Articles by Grist staff

Canada proposes joint climate agreement with U.S. to spare its oil-sands projects

Less than a day after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposed a joint climate agreement with the United States that aims to save Canada’s oil-sands projects (and the oil they produce) from any climate-related restrictions the U.S. may enact in the future.

As material prices fall, U.K. grapples with mounds of un-recycled recyclables

Thousands of tons of recyclables in the United Kingdom — including bottles, cans, and newspapers — are sitting un-recycled following the sudden collapse of materials prices a few weeks ago. Recycling companies are asking the government to ease regulations temporarily to allow them to store the mountains of rubbish in secured warehouses and former military […]

Ethanol industry struggling

Big Ethanol, once all the rage, is tanking under the triple threat of inconsistent corn costs, the shaky economy, and falling prices for the product. Plans for new plants have been put on hold, and several companies have filed for bankruptcy; many analysts say significant consolidation is in the cards.

Fungus in rainforest foliage has promise as biofuel

A fungus hiding out in the trees of a Patagonian rainforest could be “a better source of biofuel than anything we use at the moment,” according to the scientist who accidentally discovered it.