Latest Articles
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Letter from prison: Tim DeChristopher speaks
From a prison in Utah, climate activist Tim DeChristopher speaks out with a handwritten letter to Grist extolling the power of words.
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Solar stunner: U.S. exports almost $2 billion of solar products
With all the talk about China's dominance in the solar sector, you might not think that the U.S. is a net exporter of solar products. But it is, to the tune of $1.8 billion.
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Climate change makes hurricanes like Irene more destructive
Instead of asking whether climate change causes disasters like Irene, we should be asking if it increases the damage toll (the answer is a resounding yes).
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Shining light on Obama’s tar sands pipeline decision
This week, President Obama will find hundreds more people in front of the White House – us included – willing to go to jail for peacefully protesting the President’s short-sighted decision to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. President Obama’s decision on this enormous fossil fuel project will not be a quiet deal with oil industry […]
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On the road for food justice
The Food and Freedom Ride is a 2,000-mile voyage from Birmingham, Ala., to Detroit, intended to spread awareness about food justice issues in the US
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Panda poop could revolutionize biofuels
One down side of biofuels like ethanol is that they rely on easily processed crops that are also staple foods. The more farm space is given over to raising corn, soybeans, and sugar for fuels, the less is available for raising those crops to feed humans. Luckily, scientists have just discovered microbes that could help turn waste plant matter like corn stalks and wood chips into fuel. All they needed was a little bit of panda poo.
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Biden doesn't support China's one-child policy, and neither does any other American with power
Gaffe-prone Joe Biden put foot firmly in mouth last week while talking about China's one-child policy. Top Republicans jumped all over his goof, but they were just grandstanding.
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Here's a quick roundup of the insane ways the right is reacting to Irene
If you thought Katrina represented the pinnacle of storm-related fail for right-wing politicians ... well, you're right. But that doesn't mean they don't really reach for the crazy when a lesser storm hits the East Coast. Current and former Republican presidential candidates and their little dog Fox were all whipped to great heights of lunacy by Irene's winds, and they busted out some grade-A artisanal tomfoolery over the weekend.
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Monsanto fail: GMO crops are losing their pest control powers
Monsanto crops bred to thwart western corn rootworms, which love eating corn roots, are no longer are doing their job. The rootworms developed a resistance to the natural pesticide the crops produced and are chowing down.
The alternatives for farmers: buy other genetically modified seeds (which will totally work forever!); spray nastier insecticides; abandon the economic model of monoculture and GMO crops. Guess which one's going to happen. Maybe which two out of three.
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How the smart grid of the future will prevent power outages for millions
Right now there are millions of people without power thanks to the wind and heavy rainfall that accompanied hurricane Irene, and I'm one of them. It sucks. Having to call the utility company just to let them know that they've failed me once again is a symptom of our antediluvian electricity distribution system.
Commonwealth Edison of Northern Illinois thinks so, too. Recently, they explained to the Daily Herald how a smart grid would have prevented outages for hundreds of thousands of their customers in the wake of recent July storms.
