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NYT weighs in on Vilsack pick

Again, I’m heartened to see media attention alight on the USDA, which until not long ago interested big-ag lobbyists, large-scale grain and cotton farmers, anti-hunger activists, and few others. The latest evidence: The New York Times editorial page has seen fit to comment on Obama’s choice of Tom Vilsack as USDA chief. "The department he […]

Mysteries of on-bill financing revealed!

In my last post, I described a nonprofit bank’s program for financing building energy retrofits, as a way to speed the green-collar recovery. Here, I describe two new, innovative approaches to financing efficiency upgrades in buildings — meter loans and local improvement districts — and one old-school, utility-run approach that may be the best bet […]

A tool for the green-collar recovery

In “Retrofits for All,” I described an ingenious plan for extending retrofits to whole neighborhoods of energy-wasting buildings. Today, I want to take another look at one piece of that puzzle: financing. Energy conservation loans sound eminently reasonable: The loans pay for energy upgrades and, as long as the energy savings are bigger than the […]

Friday music blogging: Stephen Colbert

In an age of commodified holidays, only irony can protect that small core of genuine feeling from the depredations of a culture that seeks at every turn to exploit it. Holiday spirit is only possible through irony. With that, I give you “Another Christmas Song” from Stephen Colbert’s excellent Christmas Special:

If the automakers won’t, the city leaders will

Introducing the Detroit Office of Energy and Sustainability. Who woulda thunk it?

Arctic Research Center: Underwater permafrost is thawing and releasing methane

University of Alaska, Fairbanks scientists reported the alarming news at the AGU meeting: A team led by International Arctic Research Center scientist Igor Semiletov has found data to suggest that the carbon pool beneath the Arctic Ocean is leaking. The results of more than 1,000 measurements of dissolved methane in the surface water from the […]

Kunstler’s tips to prepare for a post-oil society

This post by James Kunstler, “10 Ways to Prepare for a Post-Oil Society,” is a little old, but still timely, as the economy is in the midst of its first major convulsion caused by a radical swing in energy prices. The first point is especially applicable: The religious belief in the ability to substitute any […]

The Best of Grist List 2008

Or are you just soapy to see me? Man Junk: “A line of organic shampoos for the discriminating scrotum.” Members only, please. Eat your hat Tried to go whole hog, but still have leftovers? Haberdash over to this site to save your bacon. Because “one always looks neat, in a hat made from meat.” Elephant […]

An Iowa sustainable-ag legend speaks on her experience with the former governor

This is a guest post by long-time Iowa organic farmer and food activist, Denise O’Brien, who narrowly lost a bid for the state’s secretary of agriculture post in 2006. —– The phones, emails, and blogs are abuzz with the Obama appointment of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as the new secretary of agriculture. On one […]

R.I.S.E. rocks in new socially conscious live album

Their underground campaign classic — "Booties for Obama" — notwithstanding, the new live album released this week by the Atlanta sister duo R.I.S.E. (formerly known as Rising Appalachia) just might be the green soundtrack of the year. "Evolutions in Sound: Live" showcases Chloe and Leah Smith’s extraordinarily powerful and natural polyphonic range, drawing on a […]