Latest Articles

Hydrogen fuel cell cars are a dead end from a technological, practical, and climate perspective

Using fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen from zero-carbon sources such as renewable power or nuclear energy has a cost of avoided carbon dioxide of more than $600 a metric ton, which is more than a factor of ten higher than most other strategies being considered today…. So I wrote in a 2005 journal article, “The […]

“We will have a bill,” Pelosi vows — several House Republicans agree

“We will have a bill,” the California Democrat said in a brief interview today after her weekly press conference. So Greenwire (subs. req’d) reports this afternoon, for those who had any remaining doubts about whether the Waxman-Markey clean energy and climate bill would pass the House (see also Boucher predicts “I think we’ll do far […]

Waxman-Markey, meet House Ag Committee

House Ag Committee: Like a combine thundering through a field.By all accounts, Thursday’s House Ag Committee hearing on the Waxman-Markey climate-change legislation went as expected: angry men blustered and fulminated and generally vented spleen. (See the Wall Street Journal’s coverage here and here; Farm Policy blog’s summary; and here’s links to the testimony of the […]

Globesity: How climate change and obesity draw from the same roots

Photo illustration by Tom Twigg/GristYou’ve heard all the reasons before: We drive too much. We eat too much meat and processed food. We spend too much time with plugged-in devices—computers, TVs, air conditioners. But what problem are we talking about–climate change, or the worldwide rise in obesity? Both, according to Globesity: A Planet Out of […]

Joe Barton not interested in moral implications of climate change

On Tuesday, I attended a hearing of the House Energy & Commerce Committee on “Allowance Allocation Policies in Climate Legislation.” By and large, the testimony came from economists and executives from affected industries. But there was one exception: Rev. Dr. Maria Castellanos of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Castellanos was there to make a […]

Obama admin will scrutinize mountaintop mining, but not stop it

The Obama administration on Thursday announced new steps to reduce the environmental damage from mountaintop-removal (MTR) mining, a controversial and highly destructive practice used to extract coal from Appalachia. Activists from the region and the environmental community say that’s a nice first step, but they’re disappointed that the admin isn’t planning to rein the practice […]

Ditch ‘warming’ and start talking ‘deteriorating atmosphere,’ PR firm says

How to make an energy plan more appetizing.The non-profit PR shop ecoAmerica finally released the findings of its public opinion research today, bringing a trove of information about how on-the-fence Americans respond to different messages about climate change and energy. The firm conducted an impressive amount of research in February through March—focus groups, a phone […]

Bikers seeking good ride get naked, and more

Is that a banana seat or are you just happy to see me? The best part about World Naked Bike Day: No awkward spandex shorts. The worst part about World Naked Bike Day: No awkward spandex shorts. (Click below to see the next item in this week’s Grist List—or view them all on a single […]

The Climate Post: Insider baseball on Waxman-Markey, outsider baseball on Hawaiian solar power

For those mercifully far enough away not to know, the “Capital beltway” is a looping highway, Interstate 495, the way many metro Washington residents ride to work. “Inside the beltway” isn’t coincident with Washington, DC. It also connotes a mythical place unrestrained by geography, a state of mind where consequential details of legislation attract and […]

Mixed bag on mountaintop-removal mining decision from Obama sdministration

This post was co-written by Bruce Nilles and Mary Anne Hitt, director and deputy director, respectively, of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. Today the Obama Administration announced steps to end the fast-tracking of certain mountaintop removal coal mine permits and add tougher enforcement in Appalachia, important steps that — with additional actions — could […]