Articles by Grist staff

Dean of Emissions

The federal government has changed its tune on air quality in California, with the U.S. EPA easing pressure on the state to impose more stringent air-pollution controls on farms. Just last month, the EPA said the state should repeal a law exempting large farms from air-pollution monitoring permits; now, it is calling instead for an […]

Spokes Person

Meanwhile, good news for those who entirely eschew the internal combustion engine: If a representative from Oregon gets his way, people who commute to work by bike will soon get a tax break. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), founder and chair of the bipartisan Congressional Bike Caucus, has biked to his Capitol Hill office for years; […]

Everybody’s Gone, Surfing

Summer is on its way to Biarritz, France, the surfing capital of Europe — but despite the surf and sun, no one is yet riding the waves. That’s because surfing is banned in Biarritz and along some 160 miles of coastline in southwestern France, due to lingering environmental problems from the oil spill of the […]

Light Truck at the End of the Tunnel

What’s in a name? In the case of “car” versus “light truck,” the name means a lot — so the auto industry and environmentalists are watching closely as the Bush administration begins redefining cars and trucks as it revamps fuel-economy standards. Currently, light trucks are subject to far weaker gas-mileage requirements than passenger cars, a […]