Articles by Grist staff

Mortality Kombat

The world would have 300 million more people today if China had not pursued its aggressive population control efforts, the Chinese government boasted yesterday, as the world population hit the 6 billion mark. Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said China intends to continue its present family planning policy. A senior U.N. Population Fund official praised the […]

And the Other 20 Percent Just Want More Hockey on T.V.

Some 80 percent of Canadians say environmental concerns such as air pollution are important considerations when they purchase a new automobile, according to a survey conducted for business consultants Ernst and Young. About half of those people say they would be willing to pay more for an eco-friendly vehicle, with 11 percent willing to shell […]

Congratulations! It's a boy!

The world’s 6 billionth inhabitant, a boy in Sarajevo, was born today. U.N. demographers chose today as a symbolic marker of the population milestone. Some 78 million new people are born each year, and the equivalent of San Francisco’s population is born every three days. Although the population growth rate is slowing, human numbers have […]

Something's Rockin' in Denmark

Denmark, the world’s wind-power powerhouse, has embarked on a 10-year government project to run an entire community, the island of Samso, solely on renewable energy. The country already gets 7 percent of its electricity from wind, and by 2030 that percentage should rise to 50, according to the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy. Denmark’s […]