Grist List
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Making federal buildings green cuts costs by a fifth
Paging Ron Paul: Once you're done transforming the U.S. into a neo-feudal patriarchy whose fiefs are ruled by their respective John Galts, you could make a huge dent in whatever government spending is left by simply making the feds' buildings "green." That's the conclusion of a new report [PDF] from the Department of Energy's Pacific […]
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Americans are smarter than they look about extreme weather
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has officially stated that climate change will lead to more extreme weather events — we all sorta knew that, but it's nice to have confirmation. It turns out, though, that we weren't the only ones who knew. A survey by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication found that […]
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Whistleblower exposes cruel tuna fishing practices
Warning: This video is kind of intense, and may put you off sushi forever. Greenpeace has been trying to draw attention to cruel tuna fishing practices for a while, and now this anonymous helicopter pilot has footage of whales, rays, sharks, and dolphins being caught and slaughtered as collateral damage. Fish Aggregation Devices, which are […]
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Public school’s rooftop greenhouse teaches kids about food
At New York's P.S. 333, the Manhattan School for Children, science class takes place on the roof. A rooftop greenhouse, built in partnership with Science Barge creators New York Sun Works, houses a year-round farm where kids can learn about plant life cycles, green technology, and sustainable farming practices. This farm is seriously rad, in […]
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NYT Mag: Country folk understand fracking better than city folk
The New York Times has a long article in this weekend's magazine about hydraulic fracturing in southwestern Pennsylvania. It tries to capture the culture of the place and to show the tensions for people who have an economic interest in drilling but are at risk of suffering health impacts. But it also manages to glance […]
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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 […]
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America’s 20 dirtiest cities
California may have the nation's first cap-and-trade program, but it also has seven of the 10 most polluted cities, according to Forbes. Here are the rest of the 20 dirtiest metropolitan areas: 20. Cleveland, Ohio 19. Indianapolis, Ind. 18. Houston, Texas 17. Salt Lake City, Utah 16. Washington, D.C. 15. Knoxville, Tenn. 14. New York, […]
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Critical List: IPCC says humans causing bad weather; physics causes cyclists to breeze by stop signs
The IPCC is officially saying that human-generated emissions are screwing up the weather. Fukushima rice that was supposed to be safe has unacceptably high levels of radiation. Energy Secretary Steven Chu survived five hours of questioning from Congress about Solyndra. Can we let it go now? The Green Car of the Year is the Honda […]
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Your canned Thanksgiving staples are full of BPA
I get the sense that everyone who can cook (i.e. pretty much everyone who isn't me) is going the foodie route with Thanksgiving these days, all free-range individual Cornish hens and Brussels sprout slaw. But if you like to go the easy/traditional/pull-stuff-together-at-the-last-minute route, use caution when reaching for the canned pumpkin or beans. The Breast […]