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  • We Left Our Hearts in San Francisco

    Grist’s reader party was fabulous, left us hungry for more Huge thanks to the more than 300 smart, savvy Gristians who came to our San Francisco reader party last week. Connections were made. Ideas were sparked. We even saw some shameless flirting going on. We had so much fun, we might come to your ‘hood […]

  • The Appliance of Their Aye

    U.S. DOE will phase in energy-efficiency standards for household appliances After years of thumb-twiddling, the U.S. Department of Energy will phase in more stringent energy-efficiency requirements for 22 household appliances and other pieces of equipment over the next five years. Congress requires ramped-up efficiency standards according to periodic deadlines; this update is only a dozen […]

  • Umbra on travel mugs

    Dear Umbra, I am putting together a fundraiser for the Environmental Law Association at the George Washington University Law School, whereby I intend to sell coffee mugs. If you saw all the paper cups that get thrown away at my school you would be in tears (at least two trips to Starbucks a day: double […]

  • A green-carpet report from the Environmental Media Awards

    I adore pop culture. I live for the environment. But I rarely have a chance to indulge my two obsessions at the same time. So when I was invited to cover the Environmental Media Awards, I did an Ashlee Simpson-esque jig. Fashion! Hybrids! Great hair! Really, could a gossip-rag-reading, E!-network-loving enviro ask for anything more? […]

  • From Blanchett to Bon Jovi

    The fellowship of the warming Of the thousands upon thousands who acted on International Day of Action on Global Warming, Galadriel Ms. Blanchett may have been the hottest elf protester of them all. But when it comes to convincing Aussie PM John Howard, Cate isn’t enough. Though if she’d taken that ring from Frodo … […]

  • Umbra on inefficient windows

    Dear Umbra, I am lucky enough to have a home I really love and food to feed my family and my pets. However, the home has one major energy flaw: it is older and has huge, single-pane window/walls with aluminum frames, in two adjoining rooms. We currently are not able to replace them, and they […]

  • An artist invokes the spirit of courageous Americans, past and present

    Editor’s note: We asked painter Robert Shetterly to share part of a portrait collection and book he’s created called “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” In addition to eco-legends such as Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, and even Grist friend Bill McKibben, the artist profiles lesser-known activists who have shown us how to fight […]

  • Eric Ritz, youth-activism promoter, answers Grist’s questions

    What work do you do? I’m the founder and executive director of Global Inheritance. What does your organization do? We reinvent activism for today’s young generation. Our initiatives focus on the power of creativity to communicate and push for progressive social change while rejecting conflict. Global Inheritance targets various subcultures, developing campaigns that cater specifically […]

  • Fed up with breast-milk contamination, mothers form a national activist group

    Mary Brune looked worried. “I don’t know what the problem is,” she said, peering at the generator in the grass. Attached to it was a blower that was, in turn, attached to a puddle of yellow nylon. The next morning, that puddle was supposed to inflate to become a giant rubber ducky, the centerpiece of […]

  • Umbra on window manufacturers

    Dear Umbra, We are looking into replacing some of our windows. Any thoughts on which companies are more environmentally friendly, not just in the energy-efficiency of their windows, but in the manufacturing process (Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, recycling materials, etc.)? Lyell Slade Concord, Mass. Dearest Lyell, Let’s warm up on this topic: Windows in residential […]