Latest Articles

Climate bill might get a vote this week after all

The American Clean Energy and Security Act might get a vote in the House this week after all. The House Committee on Rules posted the bill on its website late Monday — with 255 additional pages, bringing the total page count to 1201. The bill’s prospects for going to a floor vote this week looked […]

Goodbye to Cancer Valley: In remembrance of my friend John Soley

John SoleyAfter a long struggle with cancer, my friend Mr. John Soley died at his home in Carbon County, Pa. on Saturday, June 20. He was only 62, which is too young to die of natural causes. But then, neither John nor I believe he got sick from natural causes. We believe he and many […]

Big Ag aims its pitchfork at historic climate legislation

Photo illustration by Tom Twigg / GristLike a tractor inching through a wet field, the Waxman-Markey climate legislation slowed to a crawl last week, on the verge of getting stuck. The bill’s authors still have to deal with plenty of mud, but it’s now looking like they will get a vote by Friday of this […]

White House refuses to disclose information on meetings with coal executives

Is the White House taking a page from Dick Cheney’s playbook by refusing to disclose who’s visiting the West Wing to lobby on energy and climate issues? Much like the preceding administration, Team Obama is fighting to keep White House visitor logs secret. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonpartisan watchdog group, […]

Anthology features Americans’ personal stories of global warming

Union of Concerned Scientists“I knew climate change had no boundaries,” writes Michelle Nijhuis, prominent science writer and Grist contributor, in Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming, “even so, I didn’t expect to see its effects on the shores of Walden Pond.” In what proves to be an appropriate opening to Thoreau’s Legacy, a new […]

Coal is the enemy of West Virginia

I wrote a slightly snotty post about West Virginia recently, in response to Gov. Joe Manchin making coal the state rock. The point was that dependence on coal has produced more misery than benefit for West Virginians — nothing to celebrate. As it happens, at a recent event I had the opportunity to ask Manchin […]

What will the U.S. and other major economies commit to?

I am outside of Mexico City with delegates from the world’s 17 biggest economies who are meeting this week ahead of the next G8 meeting to further negotiate international climate agreements. Issues on the table include funding for forest protection, mid-term and long-term emission reduction targets, and financing for adaption and mitigation. The outcomes from […]

Three-acre organic farm appears in the middle of New York Harbor

Could. Not. Resist. From NYT’s City Room Blog: The sustainable garden with the most exclusive real estate in Washington is no doubt the one at the White House. The sustainable farm with the most exclusive view in New York City is the one that opened on Governors Island last week. Oh. Yeah. Governors Island is […]

Climate activists to descend on House cafeteria on Tuesday

A side of flashmob with your lunch? An unnamed group of climate activists is planning to descend on one of the larger Capitol Hill cafeterias on Tuesday to call for strengthening the American Clean Energy and Security Act. They’re using Craigslist to gather supporters. Here’s the ad: Dear DC-ite. Your presence is requested on Tuesday, […]

Food safety in the 21st century

Just when America thought it was safe to go back into the grocery store, another food outbreak wakes us up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong with its food safety system. This time it’s Nestle Toll House cookie dough with E.coli, a treat that nearly every kid in America reaches for a […]