Articles by Grist staff

Two men convicted in Ivory Coast toxic-waste-dumping case, execs not charged

Two men were handed jail sentences of five and 20 years respectively this week for their roles in illegally dumping some 400 tons of toxic waste in populated areas of the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 2006, killing 17 and sickening tens of thousands more. All together, some 140,000 gallons of waste was dumped […]

Snippets from the news

• China’s greenhouse-gas emissions could double or more in next 20 years. • Former Spanish prime minister calls climate change a “new religion.” • Japan launches voluntary carbon market. • Seoul goes big for bicycles. • Could thorium solve nuclear waste-disposal woes? • Safeway will ban baby bottles containing bisphenol A. • Environmentalists sue EPA […]

Feds boost geothermal energy development

Here’s some steamy action: The Department of Interior on Wednesday announced plans to open 97 million acres of public land in 12 states to geothermal energy development. The plan could more than quadruple the U.S.’s current output of underground-heat power, potentially generating enough electricity to power 5.5 million homes by 2015 and 12 million by […]

U.N. initiative urges green global economy

Fear not: The economic, food, and climate crises can be tackled in one fell swoop, says the United Nations Environment Program. The organization launched a Green Economy Initiative Wednesday, comparing it to Franklin Roosevelt’s Depression-tackling New Deal. “Investments will soon be pouring back into the global economy,” says Pavan Dukdhev of Deutsche Bank, which is […]