Articles by Grist staff

Powder Puffery

New Report Blasts Ski Industry’s Voluntary Environmental Program The National Ski Areas Association unveiled its voluntary Sustainable Slopes Program in 2000 with great fanfare. “Regulations only help you avoid the worst,” said NSAA’s Geraldine Link, “and a voluntary program like this can only bring out the best in terms of environmental compliance.” Uh … not […]

Let It LEED

Green Skyscraper Underway in NYC Since the United States Green Building Council, a nonprofit industry group, published its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building standards in 2000, the field of environmentally friendly construction has become broader and more ambitious. Now the Durst Organization and the Bank of America have broken ground on […]

Circuit Boards Roasting on an Open Fire

Dumped Electronics Poisoning Poor in Asia Computers and other electronics discarded in the West frequently end up in poor villages in China and India, where they are stripped for residues of valuable metals in primitive procedures that poison local communities. Enviro activists report that Chinese villagers cook circuit boards over open charcoal burners to strip […]

Up Against the Wall Street

Wall Street Remains Hesitant on Renewable Energy It’s a familiar refrain: Wall Street investors, we are told, are not yet sold on renewable energy. They worry that the technologies are not mature, that massive upfront infrastructure costs are too high a barrier, that despite rosy predictions from socially responsible investors, the price gap between oil […]