Grist List

Biodegradable cigarettes: Because why should everything else die with you?

Just because your lungs are blackened doesn't mean you can't be green. San Diego-based company Greenbutts makes cigarette filters that not only biodegrade, but sprout when buried into what have to be the world's least healthy plants.

Noise pollution ruins the sex life of tits

Pickup artists among the great tits (a species of bird, ok?) know how to get chicks: They sing at low frequencies just before females of their species begin laying eggs. It's a great technique! Unless they happen to be hanging out near sources of noise pollution, like highways, which force the tits to change their tune to a higher pitch so that the girls can hear their song in the first place. 

But that's when things start going wrong. 

Get ready for Hurricane Eggbeater

XKCD tackles a neglected aspect of the new climate normal: What are we going to call all these new hurricanes?

Critical List: Biden stumps for clean energy; the magical green properties of concrete

"The biggest mistake this nation has made in its entire history" would be not to invest in clean energy, VP Joe Biden said yesterday at the National Clean Energy Summit 4.0

The Russian government just cut a deal with Exxon to look for oil in that country’s sector of the Arctic. The next day, Russia raided BP’s Moscow offices.

George Monbiot argues that fracking without regulation is insane.

Daryl Hannah gives you her [lawyer's] number

Here's Daryl Hannah preparing to be arrested at the Keystone XL protests -- she's writing a contact number, probably for her lawyer, on her arm so she doesn't forget it. And that's a nice hand-lettered sign! Hannah was arrested today outside the White House gates, and I originally was going to lead with that video and title the post "Daryl Hannah in handcuffs" but then I felt dirty about it.

Teaching kids to love nature and buy less stuff

Kids are getting the sort of education that guarantees they'll soon be fighting each other, Hunger Games-style, for Earth's dwindling resources. The solution is to cram everyone in America into Berkeley, California, say the authors of the new book The Failure of Environmental Education. (I'm paraphrasing.)

China to build 50+ nuclear reactors based on unsafe 60's tech, says Wikileaks

"China is currently in the process of building as many as 50 to 60 new nuclear plants by 2020; the vast majority will be the CPR-1000, a copy of 60's era Westinghouse technology that can be built cheaply and quickly and with the majority of parts sourced from Chinese manufacturers," says this cable from the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

Fox News viewers 'confused' by Bill Nye, science in general

Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

You'd think Fox News would already be mildly embarrassed by the fact that their outside consultant on science is the host of a children's program. ("And now, to discuss transportation infrastructure, Mr. Rogers!") But what's even more embarrassing is the fact that they can't understand a word he's saying, and they readily admit it.

Wind power breakthrough: Carbon nanotubes make strongest, lightest blades ever

Bigger wind turbines can harvest more wind energy, but they're also heavier, which makes them less efficient. But a scientist at Case Western Reserve University figures he can solve this fundamental dilemma by throwing carbon nanotubes at it.