Culture

‘Evotourism’ is the new ecotourism

Why journey all over the planet visiting natural wonders that are sure to disappear by the time your grandchildren are old enough to curse your profligate ways, when you can journey into the past, which has already happened so you at least you can't screw it up? That's the premise of Evotourism, a the hot […]

Christopher Mims Culture

Driving has lost its cool for young Americans

I’d rather be texting.Amidst all the hand-wringing over distracted driving, a critical point is getting lost. The problem isn’t the texting — it’s the driving. Clive Thompson made this argument in Wired last year: When we worry about driving and texting, we assume that the most important thing the person is doing is piloting the […]

Lisa Hymas Culture

Ask Umbra: Compost or recycle? Eco-UGGs? Kettle battle? And more

Let Umbra take a little weight off your shoulders.Dearest readers, Some people engage in spring cleaning, but I prefer to do a little winter cleaning. I take down the Gristmahanukwanzakah shrub, put away the nog, and tidy up ye olde inbox to prepare for the almost certain Onslaught of Angst in 2012. During this year’s […]

Ask Umbra® Culture

11 from ’11: The most-clicked Grist stories of the year

Can’t … resist … clicking …Photo: Lindsey TurnerWe’ve had a few year-end lists here at Grist. Here are our choices for top stories of the year, top cities stories of the year, and top food stories of the year. But what about you, the great unwashed masses, surfing the great unwashed interwebs? What are your […]

David Roberts Culture

Merry Bikesmas: A 1970s Schwinn livens up a family holiday

Photo: Joe Penniston This year, as we have in years past, my wife and I packed up the kids and flew across the country to spend the holidays with her family in suburban Baltimore. Christmas at the Thomas house is always a festive affair: crab soup, wine by the bottleful, quality time with grandma and […]

Greg Hanscom Culture

There’s never been a better time to build a hobbit house

If you're anything like me, i.e. friends with dozens of nerds, your Twitter stream was aflame with talk of the Hobbit trailer last night. I'm psyched about it! It's the only Tolkien book I read, and will therefore probably be the only one of the movies I can stay awake through. Anyway, hobbits are cool […]

Jess Zimmerman Culture

Here’s your holiday reading!

It is getting so close to that magical week between Christmas and New Year's where offices are either closed or abandoned by the vast majority of employees, and no work gets done. Whether you plan to be snuggled on a couch by an open fire or logging truncated days of semi-productivity in a half-empty office, […]

Sarah Laskow Culture

Will nature always be the last book on the shelf?

Photo: Martin DeutschCross-posted from Cool Green Science. Driving with my kids the other day, I saw a sign announcing: “Borders Books Going Out of Business: 90% Off!” We headed in with great enthusiasm, thoughts of nearly free books dancing in our heads. The place was swarming with bargain hunters. The remaining inventory had been moved […]

Jeff Opperman Culture

The city speaks — and artist Candy Chang finds fresh ways to listen

Photo:Randal FordThe house was a nightmare. “It had been collecting dust and graffiti since Katrina and there was something very shabby and Brothers Grimm about it,” says Candy Chang, an artist and graphic designer who lives just a few blocks from the place in New Orleans. But where others saw blight, Chang saw an opportunity, […]