Grist List

Keystone XL would be right on top of latest Oklahoma earthquakes

Red: proposed route for Keystone XL Orange star: epicenter of Saturday's magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Oklahoma, which buckled a highway and cracked a building. The state is currently recovering from the quake and bracing for storms. A decade hence, if Keystone XL were running straight through the state, would they also be dealing with a […]

Christopher Mims Technology

One-wheeled electric motorcycle is like a Segway, but cool

Sure, the RYNO looks like the hideous progeny of a motorcycle and a unicycle (nobody likes to talk about that night behind the circus tents), but it could be your new means of urban transportation. It runs off a lithium-ion battery that recharges in 90 minutes, has a smaller footprint than a Vespa, and is […]

Jess Zimmerman Technology

Most honey isn’t really honey

Chances are, that stuff sittng in the plastic bear in your pantry doesn't technically qualify as honey. The FDA requires honey to have microscopic particles of pollen, which allow the honey to be traced to its source so regulators can be sure it comes from safe origins. But nearly all of the honey that's sold […]

Jess Zimmerman Food

We could replace coal power with geothermal — 10 times over

The United States has so many viable spots for producing geothermal energy — i.e. tapping into the heat of the Earth’s core to generate power — that the country's geothermal potential is equivalent to "10 times the amount of coal capacity in place today," according to Climate Progress. Southern Methodist University developed this geothermal map […]

Sarah Laskow Energy

Texas drought threatens to take away pecan pie

First it came for the wine and bacon. Then it came for the coffee and chocolate. Now, climate change (or, to be specific, the drought in Texas that's consistent with weather patterns that climate scientists have predicted) is threatening to take away pecan pie and RUIN THANKSGIVING. According to the Southwest Farm Press, early reports […]

Sarah Laskow Science

Handy image shows how climate deniers manipulate data

This image from Skeptical Science is a great illustration of how data can be manipulated to serve your purpose. It shows how skeptics point to small declines in temperature by comparing warm years with cold ones seven to 10 years later — but if you trace the trend over 40 years, you see an obvious warming […]

Jess Zimmerman Science

Critical List: Thousands protest Keystone XL; Mongolia shovels coal into China

An estimated 10,000 Keystone XL protesters circled the White House this weekend, as the White House edged towards a decision on the pipeline. The ring of protesters was stacked five people deep. Green groups are threatening the Obama administration with political repercussions if the pipeline goes forward. If environmentalists withhold their support, it could have […]

Sarah Laskow Health

China bulb ban will eliminate 1 billion incandescents annually

Joining the U.S. and just about every other country with an economy, China will ban import and sale of incandescent bulbs beginning in 2014, reports the AP. State-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Xie Ji, deputy director of the NDRC's environmental protection department, as saying China is the world's largest producer of both energy-saving and incandescent […]