Articles by Grist staff

The Evolution Will Be Pint-Sized

Some small animals evolving to adapt to climate change, study finds As we humans cling to the status quo while it floats down the river toward a global-warming waterfall (ahem), smaller animals are getting on with evolving. New research in Science identifies heritable genetic changes in some small wildlife that increase their chances of survival […]

Celebrate the oceans by learning what you can do to help protect them

Ahoy mateys! 'Tis time to splice the mainbrace -- that's pirate talk for gettin' sloshed! -- it's World Ocean Day. Yo-ho-hmmm, you ask? Well, glad ye did. This day is dedicated to celebrating the briny deep and making sure she's protected so we can sail ho! Cause without a healthy ocean, there'll be no poop deck or pillaging, no planks to walk nor timbers to shiver ... and worst of all, me hearties, we'll be no different than ye average Joe Landlubber. Arrr ... That'd be a fate worse than ... well, let's just say I'd trade me good eye and me good leg never to think about that again.

On to celebratin' I say. And what better way than to hop aboard the Ocean Voyager, "a five-part journey to defend our oceans" led by Cap'n Mother Jones, which has been focusing a good bit of editorial time on ocean issues these days. The idea is to sign up to receive an email once a week for five weeks -- and each email includes premium content from the magazine about the state of our ocean and ways you can help defend it. As me fellow blogmate (and Oceana CEO) Andrew Sharpless mentioned, the project focuses not on the work of just one organization, but rather points to the efforts of a number of organizations. And each week's episode (or destination on the voyage route, if we're using the official metaphor) also focuses on a different marine issue.

Bring on the bulldogs

Today we bring you Auden Schendler's thoughts on the state of green building -- and, below, his suggestions for making things a whole lot better.

Ultimately, we need to find a way to make green building more accessible. I once had a construction manager ask me, "What's the process we go through to make a green building?" I should have been able to hand him a one-pager, but I didn't have one. Each project manager needs to be able to articulate the process clearly and quickly.

Here's how it should work, from an owner's perspective:

1. Hire a talented architect, engineer, and contractor who are all committed to the cause. They don't have to be green. But they do have to understand that they work for you, and you are paying them to build a green building within budget.
2. Provide a road map that describes the process and goals for building green.
3. Make sure there is a project champion, preferably a bulldog, to hound people. Stay vigilant throughout the whole process.
4. When the project is finished, share your successes, but also share the inevitable pitfalls with others -- at conferences and through other outlets.
5. Make your next building even better.

But how do you get to that point?

Raise High the Green Beam, Carpenter

Why is green building still so hard? Green building has come a long way, baby — but has it come far enough? Auden Schendler, who’s overseen numerous green-building projects for the Aspen Skiing Company, doesn’t think so. Schendler wonders why, for instance, you can’t buy an eco-friendly house in any average subdivision in America. He […]