Articles by Grist staff

Can U.S. corn farmers fill both bellies and tanks?

The boom in corn-based ethanol seems like good news for farmers, who suddenly face growing demand for their crop. But is there enough corn to go around? And will surging demand mean surging prices for consumers? Tom Philpott addresses the food vs. fuel debate in today's Victual Reality column, and Yolanda Crous talks to a farmer in Missouri who's an ethanol co-op board member. Also, as a wee digestif, we bring you a rundown of celebrity biofuels hitting the shelves soon. (OK, we completely made them up. What can we say -- two weeks of biofuels coverage would leave you a little punchy too.)

It’s Better to Give Than to Receive … Unless You Do Both

Grist fundraiser continues, ups the ante with mall-defying giveaways You’re a good person. You’ve spent lots of time in stores this month, or online, buying eco-friendly gifts for those you love. And even though you know it’s better to give than to receive, you’re quietly hoping you don’t get lousy gifts in return. Fear not! […]

The Incredible Bulk

Al Gore plans to launch grassroots carbon-freeze movement When is a grassroots movement not a grassroots movement? When it’s started by a kajillionaire movie-star politician, we’d say. But you can’t blame Al Gore for trying. At a venture-capital conference last week, Gore returned to the “carbon freeze” idea he’s been bandying about for a while, […]

Gems Fightin’ Words

Federal agency predictions that mines would not pollute water were wrong, study says Before giving a precious-metal mine the go-ahead, federal agencies must find that the operation will not taint surrounding waterways with chemicals like arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, and cyanide. But for the past 25 years, agencies’ pollution predictions “did not generally agree with […]