Latest Articles

Smart cities are (un)paving the way for urban farmers and locavores

Across the U.S., cities are buckling up their green belts and introducing legislation to foster local-food production of everything from cucumbers to yellow limes, reports Kerry Trueman for Grist's Feeding the City series. Because nobody wants to get caught with their pantry down?

Ask Umbra on healthy soil for urban and suburban farmers and gardeners

A reader wants to know if urban dirt is safe for growing food. Is there lead in that urban farm salad? Umbra investigates and gives some savvy tips.

D.C.’s first-ever state fair a hit — and so are my zucchini

Can a state that's not a state have a state fair? For too long, the nation's capital has been denied deep-fried Twinkies, Ferris wheels, and pie-eating contests.

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins: Five Years After Katrina, the Gulf Is Showing All of Us the Way Forward

As August draws to a close, we face a somber, sobering anniversary. Five years ago, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The storm — and the horrifying ineptitude of the relief efforts before, during, and after — left the region devastated. Most of those who died or […]

The Jersey Shore's Snooki and her five eco-snafus

Jersey Shore's Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is one of pop culture's biggest names right now. But will this orange star ever be green?

California's smart meter fears

No one said changing our century-old power system into a digital smart grid was easy. But Californias already bogged down in a fight over smart meters

Friday book review

Perhaps you are going on one last vacation before the end of summer (if so, you are not from San Francisco, where summer never even started) and are thinking of a beach book.  May I make a suggestion?  If you havent read the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, or its siblings, don’t.  I realize that […]

Toxic Coal Ash Threatens At Least 137 Sites In 34 States

  A new study by three top environmental groups reveals another 39 coal ash threats in 21 states, bringing the total number of known coal ash threats to 137 in 34 states.   The report by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, and the Sierra Club details the newly identified slurry ponds and impoundments filled with toxic coal ash […]

They Might Be Giants riding in electric cars [VIDEO]

As a general -- and generally very reliable -- rule, songs about green issues suck. Which makes it that much more refreshing to find this fun and catchy anthem about electric vehicles from the band They Might Be Giants. Won't you take this song for a ride?

Grist deputy food editor lands insightful op-ed on salmonella scare

Why does Europe have fewer food scares than we do? Grist deputy food editor Bonnie Powell lays it out in a Reuters op-ed.