Articles by Grist staff

Diss Diss Bang Bang

Feds hand management of Idaho gray wolves over to the state Uh oh, there’s gonna be some shootin’! The Bush administration has transferred management of the gray wolf population in Idaho to the state government — even though the animal is still listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The deal was sealed at a […]

In India, fair trade is changing a centuries-old industry

The cool, misty highlands of the Western Ghats punctuate south India’s steaming tropical plains. Their forests shelter tigers and elephants, and protect the fragile watersheds of the flatlands below. They also harbor pieces of a colonial legacy: the tea industry. Click play or use the arrows to advance through photos. Photos: Gregory Dicum Colonial authorities […]

The science of cute

Ever wonder what makes some things (babies, puppies, the smiley-face emoticon) cute and other things (cockroaches, dinosaurs, Richard Pombo) not-so-cute? This New York Times article examines "The Cute Factor" -- science behind the characteristics such as roundness (think VW Beetle) and fuzziness that make an object worthy of the lovable, squeezable, I-want-to-eat-it-right-up-able adjective.

And cuteness is certainly not a concept lost on environmentalists. (See any plea from the World Wildlife Fund ever.) Listed in the article as ranking high on the cuteness scale are panda cubs, the stars of "March of the Penguins," and even the Prius. Now if only we could make carbon trading round and fuzzy.

You Light Up My Strife

Solar LED lamps provide clean, cheap lighting to rural poor A handful of villagers in rural India are receiving a life-transforming technology: low-cost, solar-powered light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Bombay-based Grameen Surya Bijli Foundation has installed the $55 lamps free of charge in about 300 homes. “Children can now study at night, elders can manage their […]