Articles by Grist staff

Labor Pains

Slave labor used to clear Brazilian rainforest The Amazon rainforest is disappearing at a precipitous pace, and as is too often the case, this environmental catastrophe is connected to equally dire human-rights abuses. To wit: Thousands of poor, illiterate Brazilian peasants work every year chopping down the forest in conditions Brazil’s Labor Ministry delicately refers […]

Vanity Blair

Tony Blair calls for action on global warming, critics heap scorn U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair made a major speech yesterday that referred to global warming as the earth’s “greatest environmental challenge,” and though he never mentioned U.S. President Bush by name, he pointedly called on the world’s wealthiest countries to take the lead in […]

Err Jordan

Middle East Conflict Decimates Jordan River The Jordan River, a holy waterway for Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, is a desiccated shadow of its once robust self, thanks to unceasing conflict and competition for water in the Middle East. Fifty years ago, the river’s flow was more than 264 billion gallons a year; today, it […]

Hard of Huron

Great Lakes Face Continuing Environmental Threats While overall water quality in the Great Lakes has improved over the past 30 years, the lakes still face dire threats from chemical pollution, pathogens, and invasive species, according to the biennial report on the lakes’ water quality from the U.S.-Canadian International Joint Commission. The report hailed the reduction […]