Articles by Grist staff

Movie, music bring awareness to conflict gems

A diamond is forever. A diamond is a girl's best friend. Lucy in the sky with diamonds. Neil Diamond.

Call it bling, call it ice, call it the most beautifulest piece of sparkly you've ever seen and yes-yes-yes-I'll-marry-you. Diamonds are more than just super-polished rocks. They symbolize true love and economic status. They adorn everything from ring fingers to pierced ears, gangsta grillz to bra straps.

But a recent string of films, music, and media coverage is beginning to shed light on the, shall we say, less-than-sparkling reputation of the industry that produces these gems. The New York Times has even called it "Hollywood's multifaceted cause du jour."

The Thrilla in Chip Gilla

Kick in some cash, so we can keep on kickin’ Did you think we were going to let you skate by without reminding you about our end-of-the-year fundraiser? We’ve got to win you over so we can keep the green news rolling. As part of our New Year’s Solutions package, we’re offering “New Thrills” today, […]

Native Shun

Representatives of more than 50 U.S. tribes gather for climate conference This week, representatives of more than 50 Native American tribes met in Arizona for a first-ever tribal climate-change conference. The crisis is hitting home on U.S. reservations, as species migrate and weather patterns change. “We basically have two seasons now,” said Robert Gomez of […]

Owening Up to Their Mistakes

California’s Owens River runs again after nearly a century The most ambitious river habitat restoration in the West kicked off this week, as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa turned a knob on a dam and allowed water to flow through. The dam, built in 1913 to direct water into an L.A. aqueduct some 250 miles […]