Advice | Grist

Ask Umbra’s video advice on grilling 1
Posted 1 day, 3 hours ago
Contain Your Excitement

Ask Umbra on moving boxes 2
Posted 2 days, 20 hours ago
When it comes time to pack your priceless treasures for the big move, are liquor-store castoffs your only option? Umbra flaps her gums.
Heavy on the Ice, Light on the Cream

A review of six non-dairy ice creams 25
Posted 3 days, 10 hours ago
Can soy, rice, and coconut concoctions live up to dairy-based frozen desserts? A Grist-commissioned tasting panel finds out.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on sunscreen 1
Posted 3 days, 20 hours ago
Handle With Care

Ask Umbra on moving cross-country 3
Posted 4 days, 20 hours ago
A letter-writer moving from New York to Los Angeles wonders which is the greener option, renting a truck or ditching her stuff and flying. Umbra counsels her to think outside the box.
Bone of Contention

Ask Umbra on meating your needs 9
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago
Should a vegetarian faced with reduced-price (and about-to-be-thrown-out) meat give in to the way of flesh, just to prevent needless slaughter? Umbra chews over the question.
It Might as Well Be Spring

Ask Umbra on sparkling water 7
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago
Two gals from Alabama love to drink bubbly water -- but a little guilt is beginning to soak into their souls. Can Umbra quench their thirst for knowledge about the eco-effects of their fav bev?
Going bananas

Can we be ‘green’ and eat tropical products, too? 7
Posted 2 weeks ago
It's hard to be a locavore when you're hooked on coffee, like bananas in your smoothies, and enjoy an afternoon cuppa for a quick pickup. Lou Bendrick weighs in on how to keep your green cred and consume tropical products, too.
Jam session

I find my thrill in blueberry preserves—and so can you 2
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago
It's getting hot out there. For April McGreger, high summer is canning season--time to put up the season's bounty for the cold months. In this edition of Farmer's Daughter, she tells how to make a delicious batch of blueberry preserves--and cornmeal pancakes to go with them.
Sparkling Wit

Ask Umbra on rinse aids 7
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago
Your dishwasher requires a rinse aid -- but what the heck is in that thing, and is there an eco-alternative? Umbra offers a cascade of advice.
Best Served Cold

A tasting of seven organic ice cream flavors 15
Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago
Summer's here, and that means it's time for ice cream! OK, it's always time for ice cream, who are we kidding. In today's column, Tom Philpott makes the enormous sacrifice of taste-testing several organic varieties -- in our next installment, we'll take a look at non-dairy brands.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on showering 10
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago
Leachy Keen

Ask Umbra on food disposal 3
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago
If you can't (or won't) compost, is sending your scraps down the drain just as good? Umbra chews over the matter.
Little feast on the prairie

From grass to grill, a Midwestern farm struts its stuff—and dishes up delicious lamb chops 4
Posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
Chef Kurt Michael Friese recently joined the members of Slow Food St. Louis for their fourth annual "Lambstravaganza" at Prairie Grass Farms just outside of New Florence, MO. Get a taste of the event yourself with a recipe for grilled lamp chops.
Space Evaders

Ask Umbra on ungreen roommates 5
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago
So you're trying to enlighten the folks you live with, but they're just not getting the picture? Umbra unlocks some new ideas.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on sustainable seafood 2
Posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Vanity Unfair

Ask Umbra on license plates 6
Posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago
A devoted green gets a license plate reading PVC -- what to do? Umbra hammers out a number of suggestions.
Seedy business

Beyond the compost heap: what to do with fruit and veggie seeds? 6
Posted 4 weeks ago
As anyone who composts knows, when you cook a lot, you generate lots of seeds. What can be done with them? Food sleuth Lou Bendrick weighs in.
Pizza party!

How to turn your backyard into the best pizzeria in town 7
Posted 4 weeks ago
Want to improve on a warm summer evening outside? Throw an outdoor pizza party.
Same Batshit Channel

The digital TV conversion is here—are you e-ready? 2
Posted 4 weeks, 1 day ago
All TV broadcasts have now gone digital. Here's how to green your transition.