Articles by Grist staff

You Scumbag! (And We Mean That As a Compliment)

Scientists say they have found a way to make pond scum power your car, though it may take another couple decades to perfect. Two teams of researchers have discovered how to alter the process of photosynthesis in common green algae to produce hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that many experts believe will be the power source […]

Go Tell Aunt Road-y, the Old Lawsuit Is Dead

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by Idaho that sought to derail the Clinton administration’s plan to protect some 50 million acres of roadless national forest land from logging or development. The judge ruled that the process of public review has not gone far enough yet for Idaho to challenge the plan in […]

We'll Cross That Elevated Bridge When We Come to It

Americans may have to make serious changes to cope with global warming, including altering the way water is managed in the West, beefing up public health programs, and building higher bridges, according to preliminary findings from the federal U.S. Global Change Research Program. The researchers will issue a final report this summer on the affects […]

Men at Work

Australia is chopping down its forests faster than any other industrialized nation and has cleared about 2.5 million acres of trees in three years, the Australian Conservation Foundation said yesterday. Australia is now ranked as the world’s fifth-biggest land-clearing nation, behind only Brazil, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bolivia. For its part, […]