Articles by Grist staff

Ford planning shift to small cars, company says

Ford Motor Co. is planning a significant product shift that will focus on the manufacture of small, fuel-efficient cars in lieu of its largely failed strategy since the 1990s to churn out mostly large vehicles like trucks and SUVs. Ford’s plan is meant to woo Congress into granting the Big Three U.S. automakers a much-needed […]

Massive solar installation completed in Southern California

California’s largest solar-panel installation was completed this week atop a warehouse in Southern California; 600,000 square feet of solar panels will produce enough electricity to power some 1,300 homes. The installation is the first in the utility Edison’s ambitious plan to affix solar panels on some two square miles of rooftops in the state.

Busy, destructive Atlantic hurricane season blows over

The Atlantic hurricane season officially ended Sunday, marking the close of the second-most-costly season since 2005, and the fourth-busiest season overall since 1944. This year was “the only year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November in the north Atlantic,” according to the National Climatic Data Center.

On eve of U.N. climate conference, official warns against dirty energy

On the eve of the next round of United Nations climate-treaty talks in Poznan, Poland, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer warned the world’s nations against a “cheap and dirty” fix for the economy that could set back climate progress. “We must now focus on the opportunities for green growth that can put the global […]