The disaster effect

Hello, and welcome back to State of Emergency. My name is Zoya Teirstein. There is quite a bit of research on the politics of disasters and how extreme weather shapes voter behavior. We’ve cited some of it in this newsletter. Today, you’ll hear about that research through a diffe … | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

As fast fashion giant Shein embraces AI, its emissions are soaring

The company nearly doubled its emissions in 2023, making it the biggest polluter in the industry. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Hurricanes are personal for this disaster researcher

Surviving Hurricane Katrina gave Daniel Aldrich's research a new focus: understanding how disasters shape the politics of a place. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Nearly 200 people were killed last year protecting the environment

Most were Black or Indigenous. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

A new ‘green bank’ could bring solar power and electric buses to Appalachia

$500 million from the EPA will support small lenders to invest in renewable energy | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

How to sell an ‘ugly’ vegetable? Give it googly eyes.

Giving irregular-looking fruits and vegetables a personality could make them more appealing to consumers — and curb food waste. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Climate change is drastically changing life for Indigenous peoples in the Pacific

A new U.N. report finds that the southwest Pacific region faced more extreme drought and rainfall than average last year, and dozens of disasters. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

EV sales are growing. So why are automakers getting cold feet?

From Ford to Mercedes-Benz, major automakers are walking back aggressive electrification goals they set just a few years ago. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

As Tornado Alley shifts east, bracing for impact in unexpected places

Experts say the causes are still unclear, but the change is consistent with a warming world. The effects on the ground could be devastating. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

How Big Oil’s big money influences climate research

A new study offers the first comprehensive look at the ties between fossil fuel companies and universities. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

An unlikely line of defense during heat waves: Food banks

Food pantries and meals-on-wheels organizations are taking on a new role during climate emergencies. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

From the cradle: How kids, newborns, and the unborn jump-started South Korea’s historic climate lawsuit

A constitutional court has ruled that South Korea can’t just set a carbon neutrality target — it has to have a roadmap to making it real. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

As Pennsylvania chooses the next president, its unions are choosing clean energy

A coalition of trade unions have launched a new advocacy group, Union Energy, to ensure that Pennsylvania's workers get a “just transition” to a fossil-fuel-free economy. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Biden’s FEMA director tried to fix the agency. Did she succeed?

In an exclusive interview, Biden FEMA chief Deanne Criswell discusses her attempts to create a “very different” disaster agency. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

What back-to-back storms did to Lake Charles, Louisiana

Hello, and welcome back to State of Emergency. My name is Zoya Teirstein, and today we’re going to be talking about a place one journalist dubbed, “the most unfortunate city in the United States.” It’s been just over four years since Hurricane Laura slammed into southwest Louisia … | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Can the US census keep up with climate-driven displacement?

Four years after a string of disasters plagued one Louisiana town, its residents are still on the move. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

As ‘doomsday’ glacier melts, can an artificial barrier save it?

Relatively warm ocean currents are weakening the base of Antarctica’s enormous Thwaites Glacier, whose demise could raise sea levels by as much as 7 feet. To separate the ice from those warmer ocean waters, scientists have put forward an audacious plan to erect a massive underwat … | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Midwest grid operators submit $1.7 billion plan to build cross-border power lines

MISO and SPP are seeking approval for a joint transmission project that could unlock gigawatts of clean energy — and create a template for similar collaborations. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

GOP-run districts get 85% of the benefit of climate law. Some still hate it.

A new tally shows the overwhelming number of jobs and projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act go to conservative states that back Trump. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

How climate change is expanding the reach of a rare and deadly mosquito-borne illness

Eastern equine encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease with a high mortality rate, has been spreading in the Northeast as temperatures rise. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

NYC’s food delivery workers are sweltering in the heat — and demanding more protection

"We risked our health for the delivery companies during COVID, and now we are doing it again." | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

States are falling behind in using IRA funding to advance climate action

Two years after the IRA passed, a new report found that states have only captured a tiny fraction of the funding available. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

States are falling behind in using IRA funding to advance climate action

Two years after the IRA passed, a new report found that states have only captured a tiny fraction of the funding available. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Voices of Vogtle: Four oral histories

Interviews with people who live near or work closely with Plant Vogtle, America’s largest nuclear power plant. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Amazon says it’s going ‘water positive’ — but there’s a problem

The company’s pledge to conserve water at its data centers doesn’t account for the thirsty power plants that keep them running. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

A new solution for flood-prone cities? Concrete made from shellfish waste.

Researchers have developed a type of concrete that uses discarded shells to trap water. It's now combating floods and food waste in urban gardens and along cycling paths. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Oakland’s new school buses don’t just reduce pollution — they double as giant batteries

A new fleet of buses can send power back to the grid, stabilizing it instead of straining it. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

As climate change worsens, deadly prison heat is increasingly an everywhere problem

With heat waves sweeping across the country, incarcerated people in states with traditionally milder climates are facing brutal conditions that have long plagued the South and Southwest. A survey by The Appeal reveals that many of the hottest states house prisoners in units witho … | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Methane leaks are a climate problem. These satellites could help find them.

Data from a new fleet of satellites is poised to change how we monitor — and mitigate — a potent greenhouse gas. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

The forgotten fight to ban gas-powered cars in the 1960s

Half a century ago, an obscure state senator fought to ban gas-powered cars — and almost won. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Lessons from Houston’s Katrina response

Hello everyone, and welcome back to State of Emergency. I’m Jake Bittle, and today we’re going to be talking about the lasting political impact of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. When we talk about the impacts of climate change in the United States, and in … | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Why Mississippi coal is powering Georgia’s data centers

With electricity demand spiking, the Southern Company has opted to keep burning fossil fuels. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

They settled in Houston after Katrina — and then faced a political storm

The backlash against an effort to resettle 200,000 evacuees holds lessons for future disasters. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Scientists want to build a ‘doomsday’ vault on the moon

Climate change is threatening Earth's biodiversity. Could frozen regions of the moon be the best place to "back up" lifeforms? | Continue reading


@grist.org | 2 months ago

Thawing Alaskan permafrost is unleashing more mercury, confirming worst fears of scientists

"It has that sense of a bomb that's going to go off." | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

The right to repair electronics is now law in 3 states. Is Big Tech complying?

You're legally entitled to fix your own gadgets in California, Minnesota, and New York — but not all tech companies have gotten the memo. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Washington solar project paused amid concern about Indigenous sites

Avangrid Renewables said it plans to review comments from tribal nations and private landowners. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Ecuador voted to keep oil in the ground. Will it happen?

More than 10 million Ecuadorians voted last year to ban oil operations in part of the Amazon rainforest. But heavy crude has continued to flow from the region, which is home to uncontacted Indigenous families. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Federal judge rolls back key civil rights protections in Louisiana’s ‘sacrifice zones’

The decision could open the door for other industry-friendly states to follow suit. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

What climate policies work best? A new study has answers.

Out of 1,500 policies in 41 countries, a small fraction had a big impact. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Mississippi officials saw the Jackson water crisis coming — and did nothing

A new report from the EPA inspector general found the state’s health department saw evidence of elevated lead levels as early as 2015. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

An invisible, toxic chemical has been poisoning residents in Puerto Rico for decades

An industrial worker got one whiff of ethylene oxide. Twenty years later, he still hasn’t recovered — and his community is searching for answers. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Why Puerto Rico remains a tax haven for polluters

Despite health risks, Puerto Rico keeps tax incentives in place for cancer-causing chemical polluters. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Why the EPA is relying on unproven technology to stop cancer-causing emissions

Regulators hope sealed enclosures can keep a dangerous chemical from getting loose. Experts think they’re wrong. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

This simple farming technique can capture carbon for thousands of years

Across the world, farmers are turning waste biomass into biochar, improving soils, boosting yields, and creating a new source of income. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Colorado is trying to prevent people from putting plastic forks in their compost

But even products certified as "compostable" are causing headaches. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

How ‘loving corrections’ could transform our relationships with one another — and the Earth

In her newest book, activist and scholar Adrienne Maree Brown offers a practical guide to empathy. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago

Climate change is messing with city sewers — and the solutions are even messier

As heavy rains overwhelm aging pipes, Boston and NYC are choosing very different paths forward. | Continue reading


@grist.org | 3 months ago