Articles by Grist staff

Bagladesh

Now consider a less sophisticated but equally troublesome form of trash — plastic bags. Polyethylene-based bags are hazardous to produce and, once discarded, can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. The bags are all but omnipresent: Consumers in the U.K. go through 8 billion per year; four out of five shoppers in the U.S. […]

Maybe He Makes a Good Cup of Coffee

John Suarez, the Bush administration’s pick for the job of enforcing the nation’s environmental laws, used to work closely with U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman, back when she was governor of New Jersey. Trouble is, that appears to be about his only qualification for enforcing EPA rules. That was the concern expressed by Democratic members […]

The Violence of the Lambs

Oregon, a state that has been targeted at least 29 times since 1980 by so-called “eco-terrorists,” is now home to the nation’s first organization exclusively dedicated to tracking and eliminating eco-terrorism. The organization, Stop Eco-Violence, was cofounded by a former spokesperson for a building products company, a Portland State University terrorism expert, and a conservative […]

Changing Their Tuna

Ecuador unveiled a plan yesterday that could help protect marine and bird species native to the Galapagos Islands, whose unique wildlife inspired Charles Darwin to formulate his theory of natural selection. At present, Galapagos fishers are legally allowed to ply their trade in the waters around the archipelago, to the dismay of conservationists. Now the […]