Articles by Grist staff

Gray Matters

Russia’s Gray Whales Threatened by Oil Development A massive oil development project threatens gray whales that spend their summers in the Sea of Okhotsk off the remote Russian island of Sakhalin. While their close cousins off the California coast are thriving, the gray whale group in Russian waters has dwindled to around 100, with perhaps […]

Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama’s got green cred

Barack Obama. Photo: David Katz/Obama for Illinois. As if America needs one more reason to fall in love with Barack Obama. Beyond the unabashed idealism, stirring oratory skills, touching life story, and knee-buckling smile that have made this candidate for Illinois’ open Senate seat the new beau ideal of progressive politics, it so happens that […]

Funds in the Sun

Landmark California Solar Initiative Sitting on Schwarzenegger’s Desk If California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signs off on the “Million Solar Homes Initiative” in its present form, some $100 million in subsidies will go toward insuring that 50 percent of all new homes in the state be equipped with photovoltaic solar panels by 2013. The landmark […]

Spare the Rod or You’ll Spoil the Child

Half of All Freshwater Fish in U.S. High in Mercury In the 21st century, it seems, having kids and eating fish do not mix. The bad fish news just keeps on coming: Yesterday, a new analysis showed that more than half of the freshwater fish in the U.S. contain levels of mercury unsafe for children […]