Articles by Grist staff

Run for It, Santa!

For the first time in perhaps 50 million years, the thick ice covering the North Pole has melted, opening up an ice-free stretch of ocean about a mile wide, according to scientists who recently visited the scene. The melting is being seen by many as further evidence that climate change is upon us. James McCarthy, […]

Cherry Bomb

Some Ontario lawn-care companies have begun covering up the smell of toxic pesticides with fragrances like bubble gum, mint, and cherry. Enviros and others worry that this new trend could endanger children, who might be attracted to the scents. Julie Langer of the World Wildlife Fund: “Pesticides give off a pretty recognizable smell and people […]

There's Methane to His Madness

James Hansen, a respected global warming expert and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has spent nearly two decades urging countries to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to help curb climate change, but now he’s started singing a different tune. In research to be published this week in the Proceedings of […]

Conventional Wisdom

Al Gore may not have spent much time on the environment in his speech last night, but organizers of the Democratic National Convention said they did their darndest to make the convention the most green and waste-free one yet. Last night’s festivities ended, for example, with 700 pounds of 100-percent recyclable confetti being showered on […]