Latest Articles

Lehman quietly shuts down its carbon-trading desk

I have no idea how to parse the long-term implications of this: Lehman Brothers shut down its carbon emissions trading desk after the bank filed for bankruptcy protection, a source close to the company told Reuters on Monday. The "source close to the company" declared the sudden stoppage "a bit anarchic." I agree! Lehman had […]

A Grist special series on college eco-activism

It’s that time again. College students have settled into their dorms, started their classes, checked out some parties, and started cramming for the gnarliest pass-fail test of all time: saving the planet. Not all students are engaged in green endeavors, of course, but fast-growing numbers are — and the results have been eye-popping. Students today […]

Hurricane Ike leaves toxic mess on Galveston Island

Hurricane Ike left a big mess behind as it passed over Galveston, Texas, and other Gulf Coast areas, but the mess wasn’t just from debris. Just as with Hurricane Katrina, the combination of destructive high winds and subsequent flooding have created a toxic soup that’s potentially dangerous to residents, cleanup crews, and the environment. Floodwaters […]

GM unveils Chevy Volt ‘production model’ at 100th birthday celebration

Chevy Volt. Photo: gmeurope At its 100th birthday party on Tuesday, General Motors unveiled its oh-so-close-to-production model of the Chevrolet Volt –a plug-in hybrid that the automaker swears will be on sale by the end of 2010. GM has been plagued by massive financial problems lately caused mainly by its heavy focus on SUVs, which […]

Why climate change may have more to do with your shopping cart than your car

Anna Lappé might be called a green-diaper baby. Her mother, Frances Moore Lappé, brought out the seminal Diet for a Small Planet back in 1971, and has been agitating forcefully for a just, sustainable food system ever since. Her father, the toxicologist Marc Lappé, was an early, important, and persistent critic of the agrichemical industry. […]

‘Transition Towns’ get ink

The Christian Science Monitor — one of the best of a dying breed —does an excellent job on the "Transition Towns" movement here.

Ralph Nader criticizes Obama and McCain for not standing strong against offshore drilling

Read Grist’s interview with Nader to find out more about his campaign. —– As we begin to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ike, which forced the shutdown of this country’s oil industry and sent adrift two oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, our members of Congress are poised to vote on legislation this […]

The key political, economic, and cultural needs of young farmers

This piece is co-authored by Severine von Tscharner Fleming, 27, director of The Greenhorns and farmer/activist in the Hudson Valley of New York. —– Coast to coast, though there are thousands inspired to dig in and grow food, but it is currently only a dauntless few who manage to gain access to the land, capital, […]

Gregg Easterbrook still knows nothing about global warming — and less about clean energy

Slate magazine is seen as liberal, but is in fact just another status quo publication promoting a do-nothing policy on clean energy and global warming. Why else ask for a review of Tom Friedman’s new call to action, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, from the American Bjørn Lomborg? And I don’t mean that in a good […]

Snippets from the news

• Green Party activist Peter Camejo dies. • New Zealand parliament passes carbon trading bill. • France considers tax on disposable dishes. • Google makes patent application for floating, wave-powered computer centers. • One blogger’s attempt to go veg just once a week. • Greenland doesn’t want its whale hunting under IWC jurisdiction. • What […]