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Cattle pollution is pissing off the Rocky Mountain ecosystem
Excess nitrogen is overfertilizing Colorado's parks and causing all sorts of strange problems.
What’s behind the mysterious mass slayings of 320,000 chickens?
If this true crime story doesn't make you mad about the U.S. poultry industry, nothing will.
Could we fight climate change with bitcoin? This guys thinks so
James D'Angelo wants to launch a global, government-free cap-and-trade system using bitcoin.
Does hydropower make sense in a warming world?
Thanks to climate change, dams are a less reliable source of electricity, but a lot more of them are getting built anyway.
The drought is killing everything — except wineries
Drought takes a break from destroying everything you love to give Washington wines a surprising boost.
Rare-earth mining in Chile could make China look bad
A greener process for extracting rare-earth elements could mean higher prices but clearer consciences for tech manufacturers.
Sustainable food might be coming to a retirement home near you
Tell grandma to say goodbye to the rubber ham -- it's kale season.
Meet Las Vegas’ “prophet of growth”
Pat Mulroy preached conservation while backing growth in Las Vegas.
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Should oil companies have a seat at the climate negotiating table?
European oil majors are calling for international climate negotiators to put a price on carbon. Some green groups are skeptical.
In the battle against climate change, Seattle is on the front lines
The Paddle in Seattle is just a hint of this city's commitment to fighting climate change. Next up: Eliminating its carbon footprint completely.
Lindsey Graham is occasionally almost halfway decent on climate change
This Republican presidential contender gets a lot of credit for his views on the climate, but his record on the issue has been mixed.
Dutch teen’s ocean-cleaning invention to launch next year
If the trial works, The Ocean Cleanup Array could clean up half of the trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
This giant sperm bank in Colorado will save our hamburgers
The goal of this massive sperm bank is to protect heritage breeds from extinction -- and also to make them more climate-hardy.
These freaky maps show what extreme sea-level rise will do to China
As the world's ice sheets melt, cities like Shanghai could be heading underwater.
If Game of Thrones’ murderous ice zombies don’t make you care about climate change, we give up
This week's episode of Game of Thrones made a pretty compelling argument for climate action. Warning: Some general spoilers!
Move over, cotton. This smart fabric could change our lives
Introducing the latest in wearable tech: clothing that regulates body temp.
Why your organic, fair-trade, cruelty-free chocolate bar won’t save the world
A save-the-forests advocate argues that the certification system gives companies an easy out -- rather than a push to transform the world.
Is Seattle a model for sustainable cities, or just a mess?
In a new series, Grist explores the Emerald City, where the future looks increasingly crowded.
Foster Farms to reduce antibiotics in its chicken, but is it enough?
Big West Coast chicken outfit vows to join other industry heavyweights in cutting back its use of antibiotics.
Maryland’s Republican governor just let a fracking moratorium become law
Gov. Larry Hogan didn't sign the bill but he didn't veto it either because the state legislature would have overriden a veto.
Can I have a composting toilet?
A reader wants to install a composting toilet in her London flat. Umbra is flush with answers.
Martin O’Malley could try to out-green Bernie Sanders
O’Malley, former governor of Maryland, is running for president. Will he make a push to be the biggest climate hawk in the Democratic field?
Your comprehensive guide to making kick-ass asparagus
A simpler way to prepare asparagus, plus a clever dressing to put on all of your salads this season.
Most glaciers in Mount Everest area will disappear
About 5,500 glaciers could disappear or drastically retreat by the end of the century with severe impacts on farming and hydropower, say scientists.
4 crazy facts from a new fashion documentary
"The True Cost" gives new meaning to the phrase "retail therapy." We might need a retail therapist after watching it.
Bernie Sanders cares about cockblocking, too
A passion for CAPS and a liberal attitude toward sex? Be still, my heart!
Why are officials turning off the tap this summer in some of America’s most vulnerable cities?
Come April, municipal utilities start cracking down on businesses and homes with late water bills by shutting off their taps. Is it ethical?
Here’s why we need to politicize disasters
Ted Cruz says we shouldn't politicize the Texas floods. He's wrong. If we want to prevent disasters tomorrow, we need talk about vulnerabilities today.
California Senate candidate: “We’re all going to die”
Mike Beitiks is running on a "single board platform": He's all climate, all the time.
Walrus cam or the Entourage movie? Either way, bunch of dudes on a beach
The boys are back in town. And by boys, we mean Vince, E, Drama, Turtle, Ari, and thousands of male walruses.
A Republican governor just bucked his party to veto an ag-gag law
In a shocking move of moral consistency, a governor says that if we protect whistleblowers in nursing homes, we shouldn't prosecute them on farms.
Guess what Lil Mama’s new single “Sausages” is really about
Lil Mama is dropping some words of wisdom about safe sex masked in allegory about breakfast food.
The real sharing economy doesn’t require apps, just kindness
In the middle of a trans-continent bike trip, our hero discovers that in rural America, sharing comes naturally.
Detroit turns the lights back on with a solar experiment
A Detroit neighborhood that lost its streetlights because it couldn't afford the bill tests a solar-powered alternative.
Ben & Jerry’s fights climate change with gross-sounding new flavor
Everybody's favorite ice cream company is trying to raise awareness about global warming ahead of the upcoming Paris climate talks.
These maps show how rent is too damn high across America
You need to spend a lot of time working to make ends meet on minimum wage.
What do your mouth and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch have in common?
Those tiny, plastic particles really are everywhere.
Obama tweets it up on climate change and Arctic drilling
Obama's first significant act as @POTUS was to hold a chat on climate change.
Soda taxes bubbling up all over
Doctors support the idea of taxing sugary beverages, and the state budget could use the money, too.
Conservationists are putting backpacks on owls — and it is so damn cute
This is about as adorable as it gets, folks.
The climate movement doesn’t need conservatives
An environmentalist calling for the climate movement to incorporate conservatives is like a fundamentalist pastor calling for the anti–gay marriage movement to incorporate liberals.
This little clinic is tackling the big problem of rural teen pregnancy
Organizations like Room One are invaluable to the women and girls they serve, but they’re too few and far between.
Which hardware store is the greenest?
A reader wonders where to get sustainable home-improvement supplies. Umbra is the helpful hardware ham.
Study says street harassment is everywhere, still sucks
Hollaback! and Cornell University have just published the results of the largest international study of street harassment to date.
Why are federal dollars financing this thirsty crop in Arizona?
The federal government is propping up cotton farming during the West's water crisis.
Get me off this planet, because we have climate change zombies now
Thanks to decades of ice melt caused by climate change, lost artifacts are now popping up all over the place.
The Santa Barbara oil spill is already killing a lot of animals
The waters off Santa Barbara carry a mosaic of unusual species, all of which are at risk of being damaged by the oil spill.
What do we do with all these dead coal-fired power plants?
About 13 gigawatts worth of coal plants will close this year. What should we do with these old things?
EPA’s new rules on river pollution outrage the usual suspects
The agency reasserts its authority to regulate rivers in the wake of court decisions that reined in its powers. This rankles some politicians.
How one N.Y. museum is already prepping for the next big flood
The new Whitney Museum on the Hudson offers a glimpse of architecture's future: It's built like a bunker to ride out assault by a warmer global climate.
Why are all the badass women getting left out of the Mad Max video game?
Oh, another video game where the women are just passive, anatomically impossible sex objects? Yawn.
A Seattle high school is taking birth control access to the next level
Now, it’s easier for a Chief Sealth student to get an IUD than it is to get a Coke.
It’s Woman Crush Wednesday! Let’s celebrate our new college grads
This Woman Crush Wednesday, we bring you ladies running everything from climate cash to computer science.
Bill Nye, Amy Schumer, and Broad City team up to explain the universe in 3 minutes
Ladies, let's not rely on "the universe" to tell us what to do with our lives.
2 cool maps that show how wind power is poised to go big — really big
The U.S. Department of Energy has published two new maps that put that our wind-powered future in concrete terms.
5 ways to tackle the mess that bees are in
You can spray 'em, breed 'em, even genetically engineer 'em. But the best way to fight bee mites might be to change the whole system.
Can the “whitest city in America” deliver green living for all?
Portland, Ore., has set out to bridge the "green divide," bringing environmental justice to poor communities and communities of color.
You can’t talk about the future of the Democratic Party without talking about climate change
A recent N.Y. Times article paints Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) as a pragmatist fighting off a challenge from his left, but it misses the mark by ignoring his progressive leadership on climate change.
Surprise — teens are having sex. How can we make it safer?
Teen sex is not a big deal as long it's done safely -- which is where, sadly, we start to run into trouble.
In which I feed my children “land shrimp”
Crickets make a great sustainable protein source. But there are still some problems with the yum factor -- we lack a culinary tradition for bugs.
What happens if I flush leftover drugs down the toilet?
A reader wonders about the best way to dispose of unneeded medicine. Umbra plumbs for answers.
The Navy gears up for huge war games in Alaska — wildlife and environment be damned
As climate change melts Arctic ice, the military is increasingly focused on the far north. That's bad news for ecosystems and native people.
Go diving for sea urchins with a hilarious 73-year-old
This video explores San Diego's awesome food scene.
Is Tomorrowland the most dystopian movie of 2015?
Hype around Tomorrowland has focused on the film’s optimism -- look at this happy, perfect future we could have! It's not that simple.
Climate change is messing with gravity again
Antarctic ice is still melting at a gravity-shifting rate. Climate change is really heavy stuff.
Diverse cities don’t always have diverse neighborhoods
Some of the most racially "diverse" cities in the country are also the most segregated.
It’s official: California farmers volunteer to give up water
The state has already asked most farmers and residents to cut water use. Now it's turning to the people whose water rights are first in legal line.
Sea lion, fed up with climate change, hits the bar
All jokes about sea lions and Hair of the Dogs aside, starving sea lions landing in Newport bars is really upsetting.
Prepare to pay more for eggs
With domestic output in jeopardy, egg producers are contemplating both foreign supplies and plant-based alternatives.
Nashville is pretty ¯\_(ăƒ„)_/¯ about its giant accidental lake
Even Google Maps recognizes the country music capital's unnatural body of water.
This palm oil company just bulldozed a rainforest
Pressuring a little-known ag corporation is hard, so activists are going after a posh hotel chain that's owned by the same conglomerate.
This map of food cravings across the United States will make you hungry
Jucy Lucys. Chicken cheesesteaks. Banana pudding. What does your state crave the most?
The Tea Party can’t stand this presidential hopeful
Why Lindsey Graham has right-wing activists up in arms.
Finding good bagels outside of New York is impossible, and here’s why
A New York bagel, in all its culinary beauty, is a unique work of art. Watch this video to find out why.
CIA to close a secretive climate change science program
Scientists used the Medea program to study how global warming could worsen conflict. Now that project has come to an end.
Scientists may have found a solution for space pollution
There's a bunch of junk orbiting Earth, and these scientists want to destroy it using lasers.
The Constitution doesn’t care about your uterus
We're stuck in a hellish tango around the constitutional validity of controlling our uteri.
Oil spill returns to its ancestral waters near Santa Barbara
Here's a short list of ways the spill could lead to serious legislative change.
Can cities, businesses, and other new climate actors help bridge the emissions gap?
The U.N. Climate Summit last year elicited dozens of action plans, and some of them could make a real difference, new research finds.
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