As the Democrats gear up for their convention next week, Cynthia McKinney wants you to know that they're not the most progressive game in town. The Green Party presidential candidate says her party is the one that's truly dedicated to social justice and ecological wisdom. McKinney sums up her philosophy on energy with a simple rhyme: "Leave the oil in the soil." As she tells Grist in an interview, "Right now we've got two energy policies in this country. One is war, the other is drilling.

Back-to-school shopping doesn't have to be an exercise in conspicuously ungreen consumption. Eco-friendly school supplies made of recycled and organic materials are easier than ever to find. To give you just a taste of what's out there, we've rounded up a few fun, green products.

Few issues sow more brawls in the food world than genetically modified organisms (GMOs). To their most passionate supporters, GMOs represent the solution to feeding the world amid ecological crisis and rising population. Others reject GMOs wholesale, without really understanding the science or economics behind them. Author Claire Hope Cummings has been closely watching the GMO debate since it arose in the early 1990s. She worked as an environmental lawyer for 20 years, including four with the USDA, and has farmed professionally.

Why do Americans spend billions of dollars a year on bottled water when they can get H2O from their taps for next to nothing? Elizabeth Royte sets out to answer that question in her book "Bottlemania." In an interview with Grist, Royte talks about hydration myths, anti-bottle mayors, water snobbery, and more.

The stereotypes of biz-begrudging enviros and planet-pillaging business leaders were upended years ago. These days, green groups and corporations team up on everything from preserving land to pushing for climate regulations. Now, in the latest example of cross-pollination, they're even swapping executives.

What do you get when you mix "An Inconvenient Truth" with "Waiting for Guffman"? You get something close to "Sizzle," the new mockumentary from marine-biologist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson. Weaving real-life interviews with a preposterous behind-the-scenes plot, Olson hopes to get the climate message out in a new way, as he explains in an interview with Erik Hoffner.

Jeffrey Sachs has palled around with do-gooding celebs like Bono and Angelina Jolie, but also advised international power brokers like U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. An economist and professor of sustainable development at Columbia University, Sachs is on a mission to solve the world's big problems: climate change, poverty, security, disease, and ecosystem degradation. More pragmatist than eco-purist, Sachs advocates solutions ranging from solar power and ultra-efficient cars to advanced coal technologies, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified seeds.

We know that Grist's green-living book, "Wake Up and Smell the Planet," is tops in your library ... or at least on your toilet tank. But what about this year's crop of new green-living books? Do they deserve a place in the stack? Holly Richmond takes a look.

Which books and magazines are tempting today's environmental movers and shakers to keep the CFLs burning late into the night? Grist asked seven movement leaders for their recommended reads.