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Low Impact, No Publicity

Simple people 5
Posted 3 days, 15 hours ago Certain people get a lot of attention for living simply (ahem, No Impact Man, Sleeping Naked lady). But simple living is all around us, offering inspiration that doesn't come in the form of press releases.
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.
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.
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.
Gwyn Some, Lose Some

Does being hot make your green website hot, too? 3
Posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago We take a peek at a crop of eco-sites started by starlets. Ooh, say that five times fast.
Tank and File

Ask Umbra on replacing hot-water heaters 21
Posted 1 month ago When the parents of three little boys wonder which hot-water heater makes the most sense for them, Umbra sheds light on the issue.
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.
Walking the Chalk

Going back to school? Here’s a green cheat sheet 2
Posted 2 months ago
Whether you're making your first big-kid move to Kindergarten or hitting campus for your senior year, there are all sorts of ways to make yours an eco-education, from non-toxic school supplies to the classes you take.
Pane in the Glass

Should I suck it up and buy vinyl windows? 30
Posted 2 months ago
The more estimates I get, the more despondent I am about being able to afford windows I feel good about. And the more I realize why people think greens operate in another sphere.
Pop: The Question

Ask Umbra on bubble wrap 6
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
When a recently married fellow wonders what to do with the acres of bubble wrap now surrounding him, Umbra jumps in with a few suggestions.
Peak oil

A tasting of five organic olive oils 4
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
Homer called it liquid gold, but today it's so ubiquitous that it's lost that precious place in the pantheon. How does exploding olive cultivation wreak havoc on the land, and how do organic olive oils stack up?
Meet the star of ‘No Impact Man’: No Impact Woman 3
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
Michelle Conlin is the real star of the No Impact Man movie, dragged by her husband into a year of eco-asceticism. The whole arrangement is an elaborate publicity stunt, but it works on the screen.
It ain't over til it's over

Seattle’s bag-fee supporters still smiling despite setback 5
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Seattle's proposal for a disposable-bag fee was soundly defeated in Tuesday's primary election, but bag-fee supporters feel confident that the war against plastic bags is going well.
Bag it

Seattle voters toss disposable bag fee 8
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Thanks to hefty funding from the plastics lobby, Seattle's 20-cent fee on disposable bags has been, well, bagged.
A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Neighborhood stores: An overlooked strategy for fighting global warming 7
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
A revival of small, neighborhood retailers could be an important strategy for countering climate change, enticing people to run errands without driving their cars.
How much is that brainwashing in the window?

Our addiction to cheap stuff has become very expensive, new book argues 24
Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Ellen Ruppel Shell, author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, explains the history, psychology, and dangers of the American romance with bargain hunting.
Hop on the ban wagon

Disposable-bag restrictions around the U.S. and the world 4
Posted 3 months ago
Seattle is considering a fee on disposable bags, but that hardly gives the city green b(r)agging rights. Cities around the U.S. and countries around the world have already imposed bag bans for all sorts of eco-reasons.
Two Prongs Make a Right

Ask Umbra on smarter outlets 9
Posted 3 months ago
New Zealand has outlets with on-off switches, as do several other countries. Do these power-saving devices exist in the U.S.? And if not, are there similar alternatives? Umbra plugs in to the smart-outlet scene.
Bag it

Better ways to spend $1 million on plastics 4
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
A plastics industry trade group plans to drop $1 million to fight Seattle's 20-cent tax on shopping bags. We suggest some better uses for the money.
This Week in Placemaking

The greenest grocery store, biggest “living wall,” and more eco-innovations 5
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
From the country's greenest grocery store in Augusta, Maine, to a soaring transit station in Anaheim, Calif., we survey the landscape of green-building projects in the news.