Latest Articles
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And other words from readers
Responding to “Power Shift,” our special edition on local initiatives to combat global warming in the absence of federal leadership, Grist readers waxed pretty warm, themselves. Ross Gelbspan’s piece on the failure of big-name national environmental groups to take the lead on climate change drew praise from local activists — and criticism from some of […]
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Tempura’s Rising
Global warming has come to Tokyo with a vengeance: While the average global temperature has increased by 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last century, the average temperature in the Japanese capital has risen by more than five times that. Like most large cities, Tokyo is an island of heat. Concrete, cars, and rooftops absorb sunlight […]
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Canyon of Worms
The Bush administration announced yesterday that energy companies will be allowed to expand oil and gas exploration beyond the boundaries of their leases at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument near Durango, Colo. The announcement marks the first time exploration has been permitted outside leased areas at a monument. Already, about 85 percent of the […]
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More Than Meats the Eye
In the last two decades, there’s been a national growth spurt in super-sized animal feedlots and slaughterhouses. That spurt has outpaced the ability of regulators to keep such places operating safely and cleanly — and that has led to polluted water bodies, food safety scares, and on-the-job injuries, according to a report released yesterday by […]
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Canada Drier
Global warming could spell big trouble for Canada’s freshwater supply, according to a report from the government agency Natural Resources Canada. The predicted global surface-air temperature increase of between 2.5 and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century would sap some of the country’s hydroelectric power potential, lower lake levels, and pave the way for […]
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When Push Comes to Chevron
In a classic David-and-Goliath battle, women in southern Nigeria are taking on oil giants ChevronTexaco and Royal Dutch/Shell to demand more responsible environmental and social policies. Last week, hundreds of women blocked access to company offices in the latest of a month of all-women protests. The unusual demonstrations are gaining a reputation as one of […]
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The Big Uneasy
In Louisiana, the sea-level rises caused by global warming aren’t the stuff of dry scientific reports; they’re already a local reality. Up to 35 square miles of the state’s wetlands get a little too wet every year — they disappear into the Gulf of Mexico. To date, Louisiana has lost an area the size of […]
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Outward Boundary
In a federal lawsuit over the legality of a new Navy sonar system said to harm marine animals, the Bush administration is challenging the scope of one of the most important pieces of U.S. environmental legislation, the National Environmental Policy Act. The act requires federal agencies to review the environmental implications of their projects, but […]
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Scrambled Eggs
If you were looking for good news about endocrine disputers, you’re out of luck. A global report by the World Health Organization has found extensive damage to wildlife from endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and could not rule out possible risks for humans as well. EDCs — which lurk in pesticide residues on food, plastics, household products, […]
