Articles by Grist staff

That’s Hot

States sue EPA over new mercury rules and the “hot spots” they’ll create A coalition of 11 states filed suit against the U.S. EPA in federal court yesterday, charging that the agency’s recently issued mercury emissions rules, which establish a “cap and trade” system whereby coal-fired power plants can trade pollution credits, pose an unacceptable […]

Soy Triste

Brazil’s rainforest keeps getting gobbled up More than 10,000 square miles of Amazon rainforest disappeared from Brazil in 2004, the second-highest level of deforestation ever recorded, thanks mainly to the expansion of soy farming. As U.S.-state comparisons are de rigueur in these stories: that’s an area the size of Massachusetts. Though Brazil’s government implemented a […]

Kebab meat a new rodent species

While shopping a Laotian food market, Wildlife Conservation Society member Robert Timmons discovered a new species of rodent ... about to be grilled as a kebab. Apparently the rock rat -- or more officially, the stone-dwelling puzzle-mouse -- was "for sale on a table next to some vegetables."

It seems the locals have enjoyed rock-rat kebabs for years, unaware of the fact that the animal would be considered "a major zoological find" by geeky mammalogists the world over. Known as a kha-nyou to Laotians, the 16-inch rodent is usually roasted whole. "You then eat them, crunching up the smaller bones and spitting out the larger ones," Timmons says. "Rats, squirrels, and porcupines are an everyday food item, so the kha-nyou fits right in." Yum.

Oh What a Feeling!

Toyota to build Camry hybrids at U.S. plant Toyota announced plans yesterday to begin production of a new hybrid Camry model at a Kentucky plant, marking the Japanese automaker’s first foray into hybrid production in North America. With Camry sales tops in the U.S. last year and the company’s hybrid Prius selling used for higher […]