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Articles by Jen Harper

Once upon a time, Jen Harper was Ask Umbra's whip-cracking editor, though she doesn't really have a whip or necessarily know how to crack one. She has now successfully re-entered civilian society.

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  • DIY cheap, green burial with dryer lint

    One bunny in a dryer yields three urns.Cleaning out the mass of lint, dog and human hair, dirt, and dust that collects in the dryer always makes me retch just a bit, but Oregon-based mortician Elizabeth Fournier, known as the Green Reaper, obviously has a stronger stomach than I do (from dealing with the dead […]

    Jen Harper Culture

  • Save Bette Midler, er, Mother Nature! [VIDEO]

    I remember watching The Earth Day Special when I was 10 years old, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, with far too much enthusiasm. I had even set the VCR to tape it more than two weeks prior. I was such a nerd. Lucky for you guys, I still am, as is some other […]

    Jen Harper Culture

  • Coked-out Coca-Colla [sic]

    High-fructose corn syrup in soda? Bad. Cocaine in soda? Depends on whom you ask. We all know Coca-Cola used to contain trace amounts of the narcotic back in the day, but, according to the UK Guardian via Fast Company, Bolivia’s kicking it old school with its coca-leaf containing soda, Coca-Colla (note the second L—I smell […]

    Jen Harper Food and Agriculture

  • Power your house with poop

    Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, my family sure does produce a lot of excrement; how can I cash in on this?” Well, according to DVICE, SeabEnergy’s MuckBuster might be just the ticket. “The MuckBuster is a self-contained anaerobic digester, built inside a repurposed shipping container. It can produce renewable energy from any organic […]

    Jen Harper Culture