Articles by Grist staff

Climate Contrail

Of the many unprecedented events of Sept. 11, one of them — the near-absence of airplanes in the skies that day and the next — has given scientists important clues for studying the impact of aviation on climate change. Normally, the sky above 25,000 feet is full of contrails, cloud-like phenomena that form when ice […]

The Persistence of Mercury

Anyone who’s ever broken an old-style thermometer knows it’s tough to clean up mercury, but the state of Washington is undeterred. The state’s Ecology Department has created the nation’s only program to battle persistent bioaccumulative toxins, or PBTs, and mercury will be the first target. Found in substances ranging from eye makeup to industrial waste […]

Butterflies in Their Stomachs

Seventy-five percent of butterfly species in the United Kingdom are in decline, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. Some experts had expected butterflies to be doing well as a result of global warming, because milder weather was expected to increase the ranges of many species. But temperature increases in the […]

Cold Comfort Farm Bill

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will introduce a farm bill today that he describes as "good for family farmers and the environment and rural communities." Harkin, who is chair of the Senate Agricultural Committee, is generally well-liked by environmentalists, but not all of them agree with his assessment of the bill. Ken Cook of the Environmental […]