Latest Articles

Ask Umbra: Are cell phones safe to use?

A cell phone user writes in to ask about the potential health impacts of using the device. This is no LOL’ing matter! Umbra makes a call on ways to use your mobile phone more safely. If you use a cell phone, read this.

Disarming the Food to Fuel Conflict

Corncob Bob (left) and Bob Dinneen, CEO of the RFA. Crossposted from the Biodiversivist blog In this post I am going to critique an article titled: Disarming the Food to Fuel Conflict …which was written by someone who did not seem to be aware that his main source of information, the Renewable Fuels Association, is […]

Tom Philpott on KCRW's 'Good Food' radio show

Grist's senior food and agriculture writer will discuss what's happening with tomato harvesters in Immokalee, Fla., and more.

Teens say: Please give us decent sex ed! [VIDEO]

Why is the teen birthrate in the U.S. so high? Sex ed in many schools sucks. Some teens got so fed up that they made a film about the need for real sex education.

Friday music blogging: Dan Reeder

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know about Dan Reeder until a week or two ago. His debut -- which he made at home, with homemade instruments in a homemade studio, and mailed to John Prine, who liked it enough to give him a two-record deal -- came out in 2004 and was reviewed favorably on NPR. His third record, This New Century, came out in February of last year. It's a gem.

Is it politically realistic to eliminate energy subsidies?

Previously I wrote about the policy question of "getting rid of all energy subsidies." But what about the politics? Could it actually happen?

House GOP drops word 'organic' from committee charged with oversight

New GOP leaders of the House Agriculture Committee are dropping the word "organic" from the name of the subcommittee charged with oversight of the national program. Not a good sign.

Here's one way to prevent local wind-farm fights

Wisconsin has new statewide siting standards for small wind farms, potentially eliminating messy fights over city- and county-level regulation.

Björk protests energy deal with karaoke marathon [VIDEO]

Bj?rk is staging a three-day karaoke marathon -- but not for fun, y'all. It's a protest against a sell-off of Iceland's natural resources. (Oh snarf!)

Do I need a gun to be a farmer?

There are a lot of predators around here, so it's not surprising my neighbor asked if we planned to buy a firearm to protect our farm. But I'd rather rely on my beau and Arrow, our shepherd.