Latest Articles

Sonic Bust

The emissions from Boeing’s new high-speed plane, the Sonic Cruiser, may pose a direct threat to the ozone layer. Two years ago, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that 1,000 supersonic aircraft flying in the stratosphere would thin the ozone layer by about 1 percent a year. Boeing expects to sell, gulp, several […]

Kathleen Whitley, Sustainable Energy Alliance of Long Island

Kathleen Whitley, a Long Island native, is program manager of the Sustainable Energy Alliance of Long Island. Sunday, 26 Aug 2001 LONG ISLAND, N.Y. It’s an interesting story how I came to be writing these diaries for Grist Magazine. Two months ago, I happened to be in Loudoun County, Va., with my oldest daughter’s softball […]

Zed, last of his species, in "First Twins in a Twist"

Let It Blow, Let It Blow, Let It Blow

Wind power is now cheaper than coal in the U.S., according to a study published in the journal Science. The study’s researchers, two Stanford engineers, priced wind power at 3 to 4 cents per kilowatt hour, already competitive with the market price for coal power. After factoring in health and environmental costs, they put the […]

Making Arsenics of Themselves

A new study released yesterday by an advisory panel to the U.S. EPA undercuts one of the Bush administration’s main reasons for revoking a tougher standard for arsenic levels in drinking water. When EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman rejected the standard, she said the Clinton administration hadn’t adequately considered costs when arriving at the standard. […]

Footloose and Fancy Fleet

In a decision that could affect air pollution policy nationwide, a federal judge ruled yesterday that California officials can order public agencies to buy cleaner vehicles. Two industry associations challenged a rule by the South Coast Air Quality Management District that requires agencies to purchase low-emission or alternative-fuel cars, buses, and trucks, instead of diesel-powered […]

Bay of Pigs' Waste

The U.S. Congress should give farmers more than $6 billion a year to help them restore wetlands and prevent agricultural waste from polluting the nation’s waterways, according to American Rivers and Environmental Defense. They said yesterday that nearly half of the country’s bays are too polluted for fishing and swimming because of fertilizer and manure […]

We've Got Mail

Whoa, writes a Grist reader, don’t criticize Ford for making hybrid SUVs in lieu of more efficient cars. She says SUVs are the way to go in the Rocky Mountains in the winter, so they might as well be SUVs that burn less fuel. Another reader writes in with his own twist on the slogan […]

Department of Offense

The Pentagon may ask the U.S. Congress to rewrite the Endangered Species Act to exempt military training exercises from restrictions to protect sea turtles, desert tortoises, and other rare critters. Defense Department documents leaked to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility propose that the secretary of defense be able to “grant exemptions for reasons of mission […]

Isn't It Good, We Need More Wood

Feel good that the world’s three biggest buyers of lumber — Home Depot, Lowe’s, and IKEA — have promised to give preference to wood that meets eco-friendly certification standards. But feel un-good that very little such wood exists. Only about 200 patches of certified forests now exist across the globe. Rod Taylor of the World […]