Latest Articles

The case for super-ambitious Living Buildings. A talk with Jason McLennan

Seattle architect Jason McLennan created the Living Building Challenge, a standard far more demanding than the widely used LEED standard. Here's why.

Teens label Abercrombie and Fitch's constant stink 'air pollution'

By maintaining a constant level of cologne sprayed both inside and outside their stores, Abercrombie and Fitch gives everyone the chance to be the prince of a town called Smell-Air.

Potentially habitable planet discovered. Climate backup plan complete

This means we've got our backup plan, and there's no need any more to deal with this thorny global warming problem.

Urban revitalization via art contest in Grand Rapids, Mich.

My interest in the ArtPrize contest underway in Grand Rapids, Mich., stems from this line from Gene Duvernoy: "Cities are what's going to get us out of this mess ... and what makes cities livable is art."

McCain has become a climate conspiracy theorist

John McCain, once a champion of strong action to fight global warming, joined the rest of the Republican Senate caucus in questioning climate science.

A chat with Earl Blumenauer about livable communities and right-wing paranoia

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) spoke with Grist about livability, paranoia, and spreading the success of Portland.

Obama: We may need to solve climate change in 'chunks'

Obama told Rolling Stone we may have to solve climate change in chunks. Done with resolve, this has the potential to surpass a comprehensive climate bill

WIC Recipients Should Have Access to Organic

It is a truth of modern day grocery shopping that a bag of apples costs more than a bag of chips. Unfortunately, the cost disparity between healthy and unhealthy foods is a driving force behind what goes into shopping carts – a sad reality for millions of Americans who struggle to afford healthy food. National […]

Transgenic crops' built-in pesticide found to be contaminating waterways

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have shown that the Bt toxin in genetically engineered crops is polluting waterways in Indiana.

Want Dinner with Leonardo DiCaprio and George Soros?

In New York last week for the Clinton Global Initiative and United Nations Week, I attended a small dinner party late one night that featured film star Leonardo DiCaprio, billionaire philanthropist/investor George Soros, the President of the central African nation of Gabon and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG), among others. What brought […]