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There’s Cash in Them There Fires

Oil fires in Nigeria can be source of cash for impoverished residents Some residents in Nigeria’s oil-rich river delta have resorted to setting fires to an oil pipeline to force […]

Back to Mystery Meat

Organic-lunch project pulled out of Chicago elementary school A school-lunch chef has pulled his Organic School Project out of a Chicago elementary school after district officials balked at his plans […]

Unable to Flush With Success

Sanitation a big problem worldwide, says U.N. The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, but we won’t wait until then to ply you with depressing statistics: […]

Temptation

Just a few days ago I met with a potential client who very much wanted me to design a rural green home on the edge of a wetland. He would have to compensate for the damage the home would do by funding the planting of native flora to help restore another wetland.

I declined even though it would have been interesting and lucrative. I am fully aware that he will just hire someone else and besmirch the wetland anyway. This happens to me on occasion. I refuse to design rural homes or cabins, especially off-grid ones, purely out of a sense of self-righteous indignation. They are sores on the face of the planet. I don't really blame those who are chasing their eco-fantasy, and I don't really blame those who will eventually do the designs for them, I just don't want to participate in the rape of the planet any more than necessary.

But today, I got the following email:

Friday music blogging: Jens Lekman

Today we bring you a Swedish singer-songwriter named Jens Lekman. On the surface, Lekman’s music is a bit of a throwback: mannered, melodic, occasionally orchestral pop, delivered with a precise […]

Romantic underwater secrets revealed

I came across this nugget of information when looking for something else, but thought it was worth sharing:

Scott Cummins and his colleagues at The University of Queensland have uncovered a potent mix of chemicals which acts like a cross between Chanel No 5 and Viagra -- but only if you are a sea slug.

Who knew things grew in NYC?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (Brooklyn), I got lunch with one of our Gristmill readers, Marielle Anzelone, who works as a botanist for the city […]

Readers write in about presidential candidates, green lists, and Grist’s “suck-it” chauvinism

  Dear Editor: OK, John Edwards seems to have a really good plan, so why cast doubt on his sincerity? (“What mixture of genuine sentiment and political calculation is behind […]

Sorry, Grandchildren

Climate tipping points could happen sooner than expected, says research You thought the predictions of climate chaos by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were scary? You ain’t seen nothin’ […]

This Gives Us Paws

Flame retardants linked to thyroid disease in house cats Thyroid disease in house cats may be linked to common flame retardants called PBDEs, according to U.S. EPA researchers. In a […]