Articles by Grist staff

You’re Turning Into a Real Ditch

Panama Canal threatened by denuded forest watershed Here’s how the Panama Canal works: Torrential downpours batter the country’s forests during rainy season; the water is absorbed into the watershed and feeds steadily into massive, human-made Gatun Lake; the lake then feeds water into the canal. The shipping route thus provided is responsible for some 40 […]

Don’t Get Fresh With Me

Regional FWS director warns employees against using new science The southwestern regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t like his science fresh. He recently issued a memo instructing his staff to disregard any genetic science about an endangered species conducted after the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act (in some […]

Olympic Heights

Green-roof project aims to clean up Beijing for Olympics With the 2008 Olympics in Beijing inching closer, the Chinese are hard at work cleaning up the notoriously smog-ridden city. Polluting factories are being relocated, new pipelines are bringing in natural gas to replace dirty coal, and higher emissions standards are being applied to the city’s […]

Weakened in Review

Bipartisan efforts to revamp the Endangered Species Act begin A hearing of the Senate fisheries, wildlife, and water subcommittee last week kicked off what is likely to be an extended process of revising and updating the Endangered Species Act. There is bipartisan agreement on several measures, including providing grants and incentives to private landowners to […]