Latest Articles

Your TV is an even bigger piggy than you are

There are two grand traditions to observe on Thanksgiving: eating a whole bunch and watching a whole bunch of football on TV. And in terms of energy use, it turns out your TV is much more of glutton than you are. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance has been working to sell consumers on energy-efficient TVs […]

Google drops renewable energy program

Google announced yesterday that it's trashing its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal program, or or RE<C, as part of its "spring cleaning." (Ugh, Californians. It is nothing like spring right now.) This move puts RE<C in the same category as Google Wave, which was useless from the first moment it existed and was also offed […]

‘Mountain tsunamis’ are a thing; threaten Himalayas

The kingdom of Bhutan, famous for maximizing "Gross National Happiness" rather than GDP, is sitting under a gigantic time bomb of water that could burst at any moment, flooding its villages and putting a major damper on all that good cheer. Bhutan has 2,674 glacial lakes, 24 of which are considered unstable. When the ice […]

‘Lost’ caribou herd was behind the couch the whole time

The Beverly herd of caribou, 276,000 strong, had apparently vanished off the face of the planet last time scientists surveyed the tundra. Turns out, they just moved. There aren't quite as many of them as there were, but the herd is safe and sound a bit further north and closer to the coast. And now […]

Turning vacant lots into parks reduces violent crime

A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology analyzes a 10-year project in Philadelphia to turn abandoned lots into public parks. As it turns out, the project hasn’t just eliminated eyesores — it’s also reduced crime. Gun-related assaults, vandalism ,and criminal mischief all dropped off significantly in the reclaimed spaces. The researchers theorize […]

Critical List: Turkeys to be pardoned; Bill O’Reilly can totally get solar if he wants it

President Obama will pardon two 19-week, 45-pound turkeys from Minnesota today. Their names are Liberty and Peace. It is possible to have Thanksgiving without turkey or turkey-shaped soy loaf. Here are a few ideas for what to serve instead. We're sacrificing holiday time to commercialism for no reason. Longer Black Friday sales don't increase stores’ […]

Turkeyless interlude [VIDEO]

Turkey gets a lot of airtime this week. There a million recipes to brine, baste, smoke, and stuff the bird as well as a plethora of ways to make mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato pie. So I decided to do a little twist on our traditional Thanksgiving meal and take a “road less […]

Occupy Black Friday

Image: Occupy RenoThis Thursday night, while many families are still wrapping up Thanksgiving leftovers, the annual Black Friday shopping frenzy will begin, with 74 million people expected to head to stores over the weekend. But Friday also marks the 20th anniversary of Buy Nothing Day, an alternative celebration that invites us to “wean ourselves off […]

Smacked down: How police action is feeding the Occupy movement

Photo: Jessica LehrmanOn Oct. 11, 2011, I asked the mayor of Baltimore to sleep with me. I challenged her to spend one night outside in front of City Hall in solidarity with Baltimore’s 4,000 homeless residents. It was a long shot, I knew. My good intentions notwithstanding, she would likely decline. But even I was […]

Help pick the top green and Gristy stories of 2011

Last year, we had the death of the climate bill in Congress, the rollout of electric cars to the American masses, and, of course, the BP gusher in the Gulf. And this year? Tell us what you think have been the big stories of 2011 — propelling us toward a greener future, getting in the […]