Articles by Grist staff

Why, I Ottawa …

After two days of talks in Ottawa, a U.S.-led bloc of nations and the European Union yesterday failed to iron out disagreements over how to implement a climate change treaty. Negotiators had hoped to reach an agreement that could be more formally approved by their countries next week in Oslo, but the Ottawa meeting produced […]

Harry Potter and the Ozone Layer

As the holiday gift-buying frenzy picks up, no one really knows whether online shopping hurts or helps the environment. The nonprofit Center for Energy and Climate Solutions says such shopping may be an environmental plus, citing the benefits of delivery trucks and warehouses over the multiple car trips and energy-intensive retail space necessary for traditional […]

Great, Salt Lake!

Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) created a special state office yesterday dedicated to blocking a proposal to store 44,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The Goshute tribe says it has the sovereign right to accept the waste, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory […]

Leap, Frogs

Federal scientists have found that commonly used pesticides in California’s Central Valley are contributing to the decline of frogs in the state. The research found that the pesticides diazinon and Dursban are blown east into Yosemite National Park and elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where they are absorbed in the frogs’ bodies. The chemicals […]