Articles by Grist staff

Lonelier Little Sparrow

Who notices the fall of the sparrow? For starters, scientists in China, where the once-common sparrow is on the brink of extinction. Around the northeastern port of Tianjin, the sparrow population has declined by an estimated 90 percent since Mao’s days; in many parts of southern and central China, the birds have all but disappeared. […]

The Misery River

The Missouri River is the nation’s most threatened river, according to a report released today by American Rivers. In its annual report of endangered waterways, the group blamed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the terrible conditions of Big Muddy. The river is dammed in six places; dredging for barge traffic has shortened it […]

The Full Monty

In an effort to combat global warming, Great Britain has set up the world’s first national greenhouse gas emissions trading plan. Under the plan, emissions credits will be traded like any other commodity; British companies that agree to participate can directly reduce their own use of fossil fuels, or they can buy part or all […]

One World, One More Agency

What the world needs is another regulatory agency. That is the conclusion of legal and environmental experts at the Tokyo-based U.N. University, who believe a new world environmental organization, as well as an international environmental court, could help make sense of the more than 500 environmental agreements and agencies operating around the world. In a […]