Articles by Grist staff

How a Bill Becomes a Flaw

Senate passes energy bill Late last month, after seemingly endless go-rounds, the Senate passed an energy bill that contains big boosts for nuclear power, “clean coal,” and corn-blended ethanol, and would require 10 percent of electrical utilities’ power to come from renewables by 2020. “With oil prices recently topping $60 a barrel, this legislation can […]

Gutting, No Glory

House Republicans trying to tweak cornerstone environmental laws Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) and allies on the House Resources Committee have laid siege to two key environmental laws. They’ve inserted language into the House version of the energy bill to remove numerous drilling projects from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates environmental impact […]

Is This What Rumsfeld Meant by “Messy”?

Air pollution poses yet another crisis for Iraq As if Iraq didn’t have enough troubles, air pollution has hit alarming levels in the nation, exacerbating respiratory ailments among its citizens. War damage to the power grid has made state-produced electricity unpredictable, and reconstruction promises by the occu- uh, liberating forces have not panned out. Still, […]

G8 Expectations

Bush gets the watered-down G8 climate statement he wanted President Bush got exactly what he wanted on climate change during last week’s G8 meeting of industrialized nations: The appearance of compromise without any shift in his administration’s position. Just when it seemed that U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair — buoyed by London’s winning bid to […]