Latest Articles

World Wildlife Fund gets in bed with McDonald’s, gives birth to darling sustainability program

McDonald’s is going to be less bad for the future of life on Earth, it promises. With the help of the World Wildlife Fund, the 32,000-store chain has pledged to do the following to improve its sourcing of raw materials: Ban beef that comes from within the “Amazon Biome,” aka Brazil’s rainforest. No more soy […]

Congressional asshats get the old, white parody they deserve

Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” has never felt fresher than in this stirring rendition from our friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council. But that’s sort of damning it with faint praise. Upton BillYou know Fred Upton’s Bill will make you ill I thought he’d never be a smokestack guyBut now he hates clean air I […]

Global Heating Causes Earthquakes

Number of earthquakes worldwide in 1990: 16,590—-number in 2008: 31,777                        -U.S. Geological Society National Earthquake Information   I have to say that when I first started hearing about this possible connection a couple of years ago, I was kind of a skeptic. Part of me reacted, “Hey, we’re already contending with head-in-the-sand people—like the […]

Lesson from Japan: We don’t need nuclear power to solve the climate crisis

Anyone watching the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan can see: The human and ecological costs of nuclear power far outweigh those of any renewable energy.Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0. On March 14, an editorial in The New York Times stated, “This page has endorsed nuclear power as one tool to head off global warming. We […]

Instead of putting the brakes on nuclear plants, should we be building safer ones?

In the wake of a massive quake and a tragic, deadly tsunami, Japan is also dealing with a nuclear catastrophe. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has said that this should inspire us to “put the brakes on” nuclear development until further notice, and China and Germany are shutting down development and existing reactors. But what about […]

Al Gore hasn’t written his new book and people already hate it

Al Gore is penning a new book about “the political, social and economic forces that are shaping what America and the world will become in ensuing decade.” It sounds exactly like Fareed Zakaria’s The Post American World. Even though his book has yet to be written, people with exclusive access to the inside of the […]

On Rand Paul, toilets, and getting pottymouthed in the New York Times

Coming soon to a senator’s house near you?When The New York Times wants really thoughtful, meaty commentary on issues like climate legislation, green technology, or local food systems, it turns to Grist writers David Roberts and Tom Philpott. When it wants toilet talk, it turns to … me. At least, that’s what happened this past […]

Think tainted Chinese pork is scary? Check out the nearest supermarket meat case

Now, what dodgy stuff did Philpott say was on this? In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat and livestock industries. ——— Over in China, the nation’s burgeoning pork industry has been been busted for churning out meat tainted with an illegal and quite dodgy growth-enhancing chemical, The Washington Post reports. […]

They have sex — and they need Planned Parenthood [VIDEO]

College students tell it straight about the need for Planned Parenthood: Choice bits from the video: We want to stay educated and safe and plan for our own futures.Planned Parenthood costs $75 million.Tax breaks for oil companies cost $2.5 BILLION.…Cut corporate welfare.Cut corporate entitlements.Save Planned Parenthood. They’re right that the federal government allocates $75 million […]

Sorry, but the U.S. isn’t about to wean itself off of nuclear

The reality is, the United States doesn’t have the option to walk away from nuclear power, which supplies almost 9% of the nation’s energy and about 20% of its electricity. […] Nuclear energy’s drawbacks are glaring at the moment, but it’s worth remembering that no major source of energy the United States is using comes […]