Latest Articles

Mitt Romney thinks pets are cars and cars are pets

By now you’ve surely heard that Mitt Romney’s planned all-inclusive beach resort house in La Jolla will include a car elevator, for cars that need to get to the second floor of the garage but are too tired to take the stairs. Between that and the indelible story about Romney keeping his dog on the […]

Map shows the worst air in America

The EPA is issuing new regulations for emissions from power plants, and the American Lung Association knows why. This map shows U.S. deaths caused by toxic power plant emissions. If you live in a state with a big red circle, you should be very very glad about the new rule — Texas in particular should […]

What’s the deal with EPA carbon rules for existing power plants?

EPA's latest rule applies only to new power plants. But rest assured, rules for existing power plants are in the works.

What if Jay-Z ran a healthy corner store?

The founder of Atlanta's The Boxcar Grocer asks: When was the last time a corner store made a healthy lifestyle look fun and accessible to urban audiences?

Grist spreads our new design’s wings

We rolled out our new look much more widely on our site. Let us know what you think!

Photos of students with all their possessions show how to live with less

Like their American counterparts, the current generation of Swedish teenagers is the first since the Great Depression to be financially worse off than their parents. Unstable employment opportunities have turned them into nomads who have to live light to get by. 

Health-care reform: Collective solutions and the individualist tantrum

As the Supreme Court debates health-care reform, what's at stake? Our collective capacity to solve any of the big complex problems we face, that's what.

Aging boomers who can’t drive will be trapped in unwalkable cities of their own making

Judging by how pedestrian-unfriendly the average American city has become, all our aging parents apparently enjoy being prisoners in their own homes.

Wind-powered opera slightly less extravagant than regular opera

For many people, the opera is just a chance to nap in a $300 chair under a $1,500 chandelier while wearing $2,000 worth of clothes. But one opera festival in the U.K. is making sure that its extravagance is at least powered by clean energy.

Global warming could explode ‘compost bombs’ all over the planet

When the compost pile in your backyard revs up, it starts producing heat, as the microbes in it do their work breaking down organic matter. On a small scale, that’s great for your garden. On a grand scale, though, this same process can create a “compost bomb” — a burst of carbon into the atmosphere. […]