Latest Articles

Budget-friendly hotel chains also have the smallest carbon footprints

When choosing an environmentally friendly hotel chain, the best indicator probably isn’t whether the place asks you to hang up your towels if you don’t want them replaced each day. According to a new analysis [PDF] by sustainability company Brighter Planet, budget and mid-range hotels tend to produce the least carbon per room. Topping the […]

San Francisco’s urban ag-spansion

San Francisco -- a city that has long had more aspiring gardeners than land -- now has a plan in place to build new gardens and make signing up for a community plot less of a losing proposition.

Multinational food companies sell everything, from polo shirts to tampons

Imagine that this past weekend, you went out in New York City and bought a new pair of fancy Diesel Jeans. Then, because you were feeling good, you indulged in a KitKat bar. You forgot your reusable water bottle at home, so you bought a bottle of Poland Spring. On the way home, you stopped […]

Critical List: Wind farms cause temperature changes; the problem with sardines

Wind farms can lift local temperatures. President Obama made a couple of jokes about eating dog meat at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Eating sardines may not be the best idea for the environment. Germany’s clean jobs initiative is flagging. Cute animal code red! The koala’s a threatened species in Australia.

A low-cost way to improve public transit: Add joy

Can transit incorporate art? Yes! How about playground equipment? You bet. Even … sex? Oh yeah, baby.

Ask Umbra: Where’s the best place to ride out climate change?

A reader asks where she should move to be best positioned for the coming eco-apocalypse. Umbra gives her a realty check.

E. O. Wilson wants to know why you’re not protesting in the streets

Edward O. Wilson dropped by the Grist office recently and asked why young people aren't out protesting the mess that’s being made of the planet. Help us come up with a good answer.

Rising tide: Norfolk, Va., struggles on the front lines of sea-level rise [VIDEO]

A city on the front lines of sea-level rise wonders how long it can keep the Atlantic Ocean at bay.

Getting your goat in Louisville [VIDEO]

Join the Perennial Plate crew as they visit an urban goat herder in Louisville, Ky.

Southwestern tribes lead three-day march to move beyond coal

I want to share a story with you about an amazing event that took place this past Earth Day. For three days, in 100+ degree heat, Native Americans led a50-mile march to draw attention to the devastating effects of coal pollution on their community The Sierra Club was proud to support the Moapa Band of […]