Articles by Grist staff
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News Flash: Oil Industry Whines Again
Pres. Clinton proposed tough federal rules on Saturday to control pollution from cars and sport utility vehicles, ending an exemption that has allowed SUVs and light trucks to emit several times more smog-causing gases per mile than cars. The decision will force oil companies to slash sulfur content in fuel and automakers to design cleaner […]
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Scheming Sleuths Steal Seed Sample
Private investigators employed by Monsanto trespassed on a Canadian farmer’s property to take samples of his crops in hopes of gathering evidence for a lawsuit against him, according to court documents and interviews with involved parties. Monsanto accuses the farmer, Percy Schmeiser, of illegally saving and replanting the company’s high-tech, genetically engineered seeds instead of […]
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2 x CO2 = 3.5 Feet
Climate change may boost ocean levels by about 3.5 feet by 2550, according to Jerry Mahlman of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mahlman’s computer model assumes that by 2050, carbon dioxide concentrations will be double what they were in the 1700s and then stabilize at that level because of conservation measures. Mahlman stresses that […]
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A review of 'The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices'
Michael Brower and Warren Leon aim to distinguish their book, The Consumer Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists, from other laundry-list-like enviro books by telling readers which purchasing and lifestyle choices pack the greatest environmental punch. In contrast to volumes that bombard readers with 50, 100, or 1001 steps that they can take to spare the earth, Brower and Leon lay out 11 "priority actions," urging Americans to give careful consideration to, for example, the cars they drive, the appliances in their homes, and the amount of meat in their diets. At the same time, the authors tell readers to stop fretting over relatively minor issues such as the occasional disposable cup tossed in the trash and the paper-versus-plastic quandary.
