Latest Articles

Solar-powered ice cream truck unfolds like a Transformer

Shazam! Is it an Autobot, or an object lesson in the possibilities of distributed generation? We're grooving so hard to the soundtrack on this video that we can hardly tell. Unlike conventional ice cream trucks, which sit on the street loudly idling in order to run their refrigeration equipment, this one relies on the power […]

Drool-worthy homes from this year's Solar Decathlon, part 1 [VIDEO]

For those of you who won't have the opportunity to see these homes in person on the National Mall in Washington, DC from Sept. 23-Oct. 2, we've decided to gather up all the video walk-throughs of this year's entries in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon.

Can Japan get off nuclear by 2012 without wrecking its economy?

A new plan for a massive shift to renewables could move Japan away from nuclear permanently, even as it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs for the country's ailing economy.

New record low for arctic sea ice

Last week, sea ice coverage in the Arctic dropped to a new record low, according to data from the University of Bremen. It's the lowest since 1972, when we started observing sea ice via satellite, but it could well be the lowest in 8,000 years. And it's more than 10,000 square feet below the previous record, set in 2007.

Could 3D-printed foods make you healthier?

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a 3D printer that can fashion food out of raw ingredients. Potentially, they say, this could mean a new kind of fast food -- one that's just as fast, but made out of actual food. "We can make health food more fun, interesting, and appealing with this technology," said one of the scientists at the Cornell lab. "What kid wouldn't eat a space shuttle, even one made of peas?"

Odd sounds from the new editor's office

When I first hung out my shingle as a freelance writer, I tacked a postcard over my desk. It showed a picture of the earth from space against a black background and a quotation from the pioneering naturalist John Muir: "When we try to pick out something b

Ad claims tar-sands oil will save women

A group called Ethical Oil, the brainchild of neocon Alykhan Velshi, is running an ad touting Keystone XL as the savior of women in Saudi Arabia. Because suddenly conservatives care about women's rights.

Republicans risk $1 billion in revenue to squash a trickle of funding for biking and walking

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is threatening to hold up the passage of the transportation bill over a tiny portion of its funding, which (of course!) happens to be the portion dedicated to forms of transportation other than cars and highways. Streetsblog explains what's at stake here:

Sen. Coburn, and possibly other members of Congress, are declaring their willingness to throw the entire transportation industry, as well as commuters, under the bus while they quibble about the pennies spent on bike paths. According to the White House, if the bill is delayed just 10 days, the country would lose over $1 billion in transportation funding — “money we can never get back.”

Kiss your snorkeling trip goodbye: We're wiping out coral

Environmentalists are always looking for allies who can blast away treehugger stereotypes. They should consider reaching out to the community of anyone who's ever gone snorkeling in a coral reef. (You remember that part of your Cancun vacation, don't you? It happened sometime between the margaritas and the … margaritas.) According to a new book called Our Dying Planet, humanity is on track to wipe out all coral reefs. No more bright, awesome fish and crazy plants. Ever.

Meet Scott Rosenberg, Grist's new executive editor

We're excited that Scott Rosenberg is joining Grist. He's a co-founder of Salon.com, founder of MediaBugs.org, and pioneer in online community-building.