- July 14, 2008 • 1:45 pm PDT
- + responses

A short history of black gold, from the ancient Persian army's flaming oil-dipped arrows to today's piercing pain at the pump.
View Oil: A Short History

1
Most Americans Want a Walkable Neighborhood, Not a Big House
2
Apple’s Brand Is at Stake as Customers Demand Better Labor Practices
3
Want to Raise Young Leaders? Don't Hand Out Rewards So Easily
4
Bad Girl: Does M.I.A. Live Up to Her Revolutionary Claims?
5
People Are Awesome: Man Embarks on Year of Random Kindnesses
1
Most Americans Want a Walkable Neighborhood, Not a Big House
2
Give Komen the Pink Slip: Five Ways to Support Women's Health for All
3
Is Sweden's Classroom-Free School the Future of Learning?
4
What Would a Post-SOPA Internet Look Like?
5
A 375-Year-Old French Bank Forgives Debts of Paris' Poorest
1
Don't Reinvent The Wheel, Steal It: An Urban Planning Award for Cities That Copy
2
Apple’s Brand Is at Stake as Customers Demand Better Labor Practices
3
It's Time for Some Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education
5
Bad Girl: Does M.I.A. Live Up to Her Revolutionary Claims?
today's top stories from our friends at pitchfork
We're all familiar with the idea of peak oil-the point at which our oil production will start declining forever. But that's not the only thing...
Happy Fossil Fools Day! A day to "celebrate" the leaders of politic and industry who are foolishly (or greedily) still promoting, fighting...
In a move that should break the hearts the "drill baby, drill" crowd, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the United States is...
Wondering where to direct your anger at the lack of climate legislation? Look no further than Rolling Stone's list of "the 17 polluters and...
The end of last week brought a flurry of news about energy and climate concerns-fuel efficiency standards, new mountaintop removal mining rules,...
Last week, General Motors began the fourth largest bankruptcy proceedings in history, joining the many other large and venerable companies...
In the great climate change debate, Patrick Michaels emerged as the skeptic with clout, a levelheaded doubter with the scientific credentials to...
How good can one brownie be? Greyston Bakery's brownies are delicious, sure, but they also help to alleviate poverty within the community of...
If you've let your subscription to Corporate Social Responsibility Magazine lapse, you may have missed their new list of "Best Corporate...
As tax day draws inexorably closer and closer, people become more and more focused on getting the most out of their returns. For those who have...
If you're looking to trick out your home with the greenest products on the market, you could do a lot worse than IceStone. Their countertops...
Here's an interesting chart purporting to show the "Best Jobs in America." Predictably, lots of jobs in information technology and medical...
In his 2010 TED talk, the branding expert Alan Siegel argues we have to simplify legal documents. Here's his proposal for a simplified credit card...

Microlending is all the rage, especially since microlending pioneer Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Today, Slate examines...
A graphic to help make sense of General Electric's size and scope.
The Tata Nano, the incredibly cheap car that might destroy the world if Indian people buy and drive it en masse, went on sale recently. How is it...
Popularized in the 1970s, the practice of microcredit-giving out small loans to borrowers to encourage entrepeneurship-has offered much-needed...
A $1 national increase in the price of gas results in a 10 percent decrease in national obesity rates.
Let's say you see a product on the shelf that says "natural," or "organic," or "biodegradable" on the label. Would you then believe that the...
MBA OK Business school isn't just for Wall Street hopefuls anymore. That is, if Jill Kickul has anything to say about...