Articles by Grist staff

Himalayan Low

Global warming could melt Himalayan glaciers within 40 years, according to new research to be presented this week at a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization. The Gangotri glacier at the head of the Ganges River is receding at a rate of about 90 feet per year. The melting of glaciers could increase the risk […]

Seeds of Change

Scientists have learned how to manipulate genes within a plant, a technique the biotechnology industry hopes environmentalists will like more than current genetic modification methods, which involve transplanting foreign genes into crops. The new method, made public today in two articles in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences, could let scientists tinker with […]

A Grand Stand

Environmentalists are speculating that Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will try to protect 650,000 acres on Arizona’s Shivwets Plateau north of the Grand Canyon during his last 18 months in office. If Arizona’s congressional delegation can’t agree on legislation to do the job, Babbitt is expected to push Pres. Clinton to designate the area as a […]

Post-Mitch Hitch

In the wake of Hurricane Mitch, new interest is growing in Central America in environmentally sound land-management practices. Some farmers took note of the fact that communities with protected forest areas held up much better during the hurricane than communities where most trees had been felled. Still, development workers say it’s a tough challenge to […]