Articles by Grist staff

Bay Watch

The San Francisco Bay looks and smells a lot better these days than it did 30 years ago, in part because municipal sewage and industrial waste are no longer dumped directly into the water. But many fish and wildlife species in the Bay are still in steep decline. The problem now is numerous small sources […]

The E in E-Commerce Ain't Energy

Emissions of carbon dioxide in the U.S. remained almost flat last year, rising only 0.4 percent, despite a booming U.S. economy that grew almost 4 percent and gasoline prices that hit record lows. These new findings are punching a hole in the theory that economic growth is linked to energy consumption, and are giving credibility […]

A Fine French Whine

Pollution is the top worry for French citizens, with 85 percent of respondents in a recent poll saying they are concerned about the problem. The Paris area has had severe air pollution problems this week, and the World Health Organization estimated earlier this year that some 17,000 people die each year in France from illnesses […]

A Drought of Good Sense

A House subcommittee this week took up Rep. Joe Knollenberg’s (R-Mich.) quest to repeal part of a 1992 law that gave the feds license to require that new toilets be low-flow. Though plumbing manufacturers and environmentalists say otherwise, Knollenberg and 82 other reps contend that the new toilets, which flush no more than 1.6 gallons […]