Health | Grist

A Crawl to Arms

Seventh Generation launches anti-toxics campaign with wee gimmick 6
Posted 2 days, 15 hours ago Feel like making babies? Now you can do it with the push of a button, by joining the Million Baby Crawl to support chemical policy reform.
Bring It On

Ask Umbra on her hotness, corporate gift baskets, and more 6
Posted 6 days, 7 hours ago One question at a time wasn't enough for our dear Umbra Fisk, who debuts a multi-question column this week with advice on taking climate action, greening corporate gift baskets, and recycling receipts.
Just Boo-Cause

Ask Umbra on Halloween treats and costumes 6
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago Looking for good eco-handouts for the holiday, or perhaps an inspired climate-themed costume? Umbra has a few tricks (and treats) up her sleeve.
Jonesin' for a Ho-Ho

Scientists claim junk food is as addictive as heroin 18
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago With the rumors swirling that Michelle Obama is a big fan of former FDA Commissioner David Kessler's new book The End of Overeating, it seems reasonable to check in on the science behind an "addiction model" for salty, sweet, and fatty processed food. As it happens, a group of researchers has just released a new study on the subject. The conclusion: the brain responds to junk food the same way it does to heroin.
Flash in the Pan

Ask Umbra on canned and frozen foods 23
Posted 1 week, 6 days ago With winter making the selection of fresh produce dwindle, a reader wonders which is the better eco-option: frozen foods, or canned? Umbra digs into the question.
Yeah, we said billion

A $4 billion push to make affordable housing green 0
Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago Today brings news of a major investment in making affordable housing greener, and an ambitious call for an even bigger national conversion. Find out who's behind it.
Can't you Hear me noggin

Ask Umbra on bike helmets 12
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago When a cyclist wonders about the impact of her discarded helmets on the planet, Umbra suggests that she shift gears.
USDA FAIL

Can the USDA really keep our food safe? 10
Posted 1 month ago Having read and listened to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's attempts at ground beef-related damage control in the wake of the recent food safety revelations, I'm left to wonder if the USDA simply needs to get out of the food safety business entirely.
Great, Danes

Big Pork and Sen. Grassley: the Danes want you to know your hogs don’t need endless antibiotics 3
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago According to Sen. Chuck Grassley, it's necessary to dose livestock daily with antibiotics--or we'll end up sorry, just like the poor Danes. Trouble is, the Danes say they're doing just fine after banning sub-therapeutic antibiotic use on farms.
A Non-Starter?

Ask Umbra on anti-idling campaigns 15
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago A Girl Scout troop wants to start an anti-idling campaign, but they're not sure how to combat nervous grown-ups who think turning a car on and off will cause damage. Umbra, floored, gives them fuel for their cause.
TRAY CHIC

Ask Umbra’s video advice on making lunch matter 0
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago Common wisdom tells us there’s no free lunch. But you can have a guilt-free lunch, thanks to Umbra Fisk’s recipe for midday munchers everywhere. You won’t have to swallow your pride -- you can eat well, save money, and help this juicy planet we call home.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on making lunch matter 8
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago
Head to Toe

Highs and lows from the world of green fashion 2
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago Runway models get a new organic 'do, and the EPA gives North Face a tongue-lashing over antimicrobial shoes.
Interior Monologue

Ask Umbra on that new-car smell 3
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago An SUV owner wants to get a new ride, but can't stand the fumes in cars fresh off the lot. Umbra sniffs around for tips on quick routes to odor-free driving.
Plastics, the Silent Obesogens

Can plastics make us fat? 8
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago Despite rampant skepticism, the data continue to pour in -- chemicals in some of the most common plastics and household products, things that surround us every minute of the day, are major culprits in the obesity epidemic.
The toxic assault on our children

Can we protect kids from the toxic trappings of modern life? 1
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago
Philip and Alice Shabecoff's Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children casts environmental contamination in the context of kids, connecting the dots between the toxification of the young and a slew of once rare, now devastatingly commonplace childhood diseases.
no more playing hooky

Will a greener White House complex mean a more productive president? 0
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago
A study released this week says employees in greener buildings are more productive, just as news spreads that the White House complex is seeking LEED certification. What does this bode for Obama? And will he have to sneak smokes under the portico?
Bubble Trouble

The soda wars heat up—and the possibilities are thrilling 9
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Feel free to believe a soda tax won't solve obesity. But don't deny that its revenue will create all sorts of opportunities.
Paging Dr. Pepper

Pollan says health-care reform will fail unless we change the way we eat 11
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
First in The New York Times last week and then on NPR this weekend, Michael Pollan made that point that if we want to fix our health-care system, we have to fix our food system.
Just Beak Ahhs

Ask Umbra on sex ... chicken sex, that is 14
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
If you eat eggs, are you a chicken babykiller? How does that whole thing work, anyway? Umbra cracks the case.