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Raising water productivity to increase food security

Drip irrigation is a simple and easy way to reduce water use.Photo courtesy of photofarmer via flickr With water shortages constraining food production growth, the world needs an effort to raise water productivity similar to the one that nearly tripled land productivity over the last half-century. Since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce […]

Big Oil Shakes Down US Taxpayers

Last week, oil company executives testified to Congress about energy policy in the wake of BP’s ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A casual observer may have thought we were transported to an alternate universe. At one session, Representative Joe Barton of Texas apologized to BP for what he called a White House “shakedown” […]

World Cup open thread

I'm enjoying the World Cup, blind refs, vuvuzelas, flops and all. But my friend Matthew -- who actually plays the game -- not so much. He argues that the game needs updating. He's got a point. Sports constantly change and innovate to increase dynamism and broaden appeal. Basketball, for example, adopted the 3-point line; football, the forward pass; baseball, steroids. Why not soccer, indeed?

Featured Friend: Marcia Rutan

Each month, we showcase one of our beloved Friends with Benefits — folks who have donated to support our work. Want to take your relationship with Grist to the next level? Just donate any amount to join the fun.  Marcia Rutan “Garbage has been my game for 20 years this June: recycling, waste prevention, and compost. Plus […]

Friday music blogging: Freelance Whales

The music of Freelance Whales has an immediate warmth and familiarity that’s either comforting or derivative, depending on your perspective. You could mistake them for Postal Service from across the room, what with the sweet, earnest alto vocals of front man Judah Dadone, but the instrumentation isn’t electronic. Rather, there’s a huge array of guitars, […]

Zach Weiner on how to pass climate change legislation

Buy Freedom Bonds Now

The BP oil disaster is certainly not the first oil spill in US history, but it could be the last. Nor is this the our worst oil spill – – a Chevron refinery leaked over 250 million gallons of oil and refined product into aquifers beneath Los Angeles for decades before it was discovered in […]

More ideas for Harry Reid: on energy efficiency in Senate energy legislation

Senate majority leader Harry Reid is pulling together an energy bill soon. It may or may not include a price on carbon, but it will certainly include a range of energy-focused provisions, and right now there are too few bold, progressive energy ideas on the table. As I said yesterday, Sen. Jeff Merkley’s oil plan […]

Friday music blogging: Ratatat

Ratatat is two guys in New York City, one who plays guitar, the other a synthesizer-bass-producer polymath. It’s hard to know exactly what to call their stuff. It’s got programmed dance beats like DJ music, but also guitar, strings, keyboards, and songs that actually sound like songs and not endless loops. One thing Ratatat has […]

Kansas City pioneers new models for urban farms

Seven women in ankle-length floral dresses bend at the waist in rows of kale, arugula, and kohlrabi. Their hands effortlessly scoop and pick and cut the stems and pull the weeds. The low sun is already hot coming through the hazy white sky that makes the Kansas City downtown in the distance look like a […]