Latest Articles

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 […]

Brainstorming Blue Not Green

Entering a green event run by Fortune Magazine in Orange County sets the stage for a few things – an audience of senior executives and government policymakers as well as a myriad of engaging debates and panels that spark ideas.  After three days at Fortune Brainstorm Green last month in Laguna Niguel, I noticed that […]

Ohio Coal Plant Linked to $30m in Annual Economic Damage

This post was co-written by Nachy Kanfer, Associate Field Organizer for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Ohio. We regularly dispute Big Coal when they say coal is not bad for the environment – now we have another example of how this dirty, outdated power source is costing jobs and damaging the economy in […]

In new ad, BP’s Tony Hayward thanks U.S. for ‘strong support’

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. The foreign oil giant BP has launched a new series of advertisements to contain the damage to its reputation and stock price from its uncontrolled disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. In a television advertisement that aired nationally this morning, BP CEO Tony Hayward promotes how his corporation is running […]