Articles by Grist staff

Good G-reef

Australian Environment Minister Robert Hill announced yesterday that Australia would phase out commercial coral harvesting on the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest living reef formation. Tourists and private individuals are forbidden from taking coral from the reef, but licensed commercial scuba divers are allowed to chip away at the coral, using hammers and chisels […]

Peking Our Interest

U.S. President Bush has often pointed fingers at China’s greenhouse gas emissions problems when explaining why he rejected the Kyoto treaty on climate change. Kyoto would require the U.S. to cap its carbon dioxide emissions, but places no such constraints on developing countries like China. However, China’s CO2 emissions have actually dropped in the last […]

Long Divisions

The wide divide between the U.S. and the European Union on climate change was clear yesterday, even though U.S. President Bush claimed to reporters that there was a “spirit of cooperation” on the issue. After Bush and the 15 leaders of E.U. nations met behind closed doors, European Commission President Romano Prodi emerged to announce […]

Oink, Oink, Oink, Oink. Who Let the Hogs Out?

The Quebec government said yesterday that it would limit hog production to protect the environment in the province, which is one of the world’s largest producers of pork. Hog production will be capped in 165 rural towns throughout Quebec — an area four times the size of France. The government said it would also clamp […]