Articles by Grist staff

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 […]

Carbon tax only way to keep planet cool: Hansen

COPENHAGEN — Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut more quickly and deeply than thought only two years ago to avoid dire consequences, and a straight-up carbon tax is the only realistic way to do it, top climate scientist James Hansen said in an interview. New research paints an even gloomier picture of global warming than […]

The last American jaguar doesn’t have to be the last

Photo: Arizona Department of Game and Fish This piece was submitted by Kieran Suckling, executive director and co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity. The last known jaguar in the United States was killed Monday in what is increasingly looking like a bungled attempt to opportunistically radio-collar one of North America’s most endangered species. The […]

Sea levels to surge at least a metre by 2100, scientists warn at Copenhagen meeting

COPENHAGEN — Months before make-or-break climate negotiations, a conclave of scientists warned Tuesday that the impact of global warming was accelerating beyond a forecast made by U.N. experts two years ago. Sea levels this century may rise several times higher than predictions made in 2007 that form the scientific foundation for policymakers today, the meeting […]