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  • Have a happy (and green) Memorial Day weekend

    Take a bite out of summer.It’s Memorial Day weekend! Say hello to the long, hot days of summer and goodbye to all the rest. However you celebrate this seasonal turning point, we’ve got advice for making it just a bit greener. First, we hoist the flag with Umbra, who tells us how to be proud […]

  • Ask Umbra on mowing with goats

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Google is replacing lawn mowers with goats. I’ve seen commenters make some interesting points (What is the impact of raising the goats? Transporting the goats? Watching goat poo run off into the Bay?). So what gives: is this a good idea? Is there a better one, like […]

  • New report details pesticide over-use in child care centers

    When eco-minded people become parents, it seems like they frequently become even bigger green freaks.  I know that’s been true for my partner and me since we embarked on the journey to parenthood last year – decisions around our house that used to be made based on a variety of factors have become green mandates.  […]

  • Ask Umbra on urban foraging

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, In honor of spring finally coming to my frigid corner of the Midwest, I was thinking about trying my hand at making some dandelion wine. But I live in a major metropolitan area and the only dandelions available are in parks. There are hundreds of parks in […]

  • Taking a bite out of the environment

    Phobias are powerful sh*t. Some people really hate bugs, for example. Even consider them torture. Why are these two Gristers smiling? Click here to find outGrist PhotoBut for me, bugs aren’t the worst. If I wind up in a secret detention center and get subjected to the ultimate third degree, here’s a little tip for […]

  • The Lancet’s landmark Health Commission

    Lead author Anthony Costello says that failure to act will result in an intergenerational injustice, with our children and grandchildren scorning our generation for ignoring the climate change threat –- with moral outrage similar to how we today look back on those who brought in and did nothing to stop slavery. The Lancet medical journal […]

  • A climate-news poem for the week of May 11

    Check out last week’s lines. The climate news of this week started rolling fast and hot The papers said a memo showed the White House just was not On board with EPA now putting carbon in its pot. But it was just a spin, one on which you could not bank The sole objection really […]

  • New Lancet report on health and social effects of climate change

    The Lancet and the University College London (UCL) Institute for Global Health have been engaged in a year-long research project on the health and social effects of climate change. The final report was just released. The overall conclusion? “Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” It’s grim, grim stuff. So […]

  • Big Food’s ‘local’ push: what’s it really about?

    Photo: TheTruthAbout…, via FlickrThe Ethicurean probably had it right when it declared yesterday that “local” jumped the shark. The shark in this case (or is it the jumper? I’m never sure which is which) is Frito-Lay and its Big Food brethren, which have embarked on marketing campaigns emphasizing the “local” producers who supply them. The […]