Articles by David Roberts

David Roberts was a staff writer for Grist. You can follow him on Twitter, if you're into that sort of thing.

All Articles

  • Am I the only one …

    ... stressed out to the point of physical illness about tomorrow?

    In other news, remember that big kerfuffle over the Sierra Club endorsing Republican Lincoln Chafee? Well, it looks like Chafee's going to win by a narrow margin -- but according to at least one report, he may not be a Republican for long ...

    David Roberts Uncategorized

  • This climate hero may be more of a Forrest Gump

    I've been waiting for someone to write this article.

    Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is rightfully lauded for kicking off the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which now has 326 mayors committed to helping their cities meet Kyoto emissions targets. It's a BFD, and Nickels will earn a small place in history for it.

    Still. It's always been my sense that the initiative was cooked up by clever and persuasive staffers in the mayor's office, and that Nickels was, in Forrest Gumpian fashion, in the right place at the right time. I don't think he's really taken a concern about global-warming emissions to heart.

    David Roberts Politics

  • By quite a bit

    Two new polls show Republicans suddenly and dramatically gaining on Democrats. What was looking like a Dem "wave" is now looking like yet another squeaker. If we're lucky, maybe we'll get some recounts and court battles!

    David Roberts Uncategorized

  • Are the wind credit cards deceptive?

    A kerfuffle has broken out in the green blogosphere. The state of play thus far:

    • Steve Johnson noticed the new "Wind Power Card" from Renewable Choice Energy, available now at a Whole Foods near you. He is not a big fan:
      When you buy a card, you don't get any wind-generated electricity delivered to your home however. In fact, all you get is a card that doubles as a refrigerator magnet. Actually, you don't even get any credits, it's just a word they use to give you a sense of getting something from your money. The money you spend goes towards helping Renewable Choice Energy buy and sell electricity.

      The cards are not even an investment, because you won't get any material value in return. It's all going to help another company get rich. Most companies seek investors to secure capital. But in this case, RCE is asking people for free money under the context of doing your part to help the environment.
    • The mighty BoingBoing (1.7 million unique visitors a day) picked it up and added some RCE bashing.
    • Over at Sustainablog, Jeff responded with some umbrage, defending RCE.
    • The mighty BoingBoing responded in kind, and several readers chimed in. Consensus: wind credits may be OK, but the cards are deceptive.
    • Shea Gunther, founder of RCE, pointed to a post about how wind credits work, and another with pictures of how the cards are presented in Whole Foods.
    • CitizenGreen has thoughts; GroovyGreen weighs in; so does Ecospree; Jeff again; Treehugger too.

    What to make of all this?

    David Roberts Culture