Ask Umbra

Grist’s destination for advice on life during climate change. Est. 2002

Past Umbra

  • Umbra on wave power

    Hello Umbra, I just read a little bit about wave power and was wondering what you think the future potential is for this clean and never-ending energy source? Peter Blomquist […]

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  • Umbra on feeding birds

    Dearest Umbra, Every winter I take pleasure in putting out birdseed to feed the backyard wildlife. I purchase the easily available, run-of-the-mill, found-at-my-local-hardware-store type of seed. My question is, in […]

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  • Umbra on tidal power

    Dear Umbra, Much is made of wind, solar, geothermal, and even wave power, but why doesn’t anyone talk about tidal power? It has more power than wind for the same […]

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  • Umbra on solar hot-water systems

    Dear Umbra, I would like to change to solar heating for providing some of our electricity requirements, particularly for hot water. Can you advise me how to go about it? […]

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  • Umbra on thin-film solar panels

    Dear Umbra, I read that thin-film solar panels are now being produced on a wider scale. I always hear that they can be sandwiched into window glass, but are there […]

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