Latest Articles

Why everyone should be allowed to love food with unrestrained glee

I spend hours at a time in the kitchen, I approach my morning coffee with a quasi-religious fervor, and the attention I grant beer and wine selection can border on the Talmudic. Am I a food snob? Diverse authorities — including my mother, a certain Grist writer, and several friends — have claimed as much. […]

Secretary of Defense resigns in aftermath of yesterday’s election

Rumsfeld officially resigns. What a day.

It’s not too complicated

The autopsy report for the 109th Congress is not complex. In my view, three things brought them down:

1. Stupid ideas
2. executed incompetently
3. often by criminals.

Fix those three little things ...

Heart of a Howard

Australia plagued by historic drought, not-so-responsive leadership Wondering how Australia’s doing? It’s dry as a dead dingo, thanks for asking. The “Sunburnt Country” is undergoing a severe drought — the worst in 1,000 years, according to one expert. The lack of precipitation could cut agricultural output by 20 percent, and it’s only going to get […]

Silent But Deadly

Researchers say industrial chemicals may be linked to increases in autism, ADHD Note to glue-sniffers everywhere: two researchers have suggested a link between industrial chemicals and an increase in brain development disorders like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, terming the trend a “silent pandemic” affecting millions of children around the world. In an essay […]

Green candidates claim a number of seats

Dems solidly took the House last night, gaining 28 seats. The results from key races we were watching, with the good news first:

A Green Party

Midterm election results find U.S. environmentalists hopeful Whew, what a night. Environmentalists of all stripes hailed this year’s election results, though exit polls determined that Democrats were 53 percent giddier. With eco-foes like Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) defeated and green-leaning govs like Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) reseated, things are looking up. “The […]

‘But the glaciers are not melting’–Except … they are!

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

Objection: Sure, some glaciers are melting. But if you look at the studies, most of those for which we have data are growing.

Answer: This is simply not true, rumors on "the internets" aside. The National Snow and Ice Data Centre and their State of the Cryosphere division, on their Glacial Balance page, report an overall accelerating rate of glacial mass loss. The World Glacier Monitoring Service has similar findings, the most recent data coming from 2004.

In Montana

AP has called the Montana Senate election for Tester. The worst case scenario for Dems now is a deadlocked Senate -- with Dick Cheney waddling down periodically to shoot them in the face cast tie-breaking votes.

Bush is speaking at a press conference …

... and man, he is a mess. Just raw, petulant, and defensive. If I was one of his media handlers I would get him off that stage as fast as possible.