Ask Umbra
Grist’s destination for advice on life during climate change. Est. 2002
Past Umbra
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What do firefighting chemicals do to a forest?
If you cared purely about the ecosystem, especially in the West, you’d just let it burn.
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What does it mean to take responsibility for our waste?
Modern waste disposal: triumph of civil engineering, or environmental scapegoat?
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My parents love to travel. How do I get them to stop?
It’s your values, fundamentally, that make you cringe at the jetsetter lifestyle your parents have adopted.
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When I buy local, does it hurt farmers in other countries?
You want to know what you *can* do to make a more climate-friendly and economically equitable food system.
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Is there a right way to talk about climate change?
There’s been a huge amount of fretting over the *proper* way to discuss human civilization's demise.
