Articles by Grist staff

Run Out on a Rail

Senate Rejects White House Proposal to Restructure Amtrak A White House plan to restructure Amtrak was, uh, derailed yesterday by nearly unanimous bipartisan opposition in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The six-year Amtrak reauthorization bill proposed ending federal operating subsidies for the passenger rail service, opening some routes to private operators, and […]

The Kids Are Alright

Michigan Creates Volunteer Corps to Monitor Waterways What do you do if you’re a budget-strapped state with no money to pay for water-quality monitoring? Sign up the seventh graders, of course. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) signed an executive order this week to create the Clean Water Corps, which will enlist volunteers, some of them […]

Soft Sell

McCain and Lieberman Soften Climate-Change Legislation The sponsors of a groundbreaking climate-change bill in the Senate are softening their legislation in an attempt to attract more support. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) announced yesterday that a revised version of their Climate Stewardship Act would not contain a requirement that carbon dioxide emissions […]

New Kid on the Block

Democrats Block Vote on Leavitt’s Nomination to EPA As expected, Senate Democrats blocked a committee vote yesterday on President Bush’s nominee to head the U.S. EPA, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R). Though they insisted it was “nothing personal” against Leavitt, Democrats on the Senate Environment Committee, joined by independent Sen. James Jeffords (Vt.), boycotted a […]