Latest Articles

Two Beltway blind spots

I finally got around to reading Peter Baker's big New York Times Magazine piece, "Education of a President." It's about where the Obama administration stands, and how it sees itself, two years in. Baker covers the cross-currents fairly well, but he shares a couple of the Beltway's common blind spots, which happen to be obsessions of mine.

The politics of palm oil

Revlon’s eyeliners. Nabisco’s Oreo cookies. Caress’ Tahitian Renewal Silkening Exfoliating Pomegranate Seeds & Tahitian Palm Oil Body Wash. These are a few of the hundreds of everyday products containing palm oil — products that Walmart announced last week it would soon require to prove used only sustainably sourced palm oil. Meanwhile, the World Bank stopped […]

James Cameron, Gordon Moore take on Prop 23

James Cameron and other celebrity donors helped the No on 23 campaign amass a $25.8 million war chest to defeat California's Proposition 23.

Author Carol Deppe on growing 'lots of delicious food for the least possible work'

In her new book The Resilient Gardener, Carol Deppe shows how global climate change impacts your backyard veggie patch. Here, she tells Grist about why gardeners should forget the "perfect" garden and start cultivating resilience along with good grub.

'The car is a kind of shield that deflects empathy'

The new photo series "Lee Friedlander: America by Car" shows how our mode of transportation shapes our experience of the world.

Memo to KFC: Using butts to sell breasts isn't new — just a new low

Why KFC's new Double Down marketing campaign is doubly gross.

What should we call people who care about climate change and clean energy?

This may not be the most important thing in the world, but it drives me crazy: What do you call people who care about climate change and clean energy (PCCCCE)? (No, not an "environmentalist.")

Brookings embraces AEI’s climate head fake

A new report from Brookings and the American Enterprise Institute called "Post-Partisan power" is an oxymoronic, dishonest distraction.

In Illinois, rail passengers stand up for trains [VIDEO]

Trains. People love them. And these riders want the government to know it.

IBM’s OneCity urban fix-it game

IBM is hyping its new flash video game, OneCity, which is sort of a hybrid between SimCity and a well-produced commercial.