Grist

How a town in Maine is blocking an Exxon tar-sands pipeline

The city council of South Portland has voted to block ExxonMobil's scheme to ship filthy Albertan oil out through the city's port.

BY Roger Drouin

- 2 hours ago

The Bot Digest

Will drones save the rhinos? Some conservationists say it’s launch time

Drones send privacy advocates into a tizzy. But can camera-equipped bots help enforce environmental regs?

BY Samantha Larson

- 8 hours ago

Climate & Energy

George Harrison memorial tree falls victim to climate-driven irony

The tree was killed by, you guessed it: beetles.

BY Jim Meyer

- 10 hours ago

Climate & Energy

Earth crushes another temperature record; not getting much love from the stands

June marked the 352nd consecutive hotter-than-average month. It's a streak that would make Barry Bonds blush.

BY Jim Meyer

- 10 hours ago

Hatin' it

Good news: Mother jailed for sending daughter to playground is freed. Bad news: McDonald’s fires her

It is believed that Harrell let her daughter go to the playground alone because she couldn't afford childcare. But daycare will be even farther out of reach without a job.

BY Brentin Mock

- 11 hours ago

Climate & Energy

The strange relationship between global warming denial and … speaking English

Climate denial isn't a worldwide delusion. It's a distinctly Anglophone one.

BY Chris Mooney

- 12 hours ago

Climate & Energy

The NHL is out to punch climate change in the mouth

Without those frozen ponds where the Gretzky’s and Lemieuxs fall in love with the game, there is no hockey, and the NHL knows it has a role in saving those ponds.

BY Jim Meyer

- 14 hours ago

Climate & Energy

D.C. scraps climate art installation, says it sends the wrong message

Mia Feuer's half-submerged gas station was slated for a lake near the Anacostia River, which neighbors have worked for years to clean up.

BY Brentin Mock

- 14 hours ago

Food

Slaughter-free milk is great for cows, but not the environment

Just think about all the methane those geezer cows emit during their long retirement.

BY Josh Harkinson

- 15 hours ago

Business & Technology

For $5 a month, you can put food on a stray climate writer’s plate

Beacon lets you sponsor your favorite writer. It's the Adopt-A-Manatee program of the online news ecosystem.

BY Greg Hanscom

- 21 hours ago

Living

Swedes really are better at everything, including setting their garbage on fire

There is a better way to burn your garbage, and of course the damn Swedes have already successfully adopted it.

BY Eve Andrews

- 1 day ago

Cities

Detroit will stop shutting off people’s water — for now

The Detroit Water and Sewerage District is pausing the controversial water shut-offs for 15 days.

BY Heather Smith

- 1 day ago

Climate & Energy

It’s time for Obama to stop selling off our land and water to fossil fuel companies

The Interior Department is going to let oil companies do seismic testing off the Atlantic coast, a precursor to offshore drilling. This is wrong on so many levels.

BY Ben Adler

- 1 day ago

Drone on

Could drones be our secret weapon in the fight against Big Ag?

Journalist Will Potter plans to use drones to fly around ag-gag laws and get the dirt on factory farms.

BY Samantha Larson

- 1 day ago

Planes talk

Disney’s “Planes” sequel is an excuse to talk to your kids about climate change

Our hero, the little cropduster that could, has taken up fighting forest fires.

BY Brentin Mock

- 2 days ago

Cities

These amazing animated maps show cities on the move

Powered by chips in our smartphones, they give us a more nuanced look at human movement than we've ever had before.

BY Amber Cortes

- 2 days ago

Living

Ask Umbra: What should I do with my nasty old pillows?

Readers wonder if and where they should toss old pillows. Umbra makes a strong pillowcase.

BY Ask Umbra®

- 2 days ago

Politics

Fracking fight headed for the ballot in Colorado

Democrats in the state are divided over two proposed initiatives that would curb fracking near homes and give cities more regulatory power.

BY Ben Adler

- 2 days ago

Let them drink olive oil

California’s next oil rush might be surprisingly delicious

Olive trees don't take much water to produce lots of healthy oil. Plus, when you make it locally, you can actually taste the difference.

BY Nathanael Johnson

- 2 days ago

Listen up, EPA!

Feds move to restrict neonic pesticides — well, one fed at least

The EPA is still refusing to ban these dangerous insecticides, but a U.S. Fish and Wildlife official is phasing them out in some wildlife refuges.

BY John Upton

- 3 days ago

Cargolicious

Whole Foods will bring you groceries by bike

When you're done rolling your eyes, here's why it's a good thing.

BY Nathanael Johnson

- 4 days ago

Climate & Energy

Washington state just lopped up to $2,500 off the cost of solar panels. Here’s how.

Instead of a patchquilt of permitting rules that vary from county to county, the state now has a simpler -- and cheaper -- process.

BY Heather Smith

- 4 days ago

school of hot

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is about to sweat through some climate education

Under mounting pressure, Scott has agreed to talk to a climate scientist who insists, “It’s not rocket science. I can explain it. Give me half an hour.”

BY Jim Meyer

- 4 days ago

Punky Rooster

Punk strife and farm life pair remarkably well

Here is something you’ve almost definitely never thought about: Rural punks! Punks in the country!

BY Eve Andrews

- 4 days ago

Living

It’s going to take more than swim lessons to undo the effects of racism

The documentary "Free Swim" suggests that learning to swim can lift black kids up. But poverty, racism, and colonialism are tough nuts to crack.

BY Brentin Mock

- 4 days ago

Food

Hospital food gets a locavore makeover

Illness aside, most hospital food is enough to make you want to barf. But that's finally starting to change.

BY Samantha Larson

- 4 days ago

Past gas

Living next to natural gas wells is no fun

From health threats to truck traffic, from rank odors to sinking property values, Coloradans explain what it's like to live near fracking sites.

BY Ben Adler

- 5 days ago

Climate & Energy

How Western civilization ended, circa 2014

Two historians turn to science fiction to scare the hell out of you about climate change.

BY Chris Mooney

- 5 days ago

Slow your roll

Stephen Colbert can’t wait to belch exhaust all over bicyclists & hybrid cars

"Rolling coal isn't just a smoke-belching public nuisance," says Stephen Colbert. "It's a smoke-belching public message."

BY Darby Minow Smith

- 5 days ago

Ben Adler

The politics of climate, energy, and cities

Greg Hanscom

Underwater cities

Nathanael Johnson

Thought for food

Brentin Mock

Read, black, and green

Heather Smith

Signs of movement

Ask Umbra®

Advice for Living Green

Millions alive today would have to die before the paleo diet could take over

How a town in Maine is blocking an Exxon tar-sands pipeline

Will drones save the rhinos? Some conservationists say it’s launch time

George Harrison memorial tree falls victim to climate-driven irony

Earth crushes another temperature record; not getting much love from the stands

Good news: Mother jailed for sending daughter to playground is freed. Bad news: McDonald’s fires her

The strange relationship between global warming denial and … speaking English

The NHL is out to punch climate change in the mouth

D.C. scraps climate art installation, says it sends the wrong message

Slaughter-free milk is great for cows, but not the environment

For $5 a month, you can put food on a stray climate writer’s plate

Swedes really are better at everything, including setting their garbage on fire

Detroit will stop shutting off people’s water — for now

It’s time for Obama to stop selling off our land and water to fossil fuel companies

Could drones be our secret weapon in the fight against Big Ag?

Disney’s “Planes” sequel is an excuse to talk to your kids about climate change

These amazing animated maps show cities on the move

Ask Umbra: What should I do with my nasty old pillows?

Fracking fight headed for the ballot in Colorado

California’s next oil rush might be surprisingly delicious

Feds move to restrict neonic pesticides — well, one fed at least

Whole Foods will bring you groceries by bike

Washington state just lopped up to $2,500 off the cost of solar panels. Here’s how.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is about to sweat through some climate education

Punk strife and farm life pair remarkably well

It’s going to take more than swim lessons to undo the effects of racism

Hospital food gets a locavore makeover

Living next to natural gas wells is no fun

How Western civilization ended, circa 2014

Stephen Colbert can’t wait to belch exhaust all over bicyclists & hybrid cars

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