Articles by Grist staff

A dispatch from the launch party for Vanity Fair’s green issue

Wednesday, 19 Apr 2006 New York, N.Y. Why was last night different from all other nights on which people have gathered to party for an environmental crusade? Because it was the launch party for the first green issue of Vanity Fair — a glossy, celebrity-drenched cry to mainstream America that global warming is “a threat […]

An eco-pentathlon puts students to work on Earth Day

As your Outlook/Blackberry/secretary administrative professional has no doubt alerted you, Saturday is Earth Day: a celebration of all things green and, um, earthly? A celebration not lost on the youth of today. And since lists of the best ways to help the planet on Earth Day are all the rage these days -- hell, even Vanity Fair's green issue has one -- I've decided to compile one of my own.

Or rather, I'm reprinting one put forth by the University of Montana - Missoula. And this isn't just any list of five things you can do to help the planet. This is an eco-pentathlon! I'm serious! It appears to be a tradition at the school. A series of service events are set up at various locations on or near the campus on Earth Day, and eco-pentathletes ride their bikes from one event to the next, working about an hour at each.

Here's the line-up for Saturday's events:

• 9 a.m. - noon: Help clean up the Clark Fork River.
• 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Work on prairie restoration at Mt. Sentinel.
• 1-2:30 p.m.: Dumpster dive and sort recyclables.
• Noon - 4 p.m.: Build a bike at the Festival of Cycles.
• 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.: Do farm chores (make compost, plant trees) at the PEAS farm.

Whew! What a (Earth) day!

Know of any other cool Earth Day related events happening at a campus near you? Post 'em in comments!

We Hope This Goes Better Than the Whole Dot-Com Thing

Internet bigwigs are putting their money on cleantech Some people know a good investment when they see one: Steve “Founder of AOL” Case, Bill “Founder of Microsoft and Stoopid Rich” Gates, and John “Early Investor in Amazon and Google” Doerr. Now they’re seeing in green technology what they once saw in the internet, and they’re […]

Maybe Steps

Shell and ExxonMobil power gas platform with wind and solar The cognitive dissonance! It hurts! A new gas platform in the North Sea will be run entirely on wind and solar power. The tiny (26 by 26 feet) platform, co-owned by Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, cost about $143 million to develop and was built […]