Latest Articles

Solar grid parity 101 — and why you should care

We're rapidly approaching solar grid parity, the tipping point when installing solar power will cost less than buying electricity from the grid.

Why railroads care about coal exports

U.S. rail haul more coal than they do any other commodity. It's no wonder, then, that with domestic coal use declining, railways support coal exports.

Forecast for 2012: More sun and wind

2011 saw solar and wind powering more homes and businesses than ever before, and 2012 is shaping up to be even better.

Climate primer: Global warming made scintillating

Catch some of Grist's most riveting recent coverage of climate change -- perfect fodder for cocktail chatter, guaranteed to make you the life of the party.

Will Obama address climate threat in State of the Union speech?

Obama didn't mention climate change in last year's State of the Union speech. This time, will he seize the opportunity to stir the country to action?

Watch Grist’s David Roberts on MSNBC on Saturday morning

Grist's own David Roberts will play the role of talking head on MSNBC's Up w/ Chris Hayes this Saturday morning. To catch it live, tune in from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET.

What environmental policy could we expect from President Colbert?

Stephen Colbert has officially thrown his hat in the ring for definitely possibly considering a run for president. He's already out-polling Jon Huntsman! So what kind of environmental policy platform could we expect from a President Colbert?

Don’t believe the hype about the ‘molecule that could solve climate change’

Some chemists came up with a really clever way to observe the intermediate stage of an atmospheric chemical reaction, and then some PR flack got a hold of it and suddenly science has invented a brand-new molecule that will solve all our climate change woes! As usual, things that seem too good to be true probably are.

Congressional staffers will stop betting on wildfire destruction

We here at Grist mock a lot of people. But we don't always manage to mock some sense into them. Which is why we're pretty psyched about the response to Sarah Laskow's feature story revealing that congressional staffers were making deadly wildfires into a fun office pool: 

McKie Campbell, the [Senate Energy and Natural Resources] committee’s Republican staff director, said the contest has been stopped.

“It will never happen again,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “It was in no way indicative of disrespect for any of the folks who put their lives on the line to battle the fires.”

An easy shell: Sustainable oysters [VIDEO]

On the Rappahannock River off Virginia's Chesapeake Bay, one family business hopes to restore the waterway's ecosystem, one oyster at a time.