Articles by Grist staff

Population growth, climate change sparking water crisis: U.N.

PARIS — Surging population growth, climate change, reckless irrigation and chronic waste are placing the world’s water supplies at threat, a landmark U.N. report said on Thursday. Compiled by 24 U.N. agencies, the 348-page document gave a grim assessment of the state of the planet’s freshwater, especially in developing countries, and described the outlook for […]

Sen. Sanders says Obama is committed to climate action

WASHINGTON — One of the U.S. Senate’s top campaigners against global warming on Wednesday sought to ease international concerns, vowing President Barack Obama was committed to action on climate change. Some European nations have voiced uncertainty about whether Obama and the U.S. Congress can follow through on promises to force sharp reductions in carbon emissions […]

Sweden unveils ‘ambitious’ clean energy strategy

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s government on Wednesday presented what it described as Europe’s “most ambitious” strategy to improve energy efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions. “As the first industrialized country, we are presenting a concrete plan towards becoming independent of fossil fuels and reducing emissions to a level that the climate requires,” Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren […]

U.S. Senator: Recession wrong time for cap-and-trade

WASHINGTON — The United States should not impose a cap-and-trade system to battle climate change this year because it amounts to a painful tax during a deep recession, a Republican lawmaker said Wednesday. “Now is not the time to put a national sales tax on every electric bill and every gasoline purchase,” Republican Senator Lamar […]