Latest Articles

Natural-gas well explosion near Denver kills one, injures three

The explosion appears to have been from a pressure build-up, as opposed to combustion.

Dallas will spray pesticides to quash West Nile outbreak

Residents have expressed concern, but spraying in other areas has not caused major problems.

Agenda 21: Everything you need to know about the secret U.N. plot, in one comic

Some Republicans and Tea Partiers want you to think that Agenda 21 is just your typical stealth campaign of “extreme environmentalism.” But when you’re finished reading the latest in Grist’s series, The Basics, you’ll be terrified.

These are probably the coolest-looking clouds you’ll ever see

Fair warning: Looking at these photos might make you want to be a cloudologist.

A helpful compendium of all of the recent stories about our friend the drought

Given all of the news stories about the drought, we figured a handy index was in order. Please print out and carry with you.

Polar bears are dying of zebra herpes

There’s a well-known doctor saying: “When you hear hoofbeats in Central Park, don’t expect zebras.” The idea is that the symptoms you’re looking at probably don’t indicate a super-rare disease, even if you Googled them and Dr. Internet told you that you definitely have pernicious porphyria or whatever. But apparently that’s off the table for […]

This Auto-Tuned tribute to Five Guys will make you want a fast food burger

Of course, you only eat organic CSA vegetables, beef you’ve been introduced to by name, and pork hand-reared by a little girl named Fern. But if you want to make a small anthropological study of how people who enjoy chain-restaurant burgers feel about perfectly cooked fries and bacon, well … here, for your enjoyment, is a […]

Freaky food sculptures will make you think twice about lunch meat

Artist Dmitry Tsykalov does some freaky things with meat. If you’re unlucky, his anatomical sculptures will make you feel pretty weird about eating things like lunch meat, shrimp, hot dogs, or spaghetti and meat balls. If you’re lucky, they’ll just make you feel weird about eating heads and feet. Lest you think you’ll be safe […]

Our Challenge to TVA: Will You Live Up to Your Values and Save Money and Lives with Energy Efficiency?

This week, the Sierra Club presented a new report to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors that charts a course for TVA to a clean energy future. The report, prepared by Synapse Energy Economics and commissioned by the Sierra Club, reveals that TVA can lower ratepayer bills every month for decades and clean […]

Offshore Wind Development Picking Up Pace

By J. Matthew Roney Wind power is the world’s leading source of renewable electricity, excluding hydropower, with 238,000 megawatts of capacity installed at the start of 2012.  Thus far, almost all of this wind power has been tapped on land; worldwide just 4,600 megawatts of offshore wind farms were operating as of mid-2012. Offshore wind […]