Latest Articles

This graphic novel about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch looks awesome

I’m Not a Plastic Bag is a graphic novel about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the agglomeration of plastic flakes that is swirling around in the Pacific Ocean. The book follows the journey of several pieces of trash destined to become part of the patch. The images are beautiful, and the story’s reminiscent of The […]

$28 cabbage, $65 chicken, and other insane food prices in Northern Canada

In the farthest-north part of Canada, food is so outrageously expensive that the basic necessities of life are beyond normal people's reach.

Bereaved husband sues NYPD for failing to investigate pedestrian death

Last summer, 28-year-old Clara Heyworth died while crossing the street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn — she was hit by a car piloted by an intoxicated driver who only had a learner’s permit. The NYPD never conducted an investigation, and the driver received only a violation for driving without a license. Today, Heyworth’s husband, Jacob Stevens, […]

A report from inside the Shell ‘oil spill’ party prank

It took Grist a hot second to figure out that this too-ironic-to-be-true video of a Shell party gone wrong was a prank. The concept, though, is brilliant — an “oil derrick” on a cake started “spilling” liquid all over the assembled guests. Pulling it off wasn’t easy, or cheap. Salon has dishy details from a […]

Philadelphia invests in fresh food to fight obesity — but will it work?

A $900,000 investment by the city will put fresh foods and refrigeration systems in several hundred stores – despite evidence showing it may not have an impact.

Did you say ‘sea-level rise’? You liberal.

China asked foreign embassies to stop publishing air pollution data? Can you imagine! The nerve of repressing scientific knowledge. Meanwhile, in Virginia ...

Peebottle Farms: Insta-heirloom

After her chickens destroy the spring garden starts, our urban farming columnist goes on an heirloom seed-seeking adventure.

Ask Umbra: Is my single-serve coffeemaker wasteful?

A reader frets about his caffeine-delivery equipment. Umbra gives him a dose of reality.

‘Screaming headlines’ vs. reasonable people: A talk with the EPA’s Lisa Jackson

In her time at the helm of the Enivronmental Protection Agency, Jackson has gone from crusading to embattled. She talks with us about false choices between green ideals and greenbacks, the power of peer review, and cleaning up coal.

Chicken soup for the soil: Cleaning up toxic earth in Philadelphia [VIDEO]

This video follows an experimental soil-focused art project in Philadelphia with a goal of one day making contaminated "brownfields" safe to farm on.