Articles by Grist staff

Viscous Cycle

In Ironic Twist, Thawing Tundra Causes Trouble for Alaska’s Oil Industry Global warming — brought about in part by the burning of fossil fuels — has raised temperatures in Alaska and reduced the length of the “frozen season” during which oil-prospecting convoys are allowed to traverse the landscape. The past three decades have seen the […]

Orangutangle

Orangutans Face Possible Extinction in 20 Years, WWF Says Orangutans may have just two decades left if current trends continue, the World Wildlife Fund warned yesterday. One of the four great ape species, orangutans are rapidly disappearing from their only remaining native habitat on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. […]

All-wheel Jive

Subaru Outback to Become “Light Truck” to Avoid Fuel Economy Rules As of next year, Subaru’s Outback sedan will be classified as a “light truck,” thanks to some technical modifications to its ground clearance and back bumper position. The revised classification will place the car … er, truck in a category requiring (as of 2005) […]

I Am the Toxic Walrus

Arctic Natives, Minding Own Business, Suffer From Our Pollutants Toxic industrial chemicals, carried north by wind, ocean, and river currents, are polluting the traditional diet of native Arctic peoples in Greenland and Arctic Canada. The pollutants, including PCBs and up to 200 other hazardous compounds, are first consumed by zooplankton, then travel up the food […]