispose of old smoke detectors? Don’t they have small amounts of radioactive material in them? We tried bringing them to our town’s recycling center, which refused them, and the board of health would not take them at the hazmat pick-up day. It seems really wrong to toss them in […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Ruminations on the Obama era, with a side of spicy peanut sauce

    A time for reflection (about food, of course). Photo: Caroline Härdter Even those of us in the hectic world of restaurants must occasionally take a break, and so it is that Inauguration Day found me in the High Desert north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I took the train from my home in Iowa and […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Umbra on gift cards

    Dear Umbra, I received a gift card this holiday season from a friend to a company which I generally avoid due to its subpar eco-practices. Since my friend has already given the money to this company, do I forgo my moral objections and use the card, or is there another way I can make the […]

    Ask Umbra® Technology

  • Why conventional popcorn sucks, and what you can do about it

    Dear Lou,

    What about popcorn? Is it safe, healthy, and free of pesticides? What exactly is in the artificial butter flavor?

    Thanks,
    Greenee Trailer Trash from Mississippi

    Lou Bendrick Food