Articles by Grist staff

Take a Chill Pill

Between 50 to 80 percent of the Arctic ecosystem could be seriously damaged by 2050 if industrial development there doesn’t slow down, according to a new report published yesterday by the U.N. Environment Programme. As much as 15 percent of the region is already affected by development. The report focuses on development and doesn’t take […]

They're All Ears

The White House has decided to force California to use corn-based ethanol as an additive to make gasoline burn more cleanly, even though the requirement will probably boost prices at the pump this summer and many environmentalists say cheaper ways to reduce emissions exist. The decision will be a big benefit to Archer Daniels Midland, […]

Country Mouse, City Moose

Within five years, more people in the world will live in cities than in rural areas, a shift that will have big implications for the environment, according to a new study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Richard Blackburn, one of the study authors, said policy makers might do well to focus […]

Peaking Ducks?

More than 320 Asian bird species are at risk of extinction because of habitat loss, says the conservation group BirdLife International. Deforestation and wetlands loss have caused the number to take a huge jump from 1981, when only 51 species faced extinction. The groups says that out of 2,700 Asian bird species, 664 are confronting […]