Latest Articles

From Winning to Wintering

Summer all year long! Win a bike, win a hike! Win some knickers, a pair of kickers! Win a pod, clothe your bod! Win a bag, win some swag! Summer says: Give to Grist and all your wildest dreams will come true. When a manatee loves a woman If manatees were really this horny, would […]

Turns out vegetarians are smart

Vegetarians are smarter than the average person.

But vegans are dumber.

[Ducks]

I Am Livid, Hear Me Roar

Tired of incessant political intimidation, U.S. scientists speak out Just our luck: the one time we went to the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the most exciting thing that happened was that geologist photocopying his rocks. But this year, headlines abound. Earlier this week at the event, the Union of Concerned Scientists issued […]

What?! I’ve Always Been a Fan of Wilderness!

Bush protects wildlands in New Mexico, New England Back in 2004, the Bush administration tried to clear the way for energy drilling next to the nation’s largest Boy Scout camp in Valle Vidal, N.M. The drilling never commenced, in large part thanks to resistance from ranchers, hunters, environmentalists, 17 local governments, three chambers of commerce, […]

Unusual Weather We’re Having, Ain’t It?

Number-crunchers say 2006 on track to be the sixth-hottest on record As 2006 limps to a close, it’s measuring in as the world’s sixth-hottest year on record. It’s the warmest Britain has seen since wenches were hoisting tankards of grog (er, since records began in 1659), and the third-warmest in the U.S.’s Lower 48 since […]

Cough up a little dough for a cute cause

The birth of an organic calf on Dec. 12 wouldn't be news, except for the fact that it was the first organic calf born on the nation's first organic dairy research farm at the University of New Hampshire.

Now, for a price, you can name the cute little heifer -- a worthwhile expense, if you follow the research money in organic ag.

Oceana nails down the tell-tale symptoms

10. Your family all got sea turtle cookie cutters as stocking stuffers.
9. You know all the words to Joe Vasconcellos's ""Fish Don't Cry."
8. You're willing to cross state lines to shop at a green list grocery store.
7. Your ringtone is a dolphin "clicking."
6. Your baby shower presents are accompanied with the FDA mercury warning.
5. You think Happy Feet has got Oscar written all over it.
4. You've got more fish guides [PDF] in your wallet than credit cards.
3. You think Ted Danson is famous because of his ocean advocacy.
2. You changed your pin code to 2048.
1. Your bumper sticker says "I Heart Krill."

Don't fit the bill? Become an ocean advocate now.

Electric bike triumphs and travails

Rode my bike to jury duty last Wednesday. It was pouring rain and the winds were gusting into the 50s. I had my trailer hitched up because I was hauling a laptop, magazines, and a battery charger with me. I don't think I could have done this without the electric motor.

However, at one point, a gust -- accelerated by the venturi effect of two skyscrapers -- stopped me cold. I jumped off and cowered in a nook where I found another guy hiding with the remains of his umbrella. I managed to drag, not ride, my bike the last block in a veritable deluge.

‘The Medieval Warm Period was just as warm as today’–Repeating this point does not make it true

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: It was just as warm in the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) as it is today. In fact, Greenland was green and they were growing grapes in England!

Answer: There is no good evidence that the MWP was a globally warm period comparable to today. Regionally, there may have been places that exhibited notable warmth -- Europe, for example -- but all global proxy reconstructions agree it is warmer now, and the temperature is rising faster now, than at any time in the last one or even two thousand years.

‘It was warmer during the Holocene Climatic Optimum’–This period was not global and not like today

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: It was warmer during the Holocene Climatic Optimum than it is today -- without any human influence.

 

Answer: Though some temperatures during that period were in the same range as today, they were confined to the northern hemisphere and the summer months.