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  • Well Aisle Be

    Whole Foods unveils initiatives to boost local and compassionate farming Whole Foods Market, the fast-growing natural-foods purveyor, has announced a series of initiatives that would support small, local farms and improve treatment of animals. In an open letter to food writer Michael Pollan, who has criticized Whole Foods for relying on “industrial organic” farms, CEO […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • Bad Vibrations

    Seismic movement could assist in oil production Like so much else in this crazy world, earthquakes are bad for you but potentially good for oil companies. Seismic shaking appears to increase permeability of underground rocks, leading to easier oil flow. “[T]his has practical implications for oil extraction,” says University of California scientist Emily Brodsky, who […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • Port Reform

    Two busiest California ports propose pollution regulations The peerlessly polluting ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., will propose far-reaching environmental policies today. “What we’re doing right now is a no-growth, job-losing, cancer-causing plan, and we’re just not going to do that anymore,” said David Freeman, chair of the L.A. Harbor Commission. What they […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • All About EV

    Grist talks with the makers of Who Killed the Electric Car? In the 1990s, California required automakers to introduce zero-emission cars. GM put out the electric EV-1, a sporty coupe that inspired head-over-heels devotion among the few people who got their hands on one. Then California backed down, the car leases ran out, and GM […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • A conversation with the makers of Who Killed the Electric Car?

    Chris Paine, the director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, looks a little embarrassed as he walks toward his waiting limo. “I should really have them drop us off a block away from the theater,” he says, laughing uneasily. At least he’s carpooling. Dean Devlin and Chris Paine at Sundance. Photo: Fred Hayes/WireImage. With him […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • Just the Tax, Ma’am

    A carbon tax is the answer to our energy woes, argues an economist Some recent news reports may have led you to believe that there is no “price elasticity” around gasoline — that no matter how much gas prices rise, people just keep on drivin’. But it’s not so: High prices are dampening demand. Why […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • New ad brings laundry to life

    There's a wonderful new advertisement for an Italian washing machine that simulates deep sea life. A clever concept, brilliantly executed. If you've got 30 seconds to spare, check it out here.

    Andrew Sharpless Technology

  • GM’s plug-in hybrid: rumor or … OK, it’s a rumor

    Via Groovy Green, we hear that GM may be making a plug-in hybrid, possibly to debut at an auto show as early as January.

    I'll believe it when I see it, but damn I'd sure like to see it.

    David Roberts Technology

  • Step One: Get a Job With Better Health-Care Coverage

    Wal-Mart to educate employees on environment and health Retail leviathan Wal-Mart, anxious to be the eco-friendliest big-box chain around, is developing a program to teach employees how to care for themselves and the environment. Anonymous sources say the as-yet-unveiled plan, tentatively named the Environmental Health and Wellness Program, will give employees practical advice, like using […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • Mackey v. Pollan

    Foodie journalist Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (review here; interview with Pollan here) makes some disturbing points about the increasingly industrial character of organic agriculture. It uses as its exemplar of "industrial organic" the burgeoning Whole Foods Market.

    Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey took quite a bit of umbrage at that, and responded with a long, passionate letter about the work his store has done to nurture the organic movement and local agriculture.

    On his blog (which is stupidly behind the NYT $elect wall), Pollan responds at some length.

    Both letters are interesting reading, but the dispute basically boils down to Mackey saying "we do buy local" and Pollan saying "it doesn't really seem that way, but I sure hope you move in that direction." They are more or less in agreement on the direction things need to go.

    I thought this point by Pollan was apt:

    David Roberts Technology