Grist List
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Global warming to swamp one-third of NYC’s streets
Right about the time Miami has turned into a barrier island, a single flood supercharged by higher sea levels and rowdier storms will overwhelm New York City's low-lying infrastructure, including its iconic subway system. It will cost $80 billion to clean up … and then it will cost another $80 billion to clean up again […]
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We’re on track to kill the planet faster than the worst extinction in history
Earth has had many mass extinctions, but about 250 million years ago something really, really bad happened. In an event known to paleontologists as "the Great Dying," life itself was nearly extinguished by massive releases of greenhouse gases. And by “massive releases” we mean “releases slower than what we’ve got going on today.” Scientists at […]
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Lisa Jackson, Rachel Maddow, and Richard Nixon discuss the environment
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.10773524&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D45395747%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320] EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson was on Rachel Maddow's show last night, talking about how clean air and water should not be partisan issues. In what is perhaps a show first, Maddow opened the segment with a non-ironic quoting of Richard Nixon, who established the EPA back before Republicans made it into some […]
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Pepper spray is also a vegetable now, according to Fox News
In the grand tradition of Michele Bachmann's "carbon dioxide is a product of nature" tactic, Fox News is now calling pepper spray a "food product." Man, first pizza is a vegetable, now this. Pepper spray is "a derivative of actual pepper … a food product, essentially," said Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Seriously guys, it's […]
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Rep. Don Young throws a weird tantrum over arctic drilling
Usually, we at Grist List try to make the news amusing for your entertainment. But sometimes Congress does the work for us. The scene: A committee hearing on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The characters: Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), drilling advocate, professional crank Douglas Brinkley, respected historian Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), committee chairman, […]
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McDonald’s appears to have at least one scruple about farming practices
If you thought it was impossible to get McDonald's to take abusive and unsafe farm practices seriously, prepare to be proved wrong! Turns out, all it takes for McDonald's to break ranks with a supplier is 13 violations of salmonella-prevention regulations, an FDA citation for "significant … and serious violations," and undercover video showing unsanitary […]
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Critical List: U.S. winning solar trade fight; the rise of agroforestry
The U.S. is winning the trade spat with China over solar manufacturing. Agroforestry — growing crops under a tree canopy instead of on clear-cut land — is growing in popularity. Hydrofracking gone wrong looks "like 1,000 Alka-Seltzers going off" as gas bubbles through puddles, according to a whistleblower. China's Durban strategy includes a drive for […]
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Fox viewers are the most misinformed about climate change
Yet another study has shown that Fox News viewers are the most misinformed about important political issues — this time, global warming. This is no surprise, of course; Fox News openly advertises its agenda on climate change, and this isn't even the first study to show that Fox viewers are less likely to accept the […]
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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, […]