Articles by Grist staff

Tongue Depressing News

The destruction of forests and other ecosystems is leading to a loss of languages, as indigenous peoples are driven from their homes and forced to migrate to urban areas and assimilate into dominant cultures, according to the U.N. Environment Program. Bai-Mass Taal, UNEP’s biodiversity program manager, says there is heavy overlap between areas of high […]

Less Fun in More Sun

Heat waves, rising sea levels, drought, disease, and other problems brought on by global warming could keep tourists away from many of the world’s most popular vacation spots in coming decades, according to a report conducted by a British university and released yesterday by the World Wildlife Fund. Ski areas in Europe are likely to […]

EPA: Extremely Plodding Agency

The EPA is lagging far behind schedule in setting new pesticide restrictions based on risks to children, as called for in a 1996 law. By August 3 of this year, the agency was supposed to have set limits for the riskiest 5,500 pesticide uses, but the EPA has completed less than 40 percent of the […]

An Ill Wind

After years of tough talk, some Northeastern states last week signaled a willingness to retreat from demands that Midwestern and Southern states reduce their air pollution, which blows into the Northeast. In the wake of legal setbacks, one proposal from the Northeastern states for settling a dispute would accept nitrogen oxide emissions at a rate […]