Latest Articles

Corn-based meat and ethanol: burning the planet to a crisp

Corn harvest in Iowa. Would you like that in your Big Mac, your gas tank, or both?Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS. What do industrially produced meat and corn-based ethanol have in common? Well, they both thrive on the assumption that it’s good idea to devote vast swaths of land to an incredibly resource-intensive crop–corn–and then […]

2-way connections between electric cars and grid have amazing potential that needs no exaggeration

One of the many tasks of running an electric utility is maintaining operating reserves and spinning reserves to handle seasonal peaks, and occasional generation failures. Between peak demand that only occurs a few times a year, and the occasional shutdown for routine maintenance and response maintenance, utilities have to keep operating reserves — backup equipment […]

How the green economy can help low income women

This past week Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress released a seminal report on the emergence of women as primary wage earners for millions of families. The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything, marks a promising step forward in the evolution of a society that for too long has failed to adjust […]

New interactive map shows devastating effects of global temperature rise

No need to waste your money on the new apocalyptic thrillers coming soon to theaters. A new world map released Thursday by the British government, and unveiled at the Science Museum in London, provides plenty of real life doom and gloom — and it’s free! The slick and colorful interactive graphic shows what a 4 […]

Student solar homes shining light toward the future

The public tours the international U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, featuring energy-efficient, solar-powered houses built by 20 university teams from North American and Europe, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13.Photo: Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar DecathlonI wanted to congratulate all the students who competed in the Solar Decathlon on […]

Confusion in the Senate regarding allowance allocation

According to an October 22nd  story in Environment & Energy Daily (“Climate:  GOP Fence Sitters Voice Concerns Over Allocations” by Darren Samuelson), several key swing-vote Senate Republicans — including Senator Lisa Murkowski, ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee — are voicing skepticism about the Senate’s Boxer-Kerry climate bill’s cap-and-trade system because of […]

Climate-news poem: Protest edition

The International Day of Climate Action spearheaded by 350.org has already kicked off, and will involve more than 4,800 events in 171 countries. Find one near you — and then tell Grist about your big time! Sometimes it can be quite expedient To act all quiet and obedient. But now’s the time, across the land:Get […]

Find an action. Shout 350. Tell us about it!

Will getting to 350 ppm be the great barrier to saving the Great Barrier Reef? Poppy and Jarrah via 350.org Flickr Creative CommonsIn parts of the world, today is already the first-ever International Day of Climate Action in places like New Zealand, but it’s not too late for millions of you to find the biggest, […]

Obama energy speech contained few policy specifics, but shaped forward-looking narrative

Obama speaking on clean energy in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium. Photo: Dominick ReuterObama delivered a speech on energy at MIT on Friday, marking the kick-off for what is likely to be a protracted effort by the administration and Democrats in the Senate to pass the Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill. Those hoping for policy substance or firm […]

No wonder public and media seem uniformed

UPDATE:  Yes, bad coverage by big media, including the NYT’s Revkin, is one reason there has been a modest decline since April 2008 in the number of Americans who know that there is solid (in fact, overwhelming) evidence the Earth is warming and humans are the primary cause (see here).  Big media “did” the global […]