Articles by Grist staff

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

In a dramatic turnaround, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday acknowledged what most people in his country have long believed: that genetically modified crops may pose risks to human and environmental health. “There is no doubt that there is potential for harm, both in terms of human safety and in the diversity of our […]

As Long As It Doesn't Drive Up the Cost of Happy Meal Toys

The U.S. environmental community is debating whether to actively oppose the Clinton administration’s plan to give China permanent normal trade relations status as China prepares to enter the World Trade Organization. Some enviros are hesitant in an election year to label House Democrats as “anti-environmental” if they vote for normal trade relations, and some worry […]

Why we need to push livestock off public lands

Whatever might be said of the arid West, it “ain’t no cow country.” That’s what Henry Fonda, playing Wyatt Earp, said of Arizona in John Ford’s 1946 film My Darling Clementine. That’s also the bottom line of a book I’ve written, The Western Range Revisited: Removing Livestock from Public Lands to Conserve Native Biodiversity. In […]

1,500 Car-Jackers Get a Day Off

Residents of Bogota, Colombia, went to work yesterday by foot, bicycle, in-line skate, and horse, observing a day-long ban on the use of private cars. The ban, imposed by Mayor Enrique Penalosa to foster environmental awareness, was the first of its kind in a developing nation. A number of European cities have instituted similar car-free […]