Latest Articles

1Sky looks to Twitter for climate movement’s next rallying cry

Here at Grist we’re fans of (at least) two things: Climate action A snappy call to get people’s bums off the couch to make that happen Lucky for us, our buddies at 1Sky are working to bring about these two things with their 1Climate, 1Tweet contest. It’s a campaign to purge Twitter of annoying climate […]

Report finds massive hidden energy costs, mostly from coal

A new report from the National Research Council on the “hidden costs of energy” is, frankly, stunning.  In a sane world, it would be headline news. Producing and using energy imposes all sorts of costs on public health, crop yields, ecosystems, recreation, educational performance … the list goes on. Many of these costs don’t end […]

CAFOs: ‘Above the Law’ like Steven Seagal?

You looking at me, punk? Okay, okay. I’ve got a good one for you. Ready? Q: Why are CAFOs just like B-movie action “star” Steven Seagal? A: Because despite being Under Siege, Marked for Death and On Deadly Ground, they remain Hard to Kill and, even worse, Above the Law. The ultimate example of this has […]

James Bond calls for more marine protected areas

There was unfortunate news from PEER recently that the Obamans/NOAA Chief Jane Lubchenco have no plans to consider new marine protected areas. She cited lack of funds as the reason. Hum. In an era where oceans are under so much pressure, we need to prioritize efforts proven to bring life back to the seas, like […]

Day of Climate Action shows power of web organizing. Join us!

Bill McKibben and Chip Giller want you to get pumped up for the International Day of Climate Action.   When Grist was launched 10 years ago, a key idea behind it was that the web could be used to spread the news about what’s really happening across the planet. Turned out to be true. Now […]

Will EPA veto or regulate the plunder of Appalachia?

Big News: In a historic move, Lisa Jackson’s EPA threw down the gauntlet on mountaintop removal mining last Friday — after they had just compromised on another massively destructive mountaintop removal operation. Is this the beginning of the end of the plunder of Appalachia — or is the EPA moving sideways to regulate what its […]

Chamber plays the fool in Yes Men hoax

Another brilliant stunt from the Yes Men: the New York pranksters sent out a fake press release this morning, pretending to be from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is reversing its opposition to the clean energy bill in Congress. It’s had a change of heart. It’s now taking climate change seriously, the press […]

Coalfield uprising leads to arrests at W.Va. gov’s office

Lorelei Scarbro speaking with Gov. Joe ManchinPhoto: Chris EichlerAs a supportive crowd sang, “This land is your land, this land is my land,” seven peaceful sit-in activists were arrested in Governor Joe Manchin’s office at the West Virginia state capitol at 5 p.m. this afternoon, as part of the growing national coalfield uprising to stop […]

A little heresy on transmission

The last thing renewable energy needs right now are new transmission lines. This statement is heresy in the green community, but there’s a danger that the increasing focus of green energy advocates on a new nationwide transmission superhighway may undermine the pursuit of near-term renewable energy goals. People are excited by renewable energy.  It’s clean.  […]

So what if global warming is a hoax?

Maybe they’re right. Maybe the rightwing crazies have a point. Maybe global warming has all been part of vast leftwing conspiracy to stop us from funding terrorist states to the tune of $1 trillion a year through our oil imports; maybe the real agenda of the socialists is to reduce our use of coal, since […]