Articles by Grist staff

The Melting Plot

Thawing Arctic opens new competition for northern territory, resources The melting of the Arctic ice cap is bad news for polar bears, seals, some Arctic natives, and, oh yeah, possibly much of humankind — but great news for a few countries and companies looking to score bucks. The high stakes include lucrative new summer shipping […]

Watts On, Watts Off

Japanese manufacturing leads the world in energy efficiency When oil supplies contract, oil-dependent economies suffer — and Japan prospers. Investors are bullish on Japan’s manufacturing sector, which has been investing in energy efficiency since the oil crisis of the early 1970s. Faced then with few domestic energy sources and near total dependence on foreign oil, […]

The Mold Song and Dance

EPA failing to inform or protect folks returning to post-Katrina mess The U.S. EPA has the authority to assess and manage environmental disasters, but activists and even some EPA staffers allege that so far agency testing of water, air, and soil in the Gulf Coast has been insufficient, and its health warnings too weak, to […]

A Refine and Pleasant Misery

House energy legislation would undermine parts of Clean Air Act You just can’t keep a bad bill down. Provisions cut from the energy bill that was passed this summer have lurched back to life; they now stumble forward under the banner of the Gasoline for America’s Security (GAS) Act, due for a House vote today. […]