Latest Articles

Wesley Clark has some good things to say about the environment — and some things to learn

The man of the hour. Photo: Clark for President. Days after entering the presidential race, Wesley Clark is dominating the public opinion polls — surpassing not only fellow Democratic candidates but also President Bush in approval ratings. Forty-nine percent of registered voters in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Monday said they’d vote for Clark, compared […]

Return of the Smog Monster

Southern California Air Quality Takes a Turn for the Worse After years of gradual improvement, Southern California’s air quality took a tumble this summer, falling to its worst levels since 1997 due to the combined effects of hot weather and increasing emissions. Taken as a whole, the region’s air quality has dramatically improved in the […]

Judge Dread

After 15 Years, Judge Is Removed From Everglades Case A federal judge who presided over the legal ins and outs of the Florida Everglades restoration project was removed yesterday after 15 years on the case. U.S District Judge William Hoeveler was dismissed after he called Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s (R) Everglades bill “clearly defective” and […]

As If British Food Weren’t Bad Enough

British Citizens Voice Overwhelming Opposition to GM Foods The British government is poised to support the planting of GM crops in Europe when a five-year ban on them expires next year — but British citizens could scarcely disapprove more of that plan. According to “GM Nation?,” a report on the results of 600 meetings held […]

I’ve Seen the Smokestack and the Damage Done

New Jersey Plays Hardball With Polluters In the most aggressive attack on polluters anywhere in the nation, New Jersey is demanding that more than 80 companies pay penalties for causing harm to the environment. The penalties are not simply the price tag of a cleanup; rather, they are natural-resource damage claims, under which companies must […]

A Grist interview with Democratic presidential contender John Kerry

Kerry power. Photo: Kerry for President. He has the jaw and build of Paul Bunyan; he windsurfs, kite-boards, and snowboards; and he’s married to Teresa Heinz, one of the most powerful environmental philanthropists in the country. He has his finger on every hot-button environmental issue in D.C., from helping to lead the Senate campaign against […]

The Ice, Man, Cometh

Arctic’s Biggest Ice Shelf Breaks Apart, Signaling Increased Warming A 3,000-year-old ice shelf in the Arctic Ocean, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere, has broken into pieces over the past two years, highlighting significant warming trends, according to new research published in Geophysical Research Letters. Scientists said they couldn’t determine whether the melting was related […]

Wheelie Great

Car-Free Day Helps Clear the Air in Europe Citizens in more than 1,000 cities around the world were treated to cleaner air and less congested streets yesterday on the sixth annual car-free day. The event was particularly popular in Europe, where air pollution has had a higher profile since August, when poor air quality accompanied […]

Babes Up in Arms

Study Finds Troubling Levels of Flame Retardants in Breast Milk Fire-retardant chemicals used in household items from furniture to computers to coffee makers have been detected in American women’s breast milk at worrying levels, according to the first national study of the issue. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which have been linked to developmental difficulties and […]

West Side Story

West Coast Governors Step Up to Tackle Climate Change Accusing the Bush administration of “foot-dragging” in the fight against climate change, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington teamed up yesterday to unveil a joint strategy for cutting emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Governors Gray Davis (Calif.), Ted Kulongoski (Ore.), and Gary Locke (Wash.), Democrats […]