Latest Articles

My whiz-bang light rail is your pain in the asphalt

Seattle light rail. Photo courtesy LeeLeFever via Flickr One train, two views: Getting to the airport from Seattle’s north side — its wealthier, whiter half — on public transit first involves a bus ride downtown. From there, as of two months ago, you can take a new light-rail line, instead of another bus, to Sea-Tac […]

Watch Yes Men stick it to Archer Daniels Midland

Davos Annual Meeting 2010 – ADM CEO Patricia Woertz from World Economic Forum on Vimeo The Yes Men, in their infinite genius, managed to get this on to the World Economic Forum site. Sigh. I heart the Yes Men.

Midnight regulations

In the months leading up to President Obama’s inauguration, the Bush administration rushed through a raft of controversial regulations. These “midnight regulations,” like the one that would allow mining waste to be dumped into rivers and streams in West Virginia, caused a major stir at the time — but whatever happened to them? After a […]

How much will nuclear cost U.S. citizens?

Percent by which President Obama’s latest budget proposal would increase taxpayer-backed loan guarantees to build new nuclear reactors: 300 Amount the Department of Energy under President Bush originally proposed spending on loan guarantees for nuclear reactors: $18.5 billion Amount the Obama administration is now proposing to spend: $54 billion Number of new reactors that Energy […]

EPA capitulates on ethanol, hearts clean coal

Expect to see a lot more of this kind of thing. The press release could have come straight out of the utterly disgraced Bush EPA–and if it had, I can well imagine the howls of outrage it would have provoked, because I would have joined the chorus. Its headline read as follows: “Obama Announces Steps […]

What’s for breakfast at school today? 13 teaspoons of sugar

Yesterday I stopped by the cafeteria at my daughter’s school here in the District of Columbia — H.D. Cooke Elementary — and this is what many of the kids were having for breakfast: A package of sugar-glazed cookies called Kellogg’s Crunchmania Cinnamon buns; chocolate- or strawberry-flavored milk; grape juice. A 1.76-ounce packet of Crunchmania contains […]

Welcome Grist Friends with Benefits

Thanks for becoming Grist’s Friend with Benefits. Umbra Fisk would like to issue you a warm welcome.

California net metering battle, v2

The California legislature is considering whether to lift caps on net metering, a key policy that allows solar system owners to get full credit for generating solar electricity. As legislators consider this policy choice, they may want to look into how solar benefits California’s public schools–who are getting into the solar business in a big […]

Sen. Lindsey Graham on the importance of passing climate legislation

Transcript of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) remarks today at the “Business Advocacy Day for Jobs, Climate & New Energy Leadership” in Washington D.C. Thanks y’all. Thank you. Hey everybody. It’s always good to be introduced by someone that can vote for you — just sounds better. Joe comes to every event I’ve ever had in […]

Freeway in LA…for bikes?

Advocates in famously car-centric Los Angeles are advocating for a new freeway system.  For bikes. The weather is great, the streets are gridlocked, and the city is flat-ish.  No brainer.