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Booming U.S. coal exports forebode a coal-fired 21st century

If you thought America didn't make anything anymore, you're wrong! We make disastrous, planet-killing levels of climate change. It's all a consequence of the record 100 million tons of coal we're going to export all over the world this year, much of it to Asia. Even as one out of 10 gigawatts of U.S. coal-fired […]

Critical List: The Mississippi River, unleashed; ‘The Dirty Dozen’ list under attack

The mighty Mississippi just can't be held down. This weekend, the Army Corps of Engineers opened four gates to the Morganza Spillway, which hasn't been used since 1973. Corps officials told residents: "Prepare for the worst. It's coming." President Obama said Saturday the administration would begin auctioning oil and gas leases in the Alaska National […]

The untimely death of a green-collar job trainee — and one graduate’s triumph

Family photo: Lawrence Albert “Jahon” Craig Gadlin with his partner, Latina Cash, and son, Jahon Jr.Lawrence Albert “Jahon” Craig Gadlin, a 23-year-old father in Richmond, Calif., was outside repairing a car with friends on May 13, 2010, when a red minivan drove past and fired dozens of bullets, killing him and two others. I sat […]

I hear my mother calling: A new documentary on women and population [VIDEO]

This is not your father’s population documentary. The new film “Mother: Caring Our Way Out of the Population Dilemma” takes a feminist/humanist view as it explores the issue of our exploding numbers. It’s now showing at a handful of film festivals and events. Here’s the trailer: The film features a number of the usual eco-suspects […]

Calling all artists: The climate movement needs you!

See related slideshowThroughout history, artists have joined forces with political movements to battle injustice and demand a better and more beautiful world. Picasso’s “Guernica” captured the horrors of the German bombing of civilians in 1937. “Solidarity Forever,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Give Peace a Chance” expressed the optimism and power of the labor, civil rights, […]

Oil Executive to Young People: 'As Long I Make Money, I Don't Care What Happens to You'

Cross-posted from Jack & Jill Politics Quick question: Do you think that tax subsidies for the “big five” oil companies — which earned $32 billion in profit during the first quarter of the year — are more important than the financial aid we give to low-income college students? My answer: Of course not. Investing in […]

Tom’s Kitchen: A recipe for simple, incendiary, and addictive ‘salsa macha’

Many people claim they don’t have time to cook fresh meals “from scratch.” In Tom’s Kitchen, Grist’s food editor discusses some of the quick and easy things he gets up to in … well, his kitchen. Salsa macha: my new obsession.Photo: Tom PhilpottCertain taquerias and street-food establishments in Mexico feature a fiery-hot, delicious condiment of […]

Friday music blogging: Beastie Boys

To Kids These Days, the Beastie Boys must seem like a fixed, eternal part of the pop culture universe, like a constellation that periodically comes in and out of view but you always know is out there somewhere. Which is weird for an old fart like me who remembers their first album, Licenced to Ill, […]

CoalCares responds to Peabody legal threat

As you probably know, the Yes Lab (home of the Yes Men) recently put up a site called CoalCares.com, a parody suggesting that coal company Peabody is interested in doing something about the health impacts of coal on children. (How dare they!) Peabody responded, predictably, by threatening a lawsuit. Here’s the letter the Yes Lab […]

Students Gear up to Protest Exxon Graduation Speech

As college students around the country are wrapping up their semesters, graduating seniors at Worcester Polytechnical Institute (WPI) find themselves in the midst of an ethical controversy. On Saturday, WPI’s commencement speaker is none other than oil baron Rex Tillerson, CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil, although perhaps you’re more familiar with his role as the […]