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Wal-Mart to sell its own brand of compact fluorescent light bulbs

Giganto-retailer Wal-Mart announced today it will roll out its own brand of compact fluorescent light bulbs in nearly 75 percent of its U.S. stores by the end of the month. The company plans to price the energy-saving bulbs cheaper than the brand-name CFLs they carry, offering a four-pack for about $7.58, comparable in price to […]

Shout-out to Grist donors

Grist reader, donor, and prize-winner (See? We really do give that stuff away!) Irvin Smith of Rochester Hills, Mich., sent in this adorable photo of his son and nieces eating ice cream out of the ice-cream maker he won. A big, public Grist thanks to Irvin.

As I was looking at the photo, I thought to myself: Self, what a fabulous opportunity to give props to all our wonderful donors. So thank you, Grist donors! We are but a humble nonprofit, and without your generosity, we'd all be sitting here in the dark.

If you're reading this and it moves you to donate a few bucks, know that we'll spend it wisely on organic beer for the staff more of the same feisty, witty journalism you know and love.

Comforting words

One of the ideas we’re trying to weave throughout this series is this: you don’t have to be perfect. I had a long conversation last night with a marine biologist in Hawaii for the plastics story, and he felt strongly that parents are too hard on themselves — and on each other — when it […]

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns resigns

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is resigning, President Bush announced today. He is expected to run as a Republican for an open U.S. Senate seat in Nebraska, which is being vacated by retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R).

Extent of sea ice in Arctic sets record low, keeps on melting

The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has already hit a record low this season, the gloomiest, if not doomiest, since satellite records began in the 1970s. The world will likely have to wait a month or so for the final numbers to be released since sea ice typically stops melting by the end […]

Thursday event in D.C. seeks carbon questions

Gear up your brains and flex those diatribe muscles, carbon offset nerds -- the offset debate is coming to the Capitol, and you're all invited to participate.

Institute of Ecosystem Studies Dr. William Schlesinger is going to be speaking at 6:00 pm this Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., about his recent work on the interaction between forests and climate -- and its implications for how and whether carbon offsets should be allowed. I'm on the board of the American Lands Alliance, the organization sponsoring the event, and we'd like to get some hot questions to fire at Schlesinger -- which is where Gristmill's offset nerd legions come in. If you're an outside-the-Beltway climate nerd, feel free to ask questions in the comments section below. If you're an inside the Beltway climate nerd, you should just come.

Schlesinger, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is one of the top authorities on this topic -- and he's shown a rare willingness, for a scientist, to venture into the policy and political arena. In 2005, for instance, he endorsed a carbon tax, calling it "potentially the most effective means to improve our energy-use efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions." He also serves on the board of TerraPass, a company that provides offsets to people and corporations that pollute.

American Lands invited Schlesinger because we're very concerned about the impact a massive expansion in biofuels production could have on wildlands, in national forests and elsewhere. If we're cutting down ancient forests to grow woody biomass tree farms, it will be neither climate nor ecosystem friendly. But we're also intrigued by the possibility of allowing polluters to get carbon credits for protecting intact ancient forests. Conceivably, it could radically alter the financial incentives in national forests and elsewhere so that timber companies and others could make more money by helping restore forests than logging them. But, if not carefully managed, there's also potential for abuse. Such a system is largely dependent on having a robust cap-and-trade or cap-and-auction system in place as well; if we adopt a carbon tax, does that mean that forests and other native ecosystems won't benefit from the massive investments in tackling the climate crisis?

Notable quotable

Nate Tyler, organizer of Lights Out San Francisco: If we don’t do something, by 2050, all the polar bears will be gone. That’s where Santa Claus lives, man. That’s a bummer.

More than half of U.S. families bought packaged meat last year. Gross

The phrase "luncheon meat in pouches" strikes me as singularly unappetizing — industrially grown meat, lashed with God-knows-what chemicals, and stuffed into plastic. Even as an industrial-food-scarfing child, the slippery wetness and sketchy pink color of such food always struck me as just wrong (not that it stopped me from digging in). Can’t be easy […]

An interview with Mary Brune, founder of Making Our Milk Safe

OK, so David slew Goliath. He never had half the battle facing Mary Brune and her fellow mothers in their crusade against the $500 billion-plus chemical industry. In 2005, Brune and a trio of her friends in the San Francisco Bay area founded Making Our Milk Safe to raise awareness about the pesticides, lead, mercury, […]

Songbird endangered in France hunted as a culinary delicacy

Ortolan is a French delicacy: a tiny songbird, roasted whole and swallowed in one bite, bones and all. Ortolan hunting has been banned in France since 1998 to protect the species, but the birds have a high price on the black market, and as many as 30,000 a year are fattened up and sold by […]