Grist List
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New number quantifies greenness of your unitard
Something in the water.Photo: Google MapsDenim sucks — at least, environmentally speaking. If there’s any doubt in your mind, check out the image to the right. New York Times writer Tom Zeller Jr. found the Google Maps photo of Xintang, China, the No. 1 denim producer in the world. That dark blue stuff? That’s dye […]
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Move over, Banksy: Candy Chang’s art might actually save the world
Photo: Cesar HaradaCan art save our cities? If it’s Candy Chang’s crowdsourced fantasy urban planning, then yeah, probably. Chang’s “I Wish This Was” project challenges New Orleans residents to project their ideal neighborhood onto the still-struggling post-Katrina landscape. The installation is simple: just a bunch of blank “my name is”-style stickers that say “I Wish […]
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House Republicans will now toast their victories over decency using non-biodegradable cups
Source photos: Republican Conference and Bill V.Finally, our long national nightmare is over: Styrofoam cups and plastic cutlery are back in the Congressional cafeterias. Yes, the Republicans’ campaign to save America by needlessly trashing it continues apace, and on Monday John Boehner announced a hard-won victory over even the most trivial and symbolic environmental concessions. […]
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Natalie Portman: Oscar winner, green darling, and mad scientist
So take your beaker …Original photo: John MiraThe Intel Science Talent Search has been the Mickey Mouse Club of science for almost 70 years, identifying the Justin Timberlakes of high school research long before they go on to win Nobel Prizes and MacArthur “genius” grants. So anyone familiar with Natalie Portman’s stint at Harvard won’t […]
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Current Arkansas earthquakes weak sauce compared to potential fracking-caused ‘Big One’
Photo: Martin LuffI don’t mean to alarm you, but the 4.7 magnitude temblors felt last Sunday in Arkansas, part of a recent “swarm” of earthquakes in the area, could be just a prelude to something much more devastating. The threat would be lessened if oil and gas companies are barred from injecting post-fracking wastewater into […]
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Upcoming congressional hearings at which a fetus should testify
Source photo: Lunar CausticThe Ohio state legislature is preparing to hear testimony from a 9-week-old fetus, which I assume will actually be a lawyer making a squeaky voice from behind a picture of an ultrasound. The fetus is testifying about whether it should be able to freeload off a woman’s organs while it’s waiting to […]
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Now on Facebook: your grandma, mailman, and … the solar industry
You just got poked by the sun.Photo: diogo dubiellaYou have a new friend request … from the sun! OK, it’s actually from a company selling solar panels. “Solar service providers … are increasingly turning to social media tactics in an attempt to create engaged communities around the sunny clean power,” says Earth2Tech. Solar startups are […]
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Pittsburgh’s drinking water is radioactive, thanks to fracking. Only question is, how much?
The drinking water of tens of millions of Pennsylvanians is threatened by natural-gas fracking — including the 2.3 million who live in Pittsburgh.Photo: Via Tsuji Residents of Pittsburgh — as well as potentially tens of millions of other everyday citizens in the Northeast corridor who rely on their taps to deliver safe water — are […]
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Colin Firth’s wife wins Best Lady in a Recycled Gown in our personal Oscars
Photo: Davidlohr BuesoGreen-minded folks in the know about celebrity stuff — i.e. not me — have been on tenterhooks waiting to see what Colin Firth’s wife Livia would wear to the Oscars. That’s because she’s attempting the Green Carpet Challenge again this year, and has sworn to wear nothing on the red carpet that isn’t […]
