Articles by Grist staff

Memolition Derby

A draft report of the Bush administration’s energy policy was heavily criticized last year by a senior U.S. EPA official for blaming energy shortages on environmental regulations, according to a confidential memo released today by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). In a note to the Energy Task Force, which was chaired by Vice President Dick Cheney, […]

What Sumatra You?

The Tesso Nilo forest on Sumatra, Indonesia, contains more biological diversity than the Amazon. It is home to elephants, tigers, gibbons, and tapirs, and a recent survey conducted by scientists from the World Wildlife Fund found as many as 218 vascular plant species in just 0.05 acres. But the entire forest could disappear in less […]

When Methanol’s Said and Done

In the first-ever legal challenge to a U.S. environmental measure mounted under the North American Free Trade Agreement, a Canadian company is contesting California’s ban on the gasoline additive MTBE. The state began phasing out the chemical compound because of its apparent threat to water quality and human health, but the Methanex Corp., the world’s […]

Civic Virtue

For the first time ever, consumers will be able to buy a hybrid version of a popular car model — the much-beloved Honda Civic. Environmentalists, industry analysts, and even other automakers say that consumer response to the 2003 Honda Civic gas-electric hybrid, which gets about 51 miles to the gallon at highway speeds and recharges […]