Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Grist- Environmental News

Recent Posts

CITIES

Seattle to shame residents for throwing away food

The city will shame and fine residents for putting compostable food in the trash bin.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Utility bosses see change coming, look to clean and distributed energy

A survey of utility execs also finds that a majority of them support Obama's power-plant rules or think they should be strengthened.
SCRAM, STYROFOAM

Forget foam — now we can grow better takeout containers

Bricks that grow themselves, plastic made of mushrooms ... the future is a weird and wonderful place.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Are extreme blizzards the new normal?

Here's what climate science says about historic storms.
CÔTES DU DRONE

When wine runs dry, these drones have your back

Vineyards are drying out thanks to climate change -- but high-tech surveillance drones might just save them. Welcome to our weird new world!
FOOD

Tomato bluefin? Eggplant eel? Sushi joins the faux meat trend

As the sustainable seafood movement continues gaining traction, chefs are starting to update sushi classics with fish-less, vegetarian alternatives.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

19 tweets that explain how we’re stifling electricity innovation

A rant about the abysmal state of innovation and progress in the U.S. electricity sector.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

No, GOP hopefuls, the blizzard doesn’t mean climate change is a hoax

Weather is not climate.
FOOD

This guy will pay your dumpster-diving fines

Rob Greenfield wants you to dumpster dive so much, he'll pay your fines if you get caught.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

We can solve climate change, but it won’t be cheap or easy

Climate modeling often shows that it's possible to decarbonize at low cost. But "possible" is a long way from practical, or likely.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Al Gore is still kicking butt as a climate warrior

He's reviving Live Earth. He's telling truths to the 1%. He sticks up for the 350 ppm goal. He bashes Keystone. Gore is a global rock star.
LIVING

What’s the safest way to take my baby on the bus?

A reader wants to take his baby on public transit. Umbra has some railly great advice.
CITIES

Why I refuse to be a woman afraid of walking alone at night

Women shouldn't just be safe in the city -- they should feel safe.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

India and U.S. agree on some energy deals — but no emission cuts

The two countries will work together to expand nuclear and solar power, but they aren’t saying anything about curbing coal or CO2.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Here’s an excellent analogy about climate change and developing countries

What if you showed up late to a dinner party, missed the food, and then got stuck doing the dishes?
DECLARING ANWR ON THE GOP

Obama to protect Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The president is picking a big fight with oil-lovin' Republicans, and the green community is delighted.
SLAW & ORDER

Didn’t think red cabbage could be exciting? Think again

Make the most out of your red cabbage with a vibrant, addictive salad -- plus a million other ways to love cabbage more.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Climate and population are linked — but maybe not the way you thought

No, this isn't about blaming people with large families in developing countries -- or blaming anyone at all.
POLITICS

Tom Steyer is not running for Senate, and that’s a good thing

Now the billionaire climate activist can focus on electing other climate hawks and fighting fossil-fueled disinformation campaigns.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Texas takes civil rights challenge all the way to the Supreme Court

The legal dispute revolves around fair housing policies, but it could undermine a key tenet of environmental justice law.
SCHMALIENS

Forget aliens — these NASA drones track methane

The space agency is adapting technology used to test for life on Mars to help preserve it here on Earth.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

The Exelon-Pepco merger: Big, nuke-heavy utility looking for new ratepayers to fleece

Giant utility company Exelon has a failing business model and a plan to prop it up. Both ratepayers and clean energy will get screwed in the process.
POLITICS

At least a couple GOP presidential contenders accept climate science, and that matters

Mitt Romney is back to acknowledging that climate change is real. And Lindsey Graham, a climate realist by Republican standards, might run for president too.
MELTING ICE, MELTING HEARTS

Love letters to Thor, whose things we found in the melting ice

A team of archaeologists in Norway have uncovered a number of artifacts revealed as ancient layers of ice start to melt away.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Self-destruction genes could keep GMOs from spilling into the wild

Biotech researchers think they've found a way to keep modified genes from escaping into other organisms.
POLITICS

Obama’s trade agenda is a disaster for the environment, greens warn

The president wants to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade deals. Republicans are down with that. Democrats and enviros are not.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

India invites Obama over, but wants 350.org and Sierra Club to stay home

The Indian government is cracking down on climate groups that oppose coal projects, just ahead of Obama's planned state visit.
CLIMATE APOCALYPSE OR NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST?

We only got 3 minutes to save the world

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists ticks its Doomsday Clock closer to midnight.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN'S ENERGY USAGE

When it comes to efficiency, U.S. military soldiers on

The military is trying to shift the habits, routines, and practices of individual service members.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

This chart of rising ocean temperatures is terrifying

NOAA's graph can't even handle the ocean's rising temperature ... and neither can we.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Senator clears humans of climate change using acclaimed scientific journal

Watch Sen. James Inhofe cite the Bible to prove that humans aren't causing climate change.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

How Citizens United paved the way for Big Oil’s bribes

It's been five years since the Supreme Court's landmark ruling, which cleared the way for a huge influx of dirty-energy money into politics.
KEEPING UP WITH THE GATESES

Bill and Melinda Gates plan to end hunger in Africa in 15 years

In their latest annual letter, the philanthropists also see big opportunities for helping poor farmers succeed and eradicating some diseases.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Now Republicans are trying to block international climate deals

James Inhofe, the Senate's leading climate denier, is leading the charge to undermine the U.S.-China climate pact and a future Paris agreement.
ON THE FARM

Exclusive: Mandolin Orange’s intimate “Wake Me” performance at Pickathon

Mandolin Orange gives a stunning performance for Grist's Pickathon On the Farm series.
FOOD

Big palm oil trader’s website begins to deliver on sustainability pledge

Wilmar International is posting information about its supply chain -- and taking complaints if it falls short on its forest-saving commitments.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Greens who want results should take lessons from the grassroots

In Turkey Creek, Miss., environmental justice activists have won by forging uneasy alliances. Welcome to your new reality, Big Greens.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Pesticides just got a whole lot smaller. Is that a good thing?

Nanopesticides herald the extreme tinification of agricultural chemicals and could spark a farming revolution. Gulp?
LIVING

Where can I find the most eco-friendly surf gear?

A reader wonders if she can hang 10 without leaving the planet in the soup. Umbra steps into the green room.
CAUSED BY WIZARDS, MAYBE?

Senate votes to believe in climate change, fails to blame humans for it

Ninety-eight of 100 senators are now on the record as saying that climate change is happening. But don't start telling them that people are responsible.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Give us your ideas to switch to renewables fast — because Congress sure won’t

It's big-idea time for OpenIDEO's community-led clean energy challenge.
HAPPY DEVELOPMENTS

Pharrell wants “literally all of humanity to harmonize” on climate change

The hip-hop mogul announced at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos that he and Al Gore are organizing Live Earth: Road to Paris.
CAVE OF FOR-SHREDDIN' DREAMS

This new underground bike park totally rules

Built some 75 feet underground, Louisville's Mega Cavern is the latest in a run of ridonculous urban bike parks. Sick, brah!
YOU GONNA FINISH THAT?

Picky eaters — like penguins and my cousin Jables — could starve under climate change

Specialist eaters like chinstrap penguins could face species-ending food shortages, while generalists like gentoo penguins thrive.
CITIES

When did letting your kids walk home alone become a crime?

A couple in Silver Spring, Md., let their kids walk home form the park unchaperoned. Their reward was a visit from Child Services.
SOTU REDUX

Republicans edit climate-denial mockery out of Obama’s State of the Union

Obama poked the GOP for their overused "I'm not a scientist" dodge. Seems they didn't like it one bit.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Fracktivists fight liquefied natural gas terminal near NYC

New York’s famously dedicated anti-fracking activists are pushing Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto an LNG import project.
SOTU, BRUTE?

Obama to Republicans: So long, and thanks for nothing

The State of the Union address marked the end of Obama's dreams of bipartisanship. The fight against climate change will benefit.
LIVING

M. Sanjayan is hosting a new nature series on … humans?

Want to save the natural world? Get your hands dirty, says this conservation scientist.
LIVING

Outfit so last year? Compost it

Eco-clothing brand Freitag wants you to feed your plants with its pants.
FE FI FO BUMMER

Future forests to be smaller, less majestic

California's giant trees -- including its showstopping sequoias and redwoods -- are growing smaller under climate pressure.
POLITICS

Obama: Climate change is a huge threat to future generations

In his State of the Union address, the president dismissed climate deniers and warned Republicans not to block his efforts to take action.
LIVING

Pope wants you to stop popping out babies — but don’t even think about using birth control

In the race to catch up to women of the 21st century, the Catholic Church is stuck somewhere around 1912. Cool!
CLIMATE & ENERGY

The Yellowstone River didn’t have enough oil in it, apparently

A recent pipeline breach was the second major spill on the river since 2011, and the response hasn't gotten any faster.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Villains behind W.Va. toxic spill are back spilling again

Remember the guys who poisoned the drinking water of 300,000 West Virginians? Their new company has been cited eight times for environmental violations.
FOOD

Want to create a new generation of farmers? Forgive their college debt

A new campaign calls on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to recognize farming as a public good.
WHEELY DELICIOUS

Food bikes combine our two favorite things

From bakeries on wheels in Pittsburgh to mobile taquerias in Oakland, brewers, chefs, baristas, and farmers alike are turning to bikes.
FOOD

Do your best nature impression, feed the world, and win a prize

The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge is looking for great nature-inspired ideas to improve the food system.
POLITICS

Americans like stuff that sounds good, polls find

The public prefers things like clean air and clean energy, but that doesn't mean progressives will win on those issues.
POLITICS

Why Obama should crack down on gassy cows

Obama's new methane regulations don’t pass the smell test.
LIVING

Watch me get an IUD — for the planet

Sometimes, doing the most sustainable thing for your uterus means you get to go to McDonald's afterward.
VIRTUOUS CYCLE

Peer-to-peer bike rentals are more principle than profit

Spinlister, the Airbnb-style rent-a-bike service, wants to help give cyclists access to wheels, wherever they may find themselves.
FOOD

Solving hunger is simple — end poverty. Gulp.

Trying to end poverty may seem like a tall order if all you want to do is make sure people don't starve. But there's plenty we can do -- and a lot we even agree on.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Climate change could be happening 2,400 feet under Antarctic ice

Scientist drilled half a mile through ancient Antarctic glaciers and found, yup, more evidence of human-caused climate change.
LIVING

Is there such thing as guilt-free leather?

A reader wonders if faux leather is more ethical than the real stuff. Umbra says she could be suede.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Watch this nature doc on the majestic tar-sands pipeline

This spin-off of National Geographic Channel's "Great Migrations" tells the story of an unexpected critter.
CITIES

Beijing’s toxic air is literally off the charts

Again.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Quick, go visit the ocean one last time before it dies

We mess with the oceans so much that we may be due for a marine mass extinction, says a new broad study.
FOOD

Even Hello Kitty is getting into sustainable food

The cartoon cat moves on from homemaking and Ferris wheel-riding to start her own wildly popular organic farm in Hong Kong.
FOOD

Why essential oils could change factory farming

Chickens might soon blow their paychecks in the "Holistic Healing" aisle at Whole Foods -- just like you!
BRAT WORST

Why I’ll never have kids, and why you shouldn’t either

Is this really a world you want to bring children into?
CLIMATE & ENERGY

The hottest year ever, in 5 charts

The Earth keeps getting warmer, and we're to blame.
TGIF, Y'ALL

Life on Earth now officially at risk, scientists say

Humans are "eating away at our own life support systems" at a rate unseen in the past 10,000 years, two new research papers say.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

These battery-powered trains are almost as magical as the Hogwarts Express

They shuttle Brits 12 miles using only batteries the size of a BIC lighter.
LIVING

Oscar nominations: Everything we love (hint: Mark Ruffalo) and hate

We'd like to issue a very warm congratulations to Official Grist Boyfriend Mark Ruffalo.
SURVIVOR: POLYP EDITION

These reefs actually stand a chance of surviving climate change

So let's not destroy them first.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Climate hawks are not impressed by Obama’s methane plan

The EPA will regulate methane leaks from new oil and gas wells, but will only call for “voluntary” action to plug up leaks at existing wells.
CLIMATE & ENERGY

Here’s what climate activists should do in 2015

We quizzed more than a dozen leaders and thinkers about priorities for this coming year, and this is what they had to say.
FARE ECONOMY

Don’t call Uber and Lyft “ride-sharing,” says AP

Uber and Lyft don't actually 'share' anything, rides or otherwise. The Associated Press suggests calling them "ride-hailing" or "ride-booking" services instead.
RAVES AND GRAVES

Would you rather swim in a river of ammonium or MDMA?

Fracking sites in Pennsylvania or rave rivers in Taiwan -- the choice is yours, river-dweller!
CLIMATE & ENERGY

How much is climate change going to cost us?

The models we use to estimate the cost of climate impacts may be substantially underestimating them. New research shows how.

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