Grist List
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Government invests in robots that prevent oil spills
As oil and gas companies wander ever further offshore in search of fossil fuels, the government's putting some money into technology that safeguards against oil spills. The amount they’re spending — $9.6 million — is a paltry sum as federal investments go. But the important thing here is the result, which is robots. And not […]
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Critical List: 2011 was pretty darn warm; dams could exacerbate climate change
2011 will be the tenth or eleventh warmest year on record, depending on who you ask. All but one of the nine or ten warmer years were in the last decade. (The only exception is 1998.) The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs is required to approve renewable energy projects on Native American-owned […]
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Renewables trump fossil fuels for first time ever
Last year investors poured $187 billion into electricity from renewable sources (wind, sun, biomass, etc.), versus $157 billion for fossil fuels, calculates Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “The progress of renewables has been nothing short of remarkable,” United Nations Environment Program Executive Secretary Achim Steiner said in an interview. “You have record investment in the midst of […]
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Study: Climate skepticism leads directly to climate inaction
If you were wondering why industry heavies and their media housepets traffic in climate change skepticism, here’s why: It works. A study just published in the journal Nature Climate Change confirms that if you sow skepticism, you reap inaction. When Americans believe that there is widespread disagreement among climate scientists that climate change is real, […]
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New use for green roof: grazing reindeer
"Santa Claus" (real name: Dave Kavanaugh, entomologist) has brought his reindeer to the green roof of the California Academy of Sciences. Between now and January 16, they'll be grazing its gentle slopes and fertilizing them with bon bons, because everyone knows that reindeer shit delicious Christmas treats.
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London fights air pollution with glue
If your house were infested with mosquitos, you might put up flypaper strips to trap them. London mayor Boris Johnson is taking roughly the same approach to air pollution — he's having street sweepers spray a calcium-based adhesive onto the ground to trap particulate air pollution. It sounds like a stupid idea, and maybe it […]
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Lululemon goes from new-agey to Ayn Rand
Lululemon, which makes overpriced yoga clothes, used to give customers the option to purchase sustainable shopping bags printed with the company's "manifesto." (It's not the one above; that's a parody.) That meant they were covered in quotes that were a mix of faux-Buddhism, The Secret, Dove Promises wrappers, and complete nonsense ("children are the orgasm […]
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India could boycott Olympics over Dow Chemical sponsorship
The Olympics is supposed to be all about fellowship and camaraderie, but the London Olympics Committee might have cozied up to the wrong crowd. Dow Chemicals is set to sponsor the wrap that will cover the Olympic Stadium, and as a result of the company's involvement, the Indian Olympic Association could boycott the Games altogether. […]
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California’s high-speed rail gets $1 billion
California is going to have high-speed rail. Despite grumblings about the cost, Gov. Jerry Brown supports it, and now the project, which will link San Francisco and Los Angeles, is getting close to $1 billion from the Department of Transportation. The department came up with this chunk of change and more after other governors (Florida's […]
