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Shout-out to Grist donors

Grist reader, donor, and prize-winner (See? We really do give that stuff away!) Irvin Smith of Rochester Hills, Mich., sent in this adorable photo of his son and nieces eating ice cream out of the ice-cream maker he won. A big, public Grist thanks to Irvin.

As I was looking at the photo, I thought to myself: Self, what a fabulous opportunity to give props to all our wonderful donors. So thank you, Grist donors! We are but a humble nonprofit, and without your generosity, we'd all be sitting here in the dark.

If you're reading this and it moves you to donate a few bucks, know that we'll spend it wisely on organic beer for the staff more of the same feisty, witty journalism you know and love.

Comforting words

One of the ideas we’re trying to weave throughout this series is this: you don’t have to be perfect. I had a long conversation last night with a marine biologist in Hawaii for the plastics story, and he felt strongly that parents are too hard on themselves — and on each other — when it […]

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns resigns

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is resigning, President Bush announced today. He is expected to run as a Republican for an open U.S. Senate seat in Nebraska, which is being vacated by retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R).

Extent of sea ice in Arctic sets record low, keeps on melting

The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has already hit a record low this season, the gloomiest, if not doomiest, since satellite records began in the 1970s. The world will likely have to wait a month or so for the final numbers to be released since sea ice typically stops melting by the end […]

Siberian permafrost melt threatens to accelerate climate change, reveals mammoth bones

Some large sections of permafrost in Siberia have been thawing out in the last few years due to climate change. If the thaw continues apace (or speeds up) researchers worry that much more organic matter — leftover plant and animal leavings from thousands of years ago, like mammoth dung, that never fully decayed due to […]

New York state investigates power companies, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: The Spillage Voice Swap Meat Congress Sees the Lighting on the Wall Sass Is in Sessions The Investor Class Owns the Means of Reduction Seeing Red Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Brood Awakenings Hog Futures Gilled Complex Not So Fast

Pope lauds Montreal Protocol, Vatican aims for carbon neutrality

The Montreal Protocol turned 20 this weekend — and you forgot to get it a gift, didn’t you. As nearly 200 nations convene this week to discuss the protocol, which has been successful in spurring an international phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals, it has been lauded by no less a person than Pope Benedict XVI, who […]

Hey …

… did you hear that Al Gore won an Emmy? After the Nobel Peace Prize, what’s left for the guy to win?

Army Corps must halt work on destructive Missouri river project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was ordered this weekend to cease work on a Mississippi River flood-control project in Missouri that would have cut the river off from its last remaining floodplain, devastated tens of thousands of acres of wetlands, and, um, not controlled flooding. Ordering the Corps to remove any part of the […]

DNA testing helps to settle claims of chemical exposure

Think you’ve been exposed to toxic chemicals on the job? Hand over your hair. A new DNA testing technique can help verify or refute claims of workplace poisoning by exposing a healthy person’s DNA to the chemical in question to see how the genes are affected, then comparing to the employee’s DNA. It seems like […]