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Christopher Swain, Columbia River swimmer

Christopher Swain, the founder of Advocacy Swimming International, is swimming the Columbia River from source to mouth. When he is not swimming, he lives in Portland, Ore., with his wife and daughter. Monday, 10 Jun 2002 RADIUM HOT SPRINGS, British Columbia Last Tuesday, I zipped up my dry suit, kissed my wife and daughter, and […]

Short Changed

Bolstering environmentalists’ accusations of favoritism in Florida, the Bush administration rejected on Friday a request by California Gov. Gray Davis (D) that it buy back offshore drilling rights. On May 29, President Bush announced a $235 million dollar buy-back of Florida drilling rights, a move that was widely viewed as a favor (and campaign contribution) […]

All We Have Is Dust in the Wind

A Shot in the Dark

For the obsessive ornithologists among our readers, some tragicomic news: Once-buoyant hopes for the survival of the ivory-billed woodpecker have faded after sounds thought to be the bird’s distinctive double-rap on a dead tree proved to be distant gunshots. Earlier this year, the ivory-billed woodpecker, which has not been confirmed to exist since shortly after […]

You’ve Got to Hand It to Us

Ah, Friday: You’re nearly done with your work, the weekend is looming, and there’s just one thing left on your list of things to do — helping to keep your favorite online environmental magazine alive and thriving. With a shoestring budget and a staff of just four people, we bring you breaking international environmental news […]

A Quest Called Tribe

U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman acknowledged this week that it was “all too apparent that EPA needs to do more” to help tackle environmental problems on tribal lands. Whitman’s announcement came during the Sixth National Tribal Conference on Environmental Management, held this week in Sparks, Nev. The conference focuses on mining, water and air quality, […]

Dentist the Menace

Here’s one more reason to dread your dentist: Many dental offices flush old fillings down the drain, washing the mercury inside them into the nation’s waterways. That makes dentists the single largest discharger of the toxic metal, according to a national study entitled “Dentist the Menace?” and published by a collection of health and environmental […]

Give Us a Hand

Pop Quiz For Daily Grist Readers: What’s important about today? That’s right — it’s the second-to-last day of the first-ever Grist fundraising drive. So far, it’s been a resounding success, and we’re hoping that those who haven’t yet given will dig deep and help us sprint to the finish. We know, we know; you were […]

Iguana Be Alone!

Eighteen months ago, a grounded tanker spilled 150,000 gallons of diesel and bunker fuel into the waters around the famed Galapagos Islands. Luckily, shifting winds sent most of the fuel out to sea rather than into shore, so sea lion and bird deaths numbered in the dozens rather than the hundreds. At the time, biologists […]

Thumbs Down Under

Elsewhere in depressing but predictable climate change news, Australia rejected the Kyoto Protocol today, saying it would not ratify unless the U.S. did so as well, and unless developing nations were required to begin cutting their emissions. Taking a page from President Bush’s book, Prime Minister John Howard said that ratifying the protocol “would cost […]