Articles by Grist staff
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Preserving wild spaces
There's been some discussion over at The Commons about the lesson that we should take from the Dr. Suess classic The Lorax. Full text of the book (no pictures, though) can be found here. The free-marketeer interpretation is that the demise of the Truffula trees results not from the greed of the Onceler nor the materialism of the society that gobbles up thneeds just as fast as they please. The reason the Truffula trees are all destroyed is that no one has property rights to them. They are part of the commons, and if the Onceler doesn't chop them, someone else will.
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Black and White and Studio Head All Over
Hollywood studios see greenbacks in them thar flightless waterfowl The summer’s big hit documentary isn’t about the antics of political weasels, or children at spelling bees; it’s a nature film about flightless Antarctic waterfowl. French-made March of the Penguins, a heartstring-yanking saga about emperor penguins, cost $7 million to make. It’s already earned over $10 […]
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A Slip of the Tungsten
Supposedly eco-safe ammo may actually contaminate soil “Green bullets” created to be environmentally safe — though not safe, presumably, for their targets — may not be so eco after all. At Camp Edwards in Bourne, Mass., the U.S. Army switched from lead ordnance to ammo made of tungsten and nylon, aiming (ahem) not to contaminate […]
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Stricken of the Sea
Fish diversity declines in the deep ocean There are fewer and fewer species of big fish in the deep sea, putting overall ocean health in danger. Scientists have known for years that overfishing diminishes species diversity in coastal areas, but in a study published today in the journal Science, researchers report a drop in diversity […]
