Latest Articles

Money Doesn’t Grow on Tree Huggers

Dang, Grist readers, y’all had such an amazingly generous response to yesterday’s fundraising plea that we thought we’d better do it again. So here goes: For those of you who were away from your email accounts Tuesday, the skinny is that there are just three days left to dig deep into your hearts and wallets […]

Classless Dismissal

Seeking a comfortable position between environmentalists on the one hand and industry buddies on the other, President Bush let his administration release a report last week acknowledging for the first time that human-caused climate change would substantially change the U.S. environment — but then distanced himself from the report’s conclusions during a press conference yesterday. […]

Who’s the Unfairest of Them All

A major gas field development in the Arctic Circle’s Barents Sea has won official approval from the European Free Trade Area, much to the dismay of environmentalists. Norway’s state-owned energy group Statoil is running the $5.8 billion project, which will be the first commercial exploration of fossil fuel in the region and Europe’s first offshore […]

Umbra on hybrid cars

Umbra, hi, With Honda having just released its gas-electric hybrid Civic in the U.S., many enviros are scrambling to buy one. But one question that hasn’t been answered to my knowledge is whether the total amount of energy, pollution, mining, etc. involved in making a new car — even a hybrid — constitutes a greater […]

Umbra on grocery bags

Dear Umbra, At the grocery store, when they ask “Paper or plastic?” (and you have left your eco-friendly organic cotton tote bag at home), which is the lesser of two evils as far as total pounds of pollutants per bag (including solid waste, hazardous waste, and air and water pollution), and as far as ecological […]

Diet Ops for Diet

Following in the footsteps of the European Union, Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change today, becoming the 73rd country to commit to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Japan had previously waffled on ratification, especially after the Bush administration backed out of the treaty, but public pressure won out and the country’s upper house of […]

Umbra on computers

Dear Umbra, I normally turn my computer off when I leave the office. However, I was recently told that the act of turning on a computer requires more energy than is saved by keeping it off from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. The person said that it is better to let your computer go into […]

Give It Up

Check your calendars: There’s one month left until the Fourth of July, 17 days until the summer solstice, 12 days until Father’s Day … and just four days left to help keep your favorite online environmental magazine alive and kicking. That’s right; after Friday, you won’t receive any more such pleas asking for your support […]

Taylor-made Destruction

Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, has spread instability within his nation’s borders and helped foment a brutal civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. To fund the fighting, he has exploited his country’s natural resources. At first, it was diamonds — but as international scrutiny on the dirty diamond trade has increased, Taylor has been […]

Whale Killers

The killer whale population has declined 20 percent since 1995, and scientists think they’ve found one of the reasons why: whale watchers. The motorized boats that serve whale-watchers disrupt the orcas’ sonar, reducing its efficiency by as much as 99 percent. That means whales have to swim harder and longer to find food; in so […]