Latest Articles

Urban farms don’t make money — so what?

City Slicker Farms in West Oakland does more than just grow food for the local residents.(Bonnie Powell photo)Over on Earth Island Journal, Sena Christian has an excellent, rigorously reported article about the tough economics of urban farming. She focuses on some of the more famous city farms of the Bay Area, where EIJ is based […]

The Climate Post: Obama retrieves energy, climate debate from Gulf

First things first: Just as discussion of climate change and clean energy dipped below the oil-stained surface of the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama yesterday tried to reach in and offer Climate Policy Resuscitation. He delivered a broad address on the U.S. economy at Carnegie Mellon University, touring the financial crisis, health care reform, […]

Children’s books about saving rainforests actually destroy them

You’re killing me, kid.marko2marko via Flickr Creative Commons OK, parents. We know it’s tough raising kids, but as you read Junior a touching tale about sloths in the Amazon, you may be doing more razing than you think. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an environmental activist group, perused the pages of children’s books and found […]

Oil has spread into Florida waters open to fishing

Cross-posted from Wonk Room. With the headline “All Florida Waters Open to Fishing,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission claims the “state’s recreational and commercial fisheries have not been affected by the oil spill.” But a Wonk Room analysis finds that oil has spread into areas of the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast […]

Why Whole Foods’ shoppers are thin and Albertsons’ aren’t

A recent University of Washington study showed Seattle-area shoppers at Whole Foods are much less likely to be obese, on average, than shoppers at the less expensive chain Albertsons. I shrugged when I read this. From what I can tell, the study didn’t control for income: it’s well established that Whole Foods shoppers have higher […]

Being prepared — to grow your own meat

(Steph Larsen photos)Everyone knows the Boy Scouts’ motto: Be Prepared. While my immediate inclination is to ask “For what?”, it’s as good a command as any to live by.  One at which I failed miserably last week. I came home from work and went out to the sheep paddocks to make sure they looked healthy […]

BP’s bad romance with the Gulf [VIDEO]

If Obama were Lady Gaga and BP were … a sketchy love interest, then the Prez would be singing all about their bad romance: Via Derek Markham. ——————————————————————————————————————————————– Like what you see? Sign up to receive The Grist List, our email roundup of pun-usual green news just like this, sent out every Friday.

Is Wind Energy the Magic Bullet for our Energy Future? (Video)

Last year, the wind industry employed more workers than coal mining, according to a report released by the American Wind Energy Association. Wind energy jobs increased 70 percent to 85,000 in 2008, 4,000 more workers than are employed in coaling mining (based of Department of Energy figures). But is it the magic bullet that will […]

Prez pumps up the volume on climate-bill push

Pump, pump, pump it up. Photo: Mike Schmid via FlickrAt last, Obama brings the love:  The president’s public display of affection yesterday for Senate climate and energy legislation made sponsor John Kerry (D-Mass.) happy. And Obama’s gambit to frame a vote for the bill as a vote against Evil Big Oil may be the only […]

A ‘BP spill bill’ instead of a climate bill? [UPDATED]

Update below Will Democratic leaders try to merge climate legislation with politically popular get-tough-on-BP measures? This morning Politico hints as much: the strategy now will be to include climate provisions in a BP SPILL BILL tightening industry controls, on the theory the bill will be hard to oppose. No such bill exists yet; this is […]