Articles by Grist staff

40 Acres and a Tax Break

California environmentalists and farmers rejoiced yesterday when Gov. Gray Davis (D) restored $40 million in funding for farmland and open-space protection under the Williamson Act. Together, farmers and enviros had lobbied heavily against the proposed elimination of the act, under which the state pays back counties for property taxes lost when landowners are given lower […]

A Loophole in the Ozone

Ending a six-year battle, the U.S. EPA reintroduced proposals yesterday for new standards to combat ozone, which causes smog. At issue in the battle was whether the ozone-pollution controls outlined by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act should apply to moderately polluted metropolitan areas. The act divided polluted areas into categories ranging from mild […]

Kohe Malama Malama O Kanaloa (We Just Like Typing That)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reduce the number of acres designated as critical habitat in Maui, Hawaii, by about 25 percent compared to last year, leaving some 93,200 acres protected for 59 threatened and endangered species. In nearby Kaho’olawe, the agency will reduce critical habitat designations by 85 percent, to just 3,000 acres, […]

Their Dumpsters Runneth Over

They’re talking trash in Naples, Italy — literally. For the past week, the city and its suburbs have been overwhelmed by garbage, which is oozing from dumpsters, blowing down sidewalks, causing school closures, blocking traffic, and dominating local conversation as residents and city officials alike wonder what to do about it. Although a solution is […]