Articles by Grist staff

Read and Green and Urban All Over

Plans for an eco-city in China inspire a green neighborhood in London The world’s largest eco-city is soon to be built in China, on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River near Shanghai. Dongtan, being developed by London’s Arup Urban Design, will consist of village-style neighborhoods and will emphasize pedestrian-friendliness, renewable-energy generation, and […]

Dirk du Soleil

Interior nominee Kempthorne backs away from plan to sell U.S. forests Senate confirmation hearings began yesterday for Interior Secretary nominee Dirk Kempthorne, and oh, the fun that was had. One hot topic was the Bush administration’s proposal to fund rural schools by selling thousands of acres of public land; the Dirkster, who supported sale of […]

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 […]