Articles by Grist staff

An interview with retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, a GOP leader on environmental protection

Sherwood Boehlert. Photo: AP/Jim McKnight. When leading U.S. climate scientist James Hansen accused NASA earlier this year of stifling his public speech on climate change, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) sprang into action. Chair of the House Science Committee, Boehlert immediately fired off a stern letter to the NASA administrator, asserting that “when it comes to […]

Have You Hugged Your Tree Today?

On Arbor Day, appreciate the trees Urban forest cover in many U.S. cities has declined about 30 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, according to the green group American Forests, and that’s just not cool. Literally: loss of trees means loss of shade, more AC, and higher energy costs. On Arbor Day (you […]

Throw in a Pony, and We’ll Talk

In lieu of real energy policy, senators propose sending people checks Apparently driven insane by high gasoline prices, congressfolk are reaching virtuosic heights of pandering and venality, approaching some sort of Platonic ideal of What’s Wrong With Politics These Days. Exhibit A: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) just unveiled a proposal that would bribe […]

Pollute Suit Riot

States sue EPA for not regulating CO2 Ten states have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. EPA over what has become a central point of contention between the feds and … people who have to live on the planet for the next 50 years: whether or not the agency has the authority to regulate planet-warming […]