\nHard<\/strong>
Ah,
\nnothing says Fourth of July more than Det. John McClane blowing up terrorists
\nand Americans blowing up fireworks. Although fireworks do give off carbon
\ndioxide, they aren’t egregious greenhouse-gas offenders. The more serious pollutant is potassium perchlorate, used as an oxidant in fireworks.
\nPerchlorate, which messes with our thyroid glands, falls to the ground as the
\nfirework fades, and often into water. Is it toxic enough to stop once-yearly use?
\nMeh, it’s your call. Get the full Ask
\nUmbra answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nThe Sixth Sense<\/strong> \nOver the Hedge<\/strong> \nGarden State<\/strong> Yippee-ki-yayly, Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ask Umbra on dating, individual actions, and coffee stirrers<\/a><\/p>\n Ask Umbra on paint that’s better for the planet [VIDEO]<\/a><\/p>\n Ask Umbra on keyboard cleaners, automatic composters, and book club<\/a><\/p>\n
Oh
\nman, Haley Joel Osment scared the bejeezus out of me in this flick, with his,
\n“I see dead people” stuff. I’m all like, can you see me?! Does that mean…?
\nNooo! The time will come when, yes, Haley Joel Osment will be able to see us
\nall. And when it does, you don’t want to leave your carbon footprint hanging
\naround. Traditional cremation is less polluting than modern burial. I know, you’re as surprised as I was. Modern
\nburial involves formaldehyde-y embalming fluid, concrete vaults, and lots of
\nlawn mowing and pesticides. Cremation is just the burning with no ensuing
\ncemetery maintenance. However, if burial’s your thing, there is a Green Burial Council<\/a> to aid in
\nplanning, and there are also pretty, green
\ngraveyards<\/a>.
\nGet the full Ask
\nUmbra answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Remember
\nthe sweet little cartoon in which BW voiced that wily raccoon RJ, who ventured
\ninto human territory with his other woodland creature pals? Ah, happy memories.
\nSo here’s a word on deer hunting (smooth transition, no?). Deer no longer have
\nmany predators, because we’ve killed most of them off through habitat loss and
\nfragmentation, as well as hunting. Without human interference, deer would keep
\nreproducing and stay healthy as long as food and space were plentiful. Starvation
\nand disease would eventually slow their reproduction; then food would become plentiful again, reproduction would pick up, and the cycle would continue. But that’s hard for humans
\nto watch and even harder for the starving deer, I imagine. Hunting is used by state fish and wildlife agencies to manage deer
\nherds. Am I in favor of hunting? For food by people who can use the meat, yes. For
\nfun to help “manage deer herds”? Sport hunting is in many ways a
\nnecessary outcome of the artificial habitat in which deer now roam. Wildlife
\nmanagers are looking into sterilization as an alternative in communities where
\nhunting is impossible (dense suburbia) or has been voted out of existence. Might
\nI suggest deer condoms? Get the full Ask Umbra answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n
OK,
\nfine, you movie buffs, Bruce wasn’t in Garden State. However, he did grow
\nup mostly in the Garden State. He’s a
\nJersey boy! Thusly, I bring you a lovely letter from a fellow New Jersey
\nreader, Patricia from North Plainfield, N.J., who wanted to know how to recycle
\na Color Me Badd tape (told you I might be stretching a bit). So here goes: Donate it to a thrift store or library, posse up with your friends in the same
\nsitch and ship all the goods to a biz like GreenDisk<\/a>, or head over to Earth911<\/a> and type in “cassette
\ntapes” and your area code to see if there are any places to recycle tapes in
\nyour own ‘hood. Get the full Ask Umbra answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Umbra<\/p>\n