Grist List
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Carbon-eating paint could clean air and strengthen buildings
Okay, now this one really sounds fake: Scientists are working on a carbon-eating paint, which would be capable of turning emissions into limestone. In other words, it would let buildings eat carbon and then use that fuel to grow, like a living thing. The secret is synthetic chemicals that behave like microorganisms. Their creator calls […]
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Mark Ruffalo at Occupy Wall Street
Our favorite indie darling/anti-fracking activist was down at Occupy Wall Street last week, looking extremely handsome and encouraging people to join up with Tar Sands Action's planned protest at the White House next month. We like the "mic check" thing, where speakers at OWS use the surrounding crowd as a human amplifier — it keeps […]
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Critical List: Climate change officially caused an extreme weather event; climate denier smackdown
Climate change caused the Russian heat wave, according to statistics and science (if you believe that sort of thing). Nebraska could reroute the Keystone XL pipeline. Eugene Robinson smacks down climate deniers. Money quote: "It is the know-nothing politicians — not scientists — who are committing an unforgivable fraud." This German transportation system is a […]
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Obama administration hires former TransCanada lobbyist
Apparently the Obama administration has given up on even pretending it can make an unbiased decision on Keystone XL. After hiring a TransCanada-affiliated firm to do the environmental assessment for the pipeline — a move so corrupt that even Congresspeople noticed — the administration has now taken on a former TransCanada lobbyist as a senior […]
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Solar airship is most efficient way to fly, ever
How can you carry huge amounts of cargo thousands of miles with no fuel and no infrastructure? By combining an airship with an airplane, of course. The resulting wing-shaped blimp requires less helium than a conventional dirigible, but has a shorter takeoff than an airplane. Hybrid Air Vehicles has been proposing this for years, but upstart […]
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Why are all the ‘most efficient states’ blue states?
This year's list of the top 10 most energy-efficient states looks an awful lot like the map of red and blue states from the 2008 election. (Data were compiled by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.) We're not sure why. Got an opinion? Share it in the comments.
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Let’s cover Mt. Everest with solar panels
Less atmosphere between solar panels and the sun equals more power converted into electricity, says a new map of global solar irradiance. That means high-altitude communities — like every mountain chain from the Andes to Patagonia — could be the next frontier in producing solar power. In addition, the cool temperatures at altitude make panels […]
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Tile your roof with solar shingles
If you want to generate some solar energy but don't want to have weird-looking solar panels on your roof, Dow Solar has a solution for you. The company has achieved solar shingularity: Its roof shingles are solar panels! The solar panels are shingles! The discerning homeowner can live out green dreams while still conforming to […]
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Too lazy to go green? Hire an eco-concierge
Have you ever been sitting around the Drones Club, throwing rolls around, and thought to yourself, "gosh, going green is very hot right now, but it sounds hard! I wish I could use my gobs of money to pay someone else to do it for me." Well, if you have, you're probably not reading this […]
