Latest Articles

T. Rex with feathers

Yahoo News puts it this way:

Based on the small sample we've recovered, chickens may be the closest relatives (to T. rex)," says geneticist John Asara of Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, co-leader of a team reporting the discovery of faint traces of chicken-like bone lining preserved inside a dinosaur drumstick.

Science says it this way:

From Pimpinator to Prom Night

Muscle preach Listen here, enviros: A-Schwarz wants to pimp you up. And he’s got plans for the climate-hatas, too: soon they’ll be the ones “like prohibitionists at a frat party,” while greens are hot and sexy. Hey, guess we can cross that off our to-do list. Photo: H. William Foster / WireImage.com The less brief, […]

They’ve got it, they shouldn’t be ashamed of using it

In a previous post, I argued that the public doesn’t particularly need a sophisticated scientific understanding of climate change (or evolution, or stem cells) in order to make the right basic policy decisions. A rudimentary understanding, deliverable and understandable by a layman, is perfectly sufficient. We’re warming the climate? It’s gonna hurt us? Let’s stop. […]

Alabama’s Bankhead forest next?

Until today I was ignorant of the spread of this nasty sort of mining. Its impact is well documented in the antelope and sage grouse country of the intermountain West, leaving a trail of ruined land and poisoned wells. But companies are also drilling and fracturing this stuff out of the ground in the East, too.

Not as simple as it seems

Before any Grist readers write off this article in the Economist, read it through and get to the conclusions at the bottom. They might surprise you.

They also contain another lesson not mentioned in the article: we need to value comprehensive ecosystem services from forests, not just any single dimension.

Wen, the Time Is Right

China agrees to participate in post-Kyoto negotiations China has agreed to participate in talks about a framework to fight global warming after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Enviros danced a joyful jig, as the decision puts pressure on other, non-communicative nations (we’re not naming names). China is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol as […]

But Now What?

Bush withdraws controversial EPA nominations Earlier this month, we reported that President Bush was re-dangling three controversial names for key environmental positions in his administration, suggesting that he might appoint them while Congress was on a break. While he did manage to push one such recess appointment through last week — Susan Dudley as White […]

Latter-Day Paints

EPA says racism isn’t a factor in Ford Superfund saga A strange environmental-justice saga is unfolding in New Jersey, pitting Ford Motor Co. against a community of Ramapough Indians and their allies. Decades ago, Ford dumped thousands of tons of toxic paint sludge at a former mining area. The dump was declared a Superfund site, […]

Let’s Do This Thing

Step It Up is tomorrow — find a rally in your area! The time has come, the Gristers say, to march for many things: stop climate change, bring carbon down, and maybe find a fling. Ahem. What we mean is: Step It Up 2007 has arrived! Tomorrow — that’s Saturday, April 14 — thousands of […]

When insurers get serious about climate change, EVERYBODY gets serious about climate change

United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a "most-admired" company in many different rankings, has decided not to insure multiple homes in FL for one policyholder -- the first step in what will eventually be the revolt of the insurance companies against climate denialists (and against Florida legislators who want policyholders in other states to share the costs of insuring the damages from more intense and frequent hurricane strikes).

This is great news (unless you own multiple Florida homes).

The insurance industry has long been the sleeping giant of climate policy response. A lot of very red states have a lot to lose from climate disruption, and the threat of finding your property uninsurable gives you a whole new perspective on whether we need to do something on climate before the tipping points are reached.