Articles by Grist staff

Fairy Fairy, Quite Contrary

The U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday to hear a challenge to the protected status of the endangered fairy shrimp, a tiny crustacean that lives in rainwater ponds in California’s Central Valley. The decision was a boon to fans of the Endangered Species Act, but a blow to property-rights advocates, for whom the case was one […]

A Developer’s Wet Dream

The Bush administration weakened protection for wetlands, streams, and swamps across the U.S. yesterday by making changes to the Clean Water Act, despite the objections of the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The changes, which were proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers and approved by the White House, make it […]

Bah-Lomborg!

  We received an unprecedented number of responses to Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark, our special edition on Bjorn Lomborg’s The Skeptical Environmentalist. As usual, Grist readers were impassioned and opinionated. What follows is a sampling of their letters — largely positive, occasionally scathing, and frequently informative.   Dear Editor: I don’t […]

Xie Whiz!

China’s got a new five-year plan — this one to clean up the country’s terrible air and water pollution. To cut emissions of sulfur dioxide and other major pollutants, the country is spending about $84 billion, or twice the amount spent in the last five years. The initial funding will come from the federal government, […]