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Why environmental groups have been slow to fight the border wall

The bobcat turned, looked at me, and jumped into the mesquite brush. It was the first day of a three-day visit to South Texas, and I was exploring the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge along the Rio Grande River. Seeing the bobcat was a treat for me — but the kind of treat that could […]

Notable quotable

“I’m interested in good policy. Kyoto, I thought, was bad policy.” — George W. Bush

Time to think about the global food system

An excellent article, "The Globalization of Hunger," appears over at the Madre website on the absurdities (as in moving food all over the globe) and injustices (kicking people off their land so agribusiness can grow exportable crops) of the global agricultural system.

Seattle Grist Reader Party — go get your tickets!

Hey, lemme guess, you got busy with other stuff and forgot to buy your ticket to the Grist Seattle Reader Party, which is taking place (whaaat?) tomorrow. Go get ’em, quick! They’re $20 now, but if you wait and buy them at the door they’re $25. That’s another whole drink you could have had. See […]

A look at Ron Paul’s environmental platform and record

Update: Ron Paul dropped out of the presidential race on June 12, 2008. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul doesn’t spend much time talking about the environment; when he does address the issue, it’s usually to say that our land, air, and water would be in better shape if the government butted out and let the […]

Nature on ethanol

The editors at Nature discover that corn ethanol sucks: Biofuels are unlikely ever to be more than bit-players in the great task of weaning civilization from Earth’s coal-mine and oil-well teats. But they may yet have valuable niches — including some that allow them to serve some of the world’s poor, both as fuels for […]

An interview with Ron Paul about his presidential platform on energy and the environment

This is part of a series of interviews with presidential candidates produced jointly by Grist and Outside. Update: Ron Paul dropped out of the presidential race on June 12, 2008. Ron Paul. Photo: MyTwistedLens Enviros may roll their eyes at a candidate who dismisses the U.S. EPA as feckless and disposable, who believes all public […]

Smart commentary on Gore’s Nobel

“Do I derange you?” Photo: Eric Neitzel/WireImage. Gore’s Nobel certainly brought out the mouthbreathers, but it also inspired some insightful commentary, some of it, mercifully, not about its effects on the presidential race. Most commentators did, however, find it difficult to avoid the Bush/Gore comparison. Here’s a sample of some of the better stuff I’ve […]

Report says EPA not doing enough to protect Mississippi River

The longest river in the United States has been abandoned by the very agency that should be protecting it, says a new report from the National Research Council. A 13-member panel assessed the Mississippi River’s health and evaluated efforts to implement the federal Clean Water Act along the waterway’s 2,300 miles. Conclusion? The U.S. EPA […]

2007: A record-setting U.S. drought year

The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) just issued its September report -- and the West and Southeast continue to scorch:

About 43 percent of the contiguous U.S. fell in the moderate to extreme drought categories (based on the Palmer Drought Index) at the end of September.

Here is the U.S. Drought Monitor (darker = drier):

Here are some of the drought records being set around the country: