Latest Articles
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Why eaters alone can’t transform the food system
Farmer Morse Pitts’ stall at the Greenmarket.(Windfall Farm blog)In the cover piece of the newest American Prospect, Heather Rogers skillfully makes a point I’ve been flogging for years: that public policy, not consumer choice, is the villain propping up the industrial food system and constraining the growth of organic farming. Rogers, author of the new […]
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Remember when Republicans liked cap-and-trade?
It wasn’t so long ago that a number of Republican senators actually thought happy thoughts about cap-and-trade or carbon pricing — before they got on board with the official GOP talking points and started referring to any climate policy as a “job-killing national energy tax.” We were just kidding: Let’s have a flashback moment with […]
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Saving a community garden in D.C.
I never thought I’d be involved in a fight to save a city park, but here I am. The Marines are progressing with plans to move and expand their facility in Washington, D.C. They are looking at one option of taking over Virginia Avenue Park where I happen to participate in a community garden. A […]
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Clean energy: It’s not about the technology
Suppose two factories produce and sell identical widgets at $1 each. Now, suppose a law is passed to provide one of those factories with $9 of additional revenue per widget. Clearly, this is law will distort markets. The $10 widget manufacturer will attract more investors and it will lobby hard to preserve that law. Meanwhile, […]
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Live chat with Tom Philpott and Jonathan Hiskes
Editor’s note: The chat’s now over, but you can replay it in full. Yo Grist faithful, Food Editor Tom Philpott and Staff Writer Jonathan Hiskes are joining forces for a live chat about where the Gulf oil spill is creeping — politically and ecologically — and how it connects to the clean-energy future. Join us […]
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The Population-Poverty Connection
The 21st century began on an inspiring note: The United Nations set a goal of reducing the share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty by half by 2015. By early 2007, the world looked to be on track to meet this goal, but as the economic crisis unfolds and the outlook darkens, the […]
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A Salon debate on cap-and-trade and energy politics: day two
Last week, I took part in a debate at Salon.com on the merits of pricing carbon (and related matters). My debate opponent was Steve Everley, manager of policy research at American Solutions and a contributing author to To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine, by Newt Gingrich. Salon has graciously agreed to let us republish […]
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U.S. should follow Europe and put the brakes on nanotech food and other products
Nanoparticles are already used in many sunscreens.(Photo: Alex Parlini, Proj. on Emerging Nanotechnologies)One month ago, the Committee on Environment, Health and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament voted in favor of excluding nanotechnology from the EU list of novel foods allowed on the market. This committee vote represents one of the first times ever that […]
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A Bipartisan Strategy for Energy Leadership
By Teryn Norris & Clifton Yin When President Obama and key Senate leaders meet today to reach a compromise on energy and climate legislation, they should strongly consider increasing federal investment in clean energy technology to at least $15 billion annually. This is a comprehensive third-way strategy to improve U.S. energy independence, economic competitiveness, and […]
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The new American can’t-do spirit
Can we change our ways? Ditch the cars and move towards a greener approach to transportation.Photo courtesy of leelefever via flickr Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0. Americans have always been known to have a “can-do” spirit. During the 1930s, the Roosevelt administration tried out many different programs to confront the Great Depression and to spread […]
