Articles by Grist staff

Wind Bags

The company behind a highly controversial proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod announced yesterday that the project could be 14 percent smaller than previously anticipated, thanks to technological improvements. Under the revised plan, Cape Wind Associates would build 130 rather than 170 wind turbines over 24 rather than 28 square miles of […]

Growth Spurt

Real estate was hot in Colorado during the 1990s — so hot, in fact, that many communities imposed strict controls on urban growth. Now, some people think the growth-management plans have backfired, stifling economic development, and limiting affordable housing. Three Colorado communities have recently rejected plans to curb growth, and others that already have such […]

Volunteer Spirit

In an all-out effort to demonstrate the viability of voluntary solutions to global climate change, officials from the Bush administration are touring the country, coaxing promises from industry leaders to cut greenhouse gas emissions. If self-regulation fails to attract enough takers, staving off mandatory emissions restrictions will become increasingly difficult — a fact that many […]

Mass. Devastation

Laws designed to protect the environment are only useful if they’re enforced — and in the state of Massachusetts, they often are not. Indeed, the Bay State has one of the nation’s worst enforcement records, according to a new federal website that allows the public to monitor enforcement of anti-pollution laws. Only 27 percent of […]