Articles by Grist staff

Just Say Nano?

Nanotechnology — the rapidly evolving science of manipulating materials at the molecular level — holds the promise of tiny computers, super-strong bridges, ultra-light airplanes, and cures for cancer. But will it be an environmental boon or bane? Some fear that nanotechnology could create contaminants whose tiny size would make them nearly impossible to cleanse from […]

Sayonara, Sonora

Environmental organizations have petitioned the Bush administration to increase protection for wildlife in its proposed management plan for California’s Sonoran Desert, saying the plan favors commerce and recreation at the expense of conservation. The enviros say the proposal violates a host of federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Wilderness Act, by cutting […]

Another Nile in the Coffin

West Nile virus has been making headlines all summer, but the human toll of the disease is far smaller than its impact on bird species. Since West Nile was first spotted in a crow three years ago, at least 111 species have been hit, including the bald eagle and the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane. The […]

Not the Year of the Bicycle

Ever since the Communist Revolution of 1949, bicycles have been a seemingly indelible part of the Chinese landscape, as endemic as pandas. Now, though, as the pace of life picks up in China’s major cities, urban planners and government authorities have begun treating bicycles as nuisances — antiquated devices that impede the free flow of […]