Working For Jobs

Hurricane Sandy took away a lot of things: power, homes, even lives. For residents of Moonachie, N.J., a small town just across the Hudson River from New York City, the storm took a stab at their basic right to vote. After severe flooding here, much of the town remains without power, which led local election officials to decide over the weekend to close all the polling places and redirect residents to consolidated locations nearby.

It’s the same story all across the state: Some 300 polling places shut down or moved, according to the governor’s office, creating a logistical nightmare for election planners and a headache for voters (for what it’s worth, Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced plans to allow votes to be emailed or faxed in). And while New Jersey, a solidly blue state, has never seen less than 70 percent turnout for a presidential election, residents here say until the lights come back on, casting a vote is the furthest thing from their minds.

This story was produced as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Filed under: Article, Climate & Energy, Politics

View full post on Grist

These are tough times, what with the crazy weather, political shenanigans in full swing — and the weekend coming up. You don’t want to be caught having a bad hair day.

Then again, what is all that stuff in the ingredients list of store-bought shampoo? And do you really have to unload your bank account to get the products that don’t contain crude oil?

Fear not, good people. Umbra Fisk, Grist’s green advice columnist, feels your pain, understands your needs, and just wants to help your family. Here she is with a little advice for getting the scare products out of your hair products.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column, and to celebrate, we’re pulling a favorite gem of eco-advice out of the archives each week.

Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

For even more green goodness, you can follow Umbra on Twitter (@AskUmbra) or become a fan on Facebook.

Filed under: Article, Living

View full post on Grist

“I think we all can agree we’re seeing complete and utter devastation,” Brendan Gallagher says, standing in front of the charred remains of his childhood home.

Just a short drive from New York City’s famous Rockaway beaches, Breezy Point, Queens, is a quaint seaside hamlet where many cops and firefighters come to retire. It’s a place known for charming historic bungalows and sweeping ocean views, but on Monday night, it quickly became the setting for some of Hurricane Sandy’s most terrifying damage.

As a massive storm surge swept in with the gale-force winds, an as-yet-unknown source sparked a fire that, according to New York City Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano, ultimately leveled more than 100 homes — luckily, most residents heeded early evacuation warnings and no one was killed. Today, locals waded back in through still-receding flood waters to assess the damage while firefighters — some off-duty, picking through the wreckage of friends’ and neighbors’ homes — tamped down the smoldering ruins.

This story was produced by Mother Jones as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Filed under: Article, Climate & Energy

View full post on Grist

Are you tired of hearing claims that chemical-intensive monocultures are the only way to feed the planet’s growing population? With the first in her series of “mythbusting” videos, Anna Lappé, author of Diet for a Hot Planet and occasional Grist contributor, takes on this point directly. She argues that, in fact, a network of small-scale, independent farms using diversified, sustainable practices and a shift in the way the food we already grow gets eaten will go a long way toward solving the problem without such a heavy reliance on corporate agriculture. Take a look and tell us what you think.

(Did we mention that today is Food Day? Find food-related activities in your area here.)

Learn more about the Food Mythbusters series on its website.

Filed under: Article, Food

View full post on Grist

We know, we know: Women look better without makeup and au naturale is the only way to go. But for all the painted ladies (and fellas) out there (including those with an “all natural” look), Umbra’s here to help you sort out your makeup bag:

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column, and to celebrate, we’re pulling a favorite gem of eco-advice out of the archives each week.

Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

For even more green goodness, you can follow Umbra on Twitter (@AskUmbra) or become a fan on Facebook.

Filed under: Article, Living

View full post on Grist

We know, we know: Women look better without makeup and au naturale is the only way to go. But for all the painted ladies (and fellas) out there (including those with an “all natural” look), Umbra’s here to help you sort out your makeup bag:

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column, and to celebrate, we’re pulling a favorite gem of eco-advice out of the archives each week.

Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

For even more green goodness, you can follow Umbra on Twitter (@AskUmbra) or become a fan on Facebook.

Filed under: Article, Living

View full post on Grist

Lunch. The eternal midday dilemma. Do I pack my own and take it to the office, or eat out and brave the world of disposable flatware? And what about the kids? Do I hand them a couple bucks and tell them, “Hope it’s sloppy Joes today!” Or do I pack them a painstakingly prepared meal that they’ll probably just trade to Jimmy Jones for a cookie and a bag of Fritos?

Luckily for you, Umbra is here with some thoughts on earth-friendly lunch packaging, suggestions for tasty (and meat-free) meals — even a few words of wisdom about the lunch lady.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column, and to celebrate, we’re pulling a favorite gem of eco-advice out of the archives each week.

Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

For even more green goodness, you can follow Umbra on Twitter (@AskUmbra) or become a fan on Facebook.

Filed under: Living

View full post on Grist

The iPhone has become one of the developed world’s most ubiquitous consumer products; the new iPhone 5 sold more than 5 million units in its first week. But the vast majority of iPhone users have no clue what goes into the guts of their coveted toy. That’s no accident, since the phone’s internal design and chemical content are closely guarded trade secrets and Apple deliberately makes it difficult for consumers to open up the device.

Enter Kyle Wiens, whose company, iFixit, aims to help users penetrate their gadgets’ dark secrets, from how much toxic mercury they contain to how to change the damn battery. Last week, Climate Desk found shelter from a torrential rainstorm near one of New York City’s Apple stores and watched Wiens go to work (see video above). Today, iFixit released the results of its chemical analysis of the iPhone 5 and a suite of other popular cellphones, conducted by the environmental nonprofit Ecology Center.

First the good news: The iPhone 5 is leagues ahead of its more toxic predecessors — especially the 2G. (The worst overall performers — most toxic first — were the iPhone 2G, Palm m125, Motorola MOTO W233 Renew, Nokia M95, BlackBerry Storm 9530, and Palm Treo 750.) The latest iPhone performed better on the toxins front than most rival models, including Samsung’s Galaxy S III, and was only narrowly beaten out by the least-toxic phone examined, the Motorola Citrus.

Now the bad news: The iPhone 5 still tests high for mercury and chlorine, both of which can present serious health hazards if they leach into local water supplies from a dump somewhere — typically in a poor area of China, Ghana, or India. It also contained trace amounts of bromine, which has been linked to thyroid cancer and lung disease. “There’s no such thing as a ‘green’ phone,” Wiens points out. “There’s no such thing as a phone that has no toxic chemicals.”

Still, the new iPhone looks great compared with its original progenitor, which contained an astonishing 1,020 times more bromine and 97 times more mercury than the current model, according to iFixit. But the point of all of this is less about any one phone’s chemical components, and more about the need to curb our addiction to throwing away phones that could be fixed rather than dumped. “It’s critically important to consume as few phones as possible, to conserve the resources we have,” Wiens says.

This story was produced as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Filed under: Article, Business & Technology

View full post on Grist

Editor’s note: You’ve heard of speed dating, but if you’re a young farmer, you might want to try weed dating. This event was sponsored by the Greenhorns, a farmer support organization in New York state (they make documentaries too), and we’ve mentioned it on Grist before. “Weed dating” poses a solution to an age-old problem for young people working in isolated, rural areas. As weed dating co-organizer Lulu McClellan puts it, “From what everyone has told me … you really don’t want to be farming without a partnership, whether that partnership is romantic or not. You want to find someone you can commit to and work with because it’s just too much for one person.”

Filed under: Food

View full post on Grist

Photo by HBO.

Did you know that three-quarters of the energy your appliances burn is used while they’re turned off? It’s true. Our ever wise and helpful green advice columnist, Umbra Fisk, looked it up. She tells us that Americans waste an estimated $1 billion a year powering “vampire appliances” we’re not even using.

In this classic from the video archives, Umbra has a few thoughts on how to put a stake through the heart of these silent budget killers — or at least put them to sleep at night. The first key: Just because the switch says “OFF,” don’t assume that the little monster isn’t sucking your wallet dry.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column, and to celebrate, we’re pulling a favorite gem of eco-advice out of the archives each week.

Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

For even more green goodness, you can follow Umbra on Twitter (@AskUmbra) or become a fan on Facebook.

Filed under: Living

View full post on Grist