Articles by Grist staff

Shape Up or Ship Out

Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles (D) yesterday ordered a special session of the state legislature to hammer out what would become the world’s first comprehensive law to control waste discharges from the cruise ship industry. The state House has easily passed a proposed package of regulations, but the measure has stalled in the state Senate. The […]

Congo Drummed

Mining in eastern Congo is bringing eastern lowland gorillas closer to extinction and destroying national parks, the World Wildlife Fund said yesterday. Thousands of miners are digging for the mineral coltan, which is used in cell phones, microchips, and nuclear reactors, damaging forests in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in rebel-held […]

Governor Moonbeam, Mayor Sunbeam

An alliance of religious groups began a campaign this week to make California’s 50,000 congregations more energy-efficient and to encourage them to use renewable power. Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown (D) joined Rev. Sally Bingham in screwing in a compact fluorescent in an Oakland church and in criticizing President Bush’s energy policies. Bingham said, “This is […]

Kawaguchi Lets the Good Times Roll

Japan’s new prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has chosen the environment as a key policy area to focus on. Out of the gate, his environment minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, has stressed the importance of acting to curb global warming. And Kawaguchi and Takeo Hiranuma, the country’s trade minister, planned to meet yesterday with top officials from the […]