Articles by Grist staff

A conversation with the makers of Who Killed the Electric Car?

Chris Paine, the director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, looks a little embarrassed as he walks toward his waiting limo. “I should really have them drop us off a block away from the theater,” he says, laughing uneasily. At least he’s carpooling. Dean Devlin and Chris Paine at Sundance. Photo: Fred Hayes/WireImage. With him […]

Just the Tax, Ma’am

A carbon tax is the answer to our energy woes, argues an economist Some recent news reports may have led you to believe that there is no “price elasticity” around gasoline — that no matter how much gas prices rise, people just keep on drivin’. But it’s not so: High prices are dampening demand. Why […]

Profit and Laos

Big dam project in Laos aims to minimize environmental and social damage A controversial hydropower dam under construction in Laos will serve as a test case for whether a large dam can be built without trampling too heavily on the natural world and human rights. Supporters, including the World Bank, say the Nam Theun 2 […]

Heh Heh, He Said Buttress

Greenland is melting fast and worrying scientists Greenland’s name may soon be more accurate, as its two-mile-thick ice sheet is melting twice as fast as it was five years ago — faster than climate models predicted. Since 1991, the average winter temperature has risen almost 10 degrees; by 2005, the landmass was losing up to […]