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Congressional Dems get smart on pushing ‘all of the above’ energy vote

Looks like the Congressional Democrats are shrewd enough to take on the GOP big lie that Republicans in Congress actually believe in an “all of the above” energy policy. Greenwire reports today that “Democrats plot strategy for putting GOP on its heels” ($ub. req’d): Democrats plan to return to Washington and the campaign trail next […]

Ecoflip offers a twist on online classifieds

Buying something used and local is already a fairly green way to consume (if consume you must) so I was curious what Ecoflip, which calls itself a “green craigslist,” would entail. The categories are fairly standard but have a splash of hippie: Fuel-efficient vehicles get their own section (along with the more expected green living […]

Photos of protesters, political seed art, coal propaganda, and more in the Twin Cities

Photos from my first few days covering the Republican convention and exploring Minneapolis and St. Paul:

The 12 (annotated) principles for a healthy food and agriculture system

Being based in Northern California, I am lucky to be located at the epicenter of the sustainable agriculture and Slow Food movements in the U.S.; it means very tasty cuisine all year round. I was intrigued by the recent 12 principles for a healthy food and agricultural system disseminated by some of the luminaries in […]

One farmer says ‘peak oil’ prompted energy-saving steps

Admit it, climate change is the kind of problem that leaves you wondering, “What the heck can any one person do about it?” That’s exactly how Patrick Holden said he felt about it during the “Climate Change and Food” panel discussion last week at the Slow Food Nation conference in San Francisco. Holden has been […]

Why future Katrinas and Gustavs will be much worse, part 2

A lot of knee-jerk deniers (please don’t write in — I know that is redundant) misread “part 1,” as I knew they would. I was not wading into the issue of whether global warming has already made intense tropical storms more common. That remains a great subject of debate, mostly because of the inadequacy of […]

Rights of humans, rights of nature

Two items I’ve been tracking while away for a blissful two weeks of vacation here on the Atlantic shore, one hopeful, one awful: Hopeful: Ecuador is poised to grant rights to nature and ecosystems in a referendum this month. The idea originated in the U.S. — in Pennsylvania — as some small towns fought odious […]

Warming seas make strong storms stronger, says new study

As Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and Josephine become household names, more research has been added to the ongoing debate over the impact of climate change on hurricanes. A new study published in Nature indicates that warming seas have not increased the intensity of your everyday hurricane, but have made the mightiest storms even mightier. In essence, […]

Umbra on recycled vs. certified paper

Dear Umbra, Our office is trying to develop an environmental paper procurement policy, and we were wondering which component is most critical — certification by the Forest Stewardship Council, or recycled content? If you could help us understand which is best to support, we would greatly appreciate it. Dan S. Denver, Colo. Dearest Dan, We […]

Prepare for a bunch of recaps and videos

I’m just getting myself together after an incredibly packed four days at Slow Food Nation, which wrapped up Monday in San Francisco. Grist was lucky enough to partner with big-time indy movie studio Participant (maker of Syriana, Fast Food Nation, An Inconvenient Truth, and other worthy films) to conduct a bunch of video interviews at […]