Latest Articles

Energy prices haven’t budged in 50 years — but oil is crazy expensive

Americans pay about the same as they did in 1960 for most forms of energy, says this infographic produced by the home energy audit folks at WellHome. Except for oil, which is now on average even more crazy-expensive than it was during the oil crisis of the 1970's, when people were ready to bash each […]

No more Javan rhinos in Vietnam

The Javan rhinoceros, an endangered species, no longer exists in Vietnam: poachers killed the last one and took its horn, according to the World Wildlife Fund. That rhinoceros was killed last April and since then there have been no signs (viewings, scat, etc.) of any others remaining in the Cat Tien National Park where they […]

Carbon-eating paint could clean air and strengthen buildings

Okay, now this one really sounds fake: Scientists are working on a carbon-eating paint, which would be capable of turning emissions into limestone. In other words, it would let buildings eat carbon and then use that fuel to grow, like a living thing. The secret is synthetic chemicals that behave like microorganisms. Their creator calls […]

Mark Ruffalo at Occupy Wall Street

Our favorite indie darling/anti-fracking activist was down at Occupy Wall Street last week, looking extremely handsome and encouraging people to join up with Tar Sands Action's planned protest at the White House next month. We like the "mic check" thing, where speakers at OWS use the surrounding crowd as a human amplifier — it keeps […]

Critical List: Climate change officially caused an extreme weather event; climate denier smackdown

Climate change caused the Russian heat wave, according to statistics and science (if you believe that sort of thing). Nebraska could reroute the Keystone XL pipeline. Eugene Robinson smacks down climate deniers. Money quote: "It is the know-nothing politicians — not scientists — who are committing an unforgivable fraud." This German transportation system is a […]

Scare trade: Halloween candy you can feel good about

Photo: Nina HaleFor most of us, Halloween has a strong association with candy. When you’re little, you get to dress up and run around your neighborhood collecting it for free. When you’re a bit older, you get to dress up, get drunk, and buy it steeply discounted on Nov. 1. And when you’re a parent, […]

True confessions of a bicycle scofflaw

Photo: mad driversOkay, confession time: I’m one of “those” cyclists. You know, the ones who are giving us all a bad name, the ones who think we’re above the law, who regularly pass through stop signs without stopping — even without slowing down very much. I even ran a red light or two in my […]

Obama administration hires former TransCanada lobbyist

Apparently the Obama administration has given up on even pretending it can make an unbiased decision on Keystone XL. After hiring a TransCanada-affiliated firm to do the environmental assessment for the pipeline — a move so corrupt that even Congresspeople noticed — the administration has now taken on a former TransCanada lobbyist as a senior […]

China pours money into smart grid technology

Cross-posted from Center for American Progress. There is no way to get around this fact — China aims to modernize its energy infrastructure at home and dominate clean energy technology markets abroad. At the 2011 Smart Grid World Forum in Beijing late last month, China’s State Grid Corporation announced plans to invest $250 billion in […]

Happy warrior: Fighting coal where it’s hardest

Grist is proud to present the Change Gang — profiles of people who are leading change on the ground toward a more sustainable society and a greener planet. Some we’ve written about before; some are new to our pages. Some you’ll have heard of; most you probably won’t. Know someone we should add to the […]