Articles by Jess Zimmerman

Oil industry gives $12 million to pro-Keystone legislators

An independent research group has analyzed oil industry contributions to Congress, and figures that President Obama is staring down a $12 million barrel of political opposition on Keystone XL. Some of that is going out in huge chunks -- 16 Republican House members and one Democrat have received $100,000 or more in contributions from the oil lobby, and lo and behold, the representatives are all voting just the way their evil overlords would like them to. But the industry is also spreading the wealth around. A total of 118 House members list the oil and gas industry among their top 10 contributors, and most of them are toeing the line as well.

Update: An earlier version of this post had "anti-Keystone" in the headline because, I don't know, I'm an idiot? Anyway, PRO.

EPA maps the worst greenhouse gas offenders

The EPA has organized its data on major greenhouse gas emitters into a handy interactive map. You can zoom in on your area to see where the emissions come from near you, or scan around for the worst offenders. 

Baby sloths in a bath, just sayin’

A friend of mine just spent some time helping out at the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, and I am OVERWHELMINGLY jealous. And you will be too, after watching this video that is going around today for some reason even though it is only one of many cute baby sloth videos on YouTube. Seriously, this is NSFW, in the sense that you may fall down a rabbit hole of baby sloth videos that will wreck your productivity.

Hostess Brands is going bankrupt

Have we, as a country, grown beyond Ding-Dongs? After posting a $341 million net loss last fiscal year, Hostess Brands, maker of iconic grody lunchbox snacks and hyper-bleached sandwich bread, is filing for bankruptcy.