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Commercial fishermen face off with ocean conservation group

Like characters in an adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, the research crew aboard Oceana's research catamaran, the Ranger, found themselves in peril amidst the clutches of a seven-ship band of angry fishermen wielding hooks.

The Ranger, at sea now for two weeks photographing the use of illegal driftnets in international waters off of France, was sailing peacefully when seven ships surrounded it, demanding cameras and other incriminating evidence. The angry commercial fishermen immobilized the Ranger's propellers with rope, and hurled fish (and four-letter words) at the crew.

These Are the Times That Try Pens’ Souls

Daily Grist takes a break for Memorial Day Whether your Memorial Day holiday involves firing up the grill with friends or quietly reflecting on our soldiers’ sacrifices, we tip our cap to you. As for us, we’ll be doing a little of both, in a manner befitting our … eh, who are we kidding, we […]

A guest essay

The following is a guest essay from Roger S. Gottlieb, Professor of philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His books include A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and our Planet’s Future and This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment. —– If you’re not depressed, a friend of mine has been saying, it’s only because you haven’t been reading […]

Why agribusiness giants are facing off over corn ethanol

As recently as 2005, a buck fifty could get you a bushel of corn — about three days’ rations for a confined dairy cow. Today, that same bushel would run you nearly $4. Trouble in Big Ag paradise. Photo: iStockphoto That rapid price increase, inspired by a slew of federal policies that encourage transforming corn […]

The Coal Shebang

California says yes to stricter vehicle emissions, no to dirty coal California keeps pushing to be the Greenest State Ever, No Seriously, Like Ever. At an EPA hearing Tuesday, state officials demanded permission to enact vehicle emissions rules that would be stricter than federal guidelines. Under the Clean Air Act, states can follow either federal […]

Hitting Them Where It Hurts

Rebels kill ranger in Congolese national park, threaten officials and gorillas Rebels attacked three ranger posts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park this weekend, killing one wildlife officer, wounding three more, and taking 13 hostages. While the human prisoners were released, the Mai Mai rebels still have hostages of a sort: […]

They Could Teach PBS a Thing or Two

United Nations meets pledge goal for Billion Tree campaign Six months after launching a “Billion Tree” campaign to fight climate change, the United Nations has gotten more than a billion tree-planting pledges from around the world, with around 14 million trees making it into the ground so far. “The challenge now is to tell the […]

History Belongs to Those Who Dare to Rewrite It

Smithsonian allegedly revised exhibit to show climate “uncertainty” In 2003, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History was accused of pandering to the Bush administration when a photography exhibit about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was relocated and downplayed. Now former museum administrator Robert Sullivan is charging that last year, the museum toned down […]

Taken by my parents at a Toronto Blue Jays game

Gristmill: We’re nuts and more!

Birth of a new feature

Technical note: The Topics features mentioned below no longer are supported on Grist. As Dave noted yesterday, we rolled out a new site feature last weekend, and although we simply call it “topics,” it’s something we’ve been working on for months. Eventually it will be integrated into the site just as profoundly as commenting. Like […]