Articles by Grist staff

Bycatcher in the Eye

Iconic Galapagos Islands threatened by longline fishing, other stuff The Galapagos Islands are iconic for biologists and conservationists, home to a dizzying array of rare and endangered species that inspired Charles Darwin’s seminal work on evolution. Today, the entire marine ecosystem surrounding the islands may be in jeopardy. The militant fishing unions that hold sway […]

Fossil Foolishness

As we report in Daily Grist today, Ford Motor Co. is the latest in a string of major companies looking into this whole climate-change dealio. The company is expected to announce today that they will begin researching how global warming will affect them -- or rather, how pending and future regulations will affect company business. But they won't be making any promises, said one spokesflack, about actual changes that would, oh I don't know, alter their lowest-fuel-efficiency-among-all-automakers title: "To commit to that at this point is to probably create some expectations that we might not be able to meet." Indeed.

Interestingly enough, however, is the timing of this announcement and "pledge," as tomorrow, April 1 (the Day of Fools!), is shaping up to be a major Ford-bashing day. Energy Action, a coalition of youth working toward clean energy, is organizing their second annual Fossil Fools Day. The group hopes to have thousands of participants from all over the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. involved in actions to demand clean and renewable energy.

More on the suggested actions below the fold:

Route Scootin’ Boogie

Shell alters pipeline route to spare whale feeding grounds It’s one small step for environmentalists, one giant leap for endangered gray whales: Energy giant Royal Dutch/Shell has agreed to alter the planned route of a massive oil and gas pipeline off of Russia’s Sakhalin island by 12 miles to preserve the charismatic mammal’s feeding grounds. […]

All Your Base Are Befouled By Us

Military base closures leave behind toxic, uninhabitable land Military bases frequently serve as economic engines for the communities they inhabit, and with what could be the biggest round of base closures ever on its way from the Department of Defense, those communities hope that developing the land freed up by the closed bases will replace […]