Articles by Grist staff

Tomasita González, environmental-justice organizer, answers questions

Tomasita González. What work do you do? I work as a community organizer at SouthWest Organizing Project, based in Albuquerque, N.M. What does your organization do? For over a quarter century, SWOP has worked to build an environmental-justice movement in disenfranchised, working, and people-of-color communities. In the ’90s, we sought to challenge the mainstream “Group […]

How much do Americans pay for essentials?

Ever wondered what percentage of their income poor Americans pay for food? (Hint: more than the rich.) What proportion of Americans drive to work versus take public transit, and how much it costs them to do it? What the average household will pay to heat their home this winter? How much it costs to have a kid with asthma? Todd Hymas ferreted out these, uh, fun facts and more.

Alan Hipólito of Verde Native Plant Nursery answers readers’ questions

What can the well-off do to help low-income people? Alan Hipólito, this week's InterActivist, shares some ideas. He also answers questions about getting his nonprofit off the ground, replicating the concept of a local garden nursery, staving off discouragement, and painting his toenails. To find out what color, you'll have to read the whole thing.

Any Portugal in a Wind Storm

Portugal gives wind power a big bear hug; England gives it the finger Portugal is already building the world’s largest solar power plant; now, to make us feel even worse about ourselves, it’s planning a huge new project to more than double its wind-energy capacity. A contractor bid will be accepted by this summer for […]