Articles by Grist staff

Visibly Upset

Air pollution at national parks may be costing more than $4 billion in tourist dollars, according to a study commissioned by three environmental groups. Pollution in national parks in the East like the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah has caused summer visibility to fall to 12 miles from 80 to 90 miles, while visibility in […]

I've Got a Little List

The Sierra Club is running an $8 million campaign to promote candidates it likes (mostly Democrats with a few Republicans thrown in) and attack candidates it does not. The group’s good guys include Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), Lane Evans (D-Ill.), Joseph Hoeffel (D-Pa.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash), Jim Leach (R-Iowa), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), […]

Yeah, I'm the Tax, Man

Automakers avoided $10.2 billion in taxes on 1999 models of SUVs, pick-up trucks, vans, and minivans because of a loophole in the law establishing fuel-efficiency standards, says Friends of the Earth. Automakers are required to pay a tax on gas-guzzling passenger cars that don’t meet fuel-efficiency standards, but light-duty trucks are currently exempt from the […]

Schoolhouse Rocks

Los Angeles is at the center of small surge in solar energy use. The L.A. Convention Center, which housed the Democratic convention earlier this month, has installed 15,000 square feet of solar panels and has plans for more. City Hall and the Department of Water and Power are next, and the zoo is designing a […]