Skip to content
Grist home
Support nonprofit news
  • Sherry Bosse reviews Fighting for the Forest by Gloria Rand and other reviews

    Sometimes it can be difficult to see the forest for the smog, but the natural beauty revealed when the haze clears can be a good deal more powerful and inspirational than mere words (such as those in this sentence). So it goes with photographs and illustrations, which often make for the best storytelling. Books with pictures can help foster the environmentalist in the child, and inspire childlike wonder in the environmentalist.

  • What's So Funny About Greenpeace, Love, and Understanding? Part II

    Last week, we aired the ranting of a former Greenpeace USA staffer about the current state of the organization in the wake of the recent decision by the board of directors to resign en masse. This week, we offer a forum to Craig Culp, director of media affairs at Greenpeace, who, shall we say, was […]

  • In Other Words …

    A while ago I wrote a column full of solemn statements from august scientists and other wise persons, warning that we are trashing our planet at a sickening pace. The august persons didn’t say “trashing” or “sickening.” They spoke of “adverse consequences” and “significant geopolitical risk.” An Alert Reader (to steal a phrase from Dave […]

  • Bye 2K

    Sure, that Butterfly lady, Julia, has decided to come down from her tree after Pacific Lumber agreed to stay its chainsaws for the grove; it looks like the planet really is melting, with scary numbers released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continuing to get prominent play in the press; and the EPA is […]

  • I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Dioxin-free Packaging

    Earlier this year, ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s began using new packaging made from unbleached, chlorine-free paper produced without generating dioxin. Ben & Jerry’s materials state that the only safe level of exposure to dioxin, which has been associated with cancer risk in some studies, “is no exposure at all.” Now the Competitive Enterprise […]

  • I Wish They All Could Be California Goals

    Hundreds of California cities and counties are falling short of a goal to reduce by 50 percent the amount of garbage they dump in landfills by 2000, much to the chagrin of enviros who have backed the state’s 1989 recycling law, which is the most comprehensive in the nation. Of 451 jurisdictions that reported their […]

  • We're American Airlines, Something Toxic in the Air

    Under threat of indictment, American Airlines pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally storing hazardous waste at the Miami airport and transporting hazardous and poisonous materials improperly on its passenger jets for the last five years,. The company will pay $8 million, the largest environmental fine ever levied against an airline, as well as make changes to […]

  • So Sewage Me

    The British Columbia attorney general’s office has quashed a joint effort by a Canadian environmental group and a labor union to end the dumping of toxic sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, an international body of water off the northern coast of Washington state and the southern coast of B.C. Victoria and other […]

  • Dam-age Control

    Breaching four dams along the Snake River in southeastern Washington — a move favored by enviros — would help a wide range of animals and fish in addition to endangered salmon, according to a report being released today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The report says that of four options being considered to […]