Latest Articles

Enviros turn eco ear to House races

There are few key House races we here at Gristmill will be keeping an eye on tonight, races where the environment has been a big issue in the run up to today's elections. We're looking for feedback from you on others where environmental issues will be a factor in tonight's results.

Key races on the green front

In today's Senate showdowns, there's plenty to be anxious about on the enviro front. Muckraker's got the nitty gritty on key races here, but a quick rundown of races to watch out for:

An artist invokes the spirit of courageous Americans, past and present

Editor’s note: We asked painter Robert Shetterly to share part of a portrait collection and book he’s created called “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” In addition to eco-legends such as Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, and even Grist friend Bill McKibben, the artist profiles lesser-known activists who have shown us how to fight […]

We’re all going

So Texas Governor Rick Perry thinks all non-Christians are going to hell?

That's a bitter pill to swallow from someone who's doing everything he can to create hell on this earth.

Allen Johnson rallies Christians to fight against mountaintop-removal mining

Allen Johnson. As its not-at-all euphemistic name would indicate, mountaintop-removal mining makes no effort to disguise its impact. Coal-mining companies brazenly invade Appalachian communities, blow the tops off mountains, send massive coal trucks careening up and down narrow roads, spew coal dust into the air and mining waste into the water, and terrorize residents who […]

Seriously

You can find your polling place here. You can report (and find out about) voting problems here or here.

Who’s On First?

Officials in suburban Detroit point fingers over contaminated park You remember when Katrina hit, and officials spent their time blaming each other instead of helping people? This is sort of like that, only smaller, and with less wind. Unsuspecting families in a Detroit suburb have played in a contaminated county park for years while city, […]

Global warming in the Supreme Court

It's the first Tuesday in November. Election Day. As in years past, today I am a patriot. I feel hopeful that democracy will bring out the best in this nation's citizens and that tomorrow (or late tonight, huddled in front of my low-quality TV) I will witness political change and renew my belief that our politicians will pave (or plant) the way to a better future.

When I think about tomorrow's leaders, I hope (almost desperately) they will have the courage to tackle global warming. The courts are unlikely to be an adequate substitute.

For the past six years, our federal government has refused to do much of anything. The most daring step taken may have occurred in 2005, when the Senate passed an amendment to the Energy Policy Act expressing its "sense" that Congress should do something. This "sense" did not remain in the law's final version, and we have yet to see it translated into action.

In light of this systematic, breathtaking political failure, environmentalists have brought global warming into courtrooms across the country. This is new territory for the judiciary. To date, the U.S. Supreme Court has never so much as mentioned global warming or greenhouse gases in any of its decisions. However, the Justices are about to get their chance. On November 29th, as the dust settles from today's election, the Justices will hear Massachusetts v. EPA, which has pitted state against state (eleven states join Massachusetts, nine join EPA) and split the business community in two.

Deceivin’ Stephen

Canadians clamor for climate action while their leader ducks the issue Canadians are more concerned about the earth than at any time in the last 15 years, says a new poll. Some 26 percent feel the environment is more deserving of government attention than any other issue, and more than half of those polled would […]

Do You Zaire What I Zaire?

Africa already feeling effects of climate change, will be hit harder While some people question whether climate change is happening, many Africans are already beginning to feel its effects — and, says a new U.N. report, the continent is at greater risk than previously thought. Some 480 million Africans could face water-security issues by 2025 […]