Articles by Grist staff

UCLA student wins Larry David’s hybrid in surprise giveaway

UCLA students in Prof. Sherman's "ENVIRON 188: Effective Methods of Social Change" class got quite a surprise yesterday when Larry and Laurie David showed up to lecture about the climate crisis. One student in particular, Erick Tarula (pictured at left with Larry David; photo: Getty Images, courtesy mtvU), was even more surprised when he was handed the keys to the Prius Larry drives on Curb Your Enthusiasm. The lucky med student is the winner of the Curb Global Warming sweepstakes; he was one of tens of thousands who registered for the Stop Global Warming Virtual March on Washington (Laurie's pet project) at mtvU.com.

The couple's surprise visit and lecture was caught on film as part of mtvU's (Emmy nominated!) series "Stand In," which has featured other unexpected profs including Sting, Madonna, Bill Gates, Cameron Diaz, Marilyn Manson (!), and Snoop Dogg (!!).

In a press release from our friends at MTV, a staffer said they were honored to have the couple lecture on such a critical issue; Laurie said it was great to talk to students about making an impact; and Larry, well, he claims his wife offered up his car without asking him and had this to say: "This was a great day except for the part when I gave away the car." Oh, Larry, I heart you.

The episode of "Stand In" with Larry and Laurie David will premiere Tuesday on mtvU and mtvU's broadband channel, Über.

Can You Fear Me Now?

Scientists plot to warn future generations about dangers of nuclear site A thousand or so years from now, a huge underground salt mine in Carlsbad, N.M., will collapse and bury the tons of radioactive, plutonium-covered detritus from nuclear-weapons production that are stored within. But the plutonium will be exceedingly toxic for another 249,000 years. How […]

A Patch Made in Heaven

Ozone layer is recovering, a little Remember the ozone layer? It’s doing better, thanks for asking. A report in Nature indicates that our layer of protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays has stabilized or increased slightly in the past decade. Thanks to human use of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in aerosols and refrigerants, scientists found in […]

Another Flail in the Coffin

House flails about wildly and ineffectually over higher gas prices House Republicans, who face a bruising battle to retain their majority status this November, are growing increasingly desperate over high gas prices. Since there’s nothing they can actually do to reduce them, this translates into furious political maneuvering. With two fast-tracked bills this week, they […]