Climate Culture

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  • Rue Mapp: Black and green and web all over

    Grist is proud to present the Change Gang — profiles of people who are leading change on the ground toward a more sustainable society and a greener planet. Some we’ve written about before; some are new to our pages. Some you’ll have heard of; most you probably won’t. Know someone we should add to the […]

    Andrew Leonard Culture

  • Luck and gratitude

    At this time of year I am always keenly aware of my good fortune. In particular, I am aware the huge role that sheer chance has played in the most pivotal episodes of my life. I met my wife because I went to a bar one random weeknight with my friend Peter, who was being […]

    David Roberts Culture

  • Occupy Black Friday

    Image: Occupy RenoThis Thursday night, while many families are still wrapping up Thanksgiving leftovers, the annual Black Friday shopping frenzy will begin, with 74 million people expected to head to stores over the weekend. But Friday also marks the 20th anniversary of Buy Nothing Day, an alternative celebration that invites us to “wean ourselves off […]

    Claire Thompson Culture

  • Turkey trove: Grist’s greatest Thanksgiving recipes

    Looking for creative and sustainable fare for your Thanksgiving feast? The Grist archives are a treasure trove: Check out some of our favorite recipes from years past. Bon appétit! The main dish Deep-fried turkey Headed for Thanksgiving in the flyover? Lest you appear too coastally elite with your heritage turkey, you can deep-fry it for […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Stuffed to the gills: How crap took over my life — and how I intend to take it back

    Photo: Peretz PartenskyIt’s hard to put a finger on the exact moment the crap took over Americans’ lives, but I know exactly when it happened to me. And as we head into a day of national gluttony followed by a collective, orgiastic display of shopping, I’ve resolved to do more than weather the onslaught. I […]

    Greg Hanscom Culture

  • Pepper spray is not messing around

    If this weekend's attack on students had you wondering how bad pepper spray really is, science writer Deborah Blum has you covered. Answer: It's five times more intense than the hottest natural pepper in the world. (Commercial pepper spray is twice as intense, but the police-grade stuff is supercharged.) That's because it's made of capsaicin, […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture

  • Here’s a house made of newspaper and lottery tickets

    Texas Tech engineering students are testing out Building Blox, cinderblock-style construction materials that are basically bulletproof papier mache. The blocks are made from a slurry of recycled newspapers, phone books, and lottery tickets, but they're twice as strong as cinderblocks despite weighing a third as much. They also improve a home's energy efficiency by insulating […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture

  • Ask Umbra: Is it safe for Occupy groups to use wooden pallets?

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Our Occupy group is looking for information regarding the safety of using wooden pallets. They want to use them under tents, to help stay drier, and possibly to burn (for heat only, not for cooking). I found a Grist article on pallets from a few years ago, […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Live your tiny house fantasies by renting one on AirBnB

    The highest-rated listing on AirBnB, the site that allows you to rent homes, apartments and other temporary quarters as an alternative to staying in a hotel, is a tiny house. The Mushroom Dome Cabin in Aptos, Calif., sports a loft bed under its geodesic dome roof and is in walking distance of a grove of […]

    Christopher Mims Culture

  • Discovery says they’ll be airing climate change show after all, sort of

    We were pretty irritated at the news that Discovery Channel, which bought the BBC's spectacular Frozen Planet documentary for airing in the U.S., would not be showing the series' final climate change episode. Turns out we should have instead been irritated that they're dissing Sir David "So Cool Penguins Nest In Me" Attenborough. Discovery says […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture