Articles by Grist staff

Since U Been Overdrawn

California delta tapped for too much water, in ecological crisis The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in California is in ecological freefall. The 738,000-acre area supplies drinking water to millions and irrigation water for major agricultural producers. The delta smelt, a fish that’s an indicator species for the region’s overall health, is fast sliding toward extinction, […]

You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Home Builder

Demand up for eco-friendly home-building supplies Consumers have turned on to the benefits of eco-timber, sustainably harvested cork flooring, and low-VOC paint, moving green home-building supplies out of the fringe and into the mainstream. “There’s no question where this is going; it’s hot,” says Timothy Taylor. His company, Environmental Home Center, started up in an […]

Now That’s Intelligent Design

Schools curbing energy costs by building green School officials in Oregon are learning a thing or two from a prototype uber-green classroom near Salem, which uses a large skylight and other technologies to enhance and regulate the natural light coming into the space. With energy bills eating up millions of dollars from school budgets, the […]

Supply and the Land

Cities spending millions on land to protect water supplies Many U.S. cities are discovering they have a choice: Build huge, multibillion-dollar water-treatment plants, or buy up land around water supplies to prevent them from being polluted in the first place. More and more, they are choosing the latter option — derailing sprawl and protecting open […]