Articles by Grist staff

Preparing for Olympics, Beijing takes government cars off roads

In preparation for hosting the Olympics and Paralympics from Aug. 8 to Sept. 17, Beijing has officially kicked off its plan to clear the air by keeping cars parked. Starting Monday, half of Beijing’s 22,800 government vehicles will stay off the roads until July 19. From July 20 to Sept. 20, 70 percent of government […]

The Midwest will suffer if we don’t change our approach to flood protection

We've heard a lot this week about how the floods in the Midwest might be an act of humans -- or an act of City Council, as one Iowan leader put it. We can start the futile cycle of fighting Mother Nature again if we want to: spend billions of dollars on levees and flood control infrastructure, encouraging development of river floodplains and low-lying wetlands, then watch those homes and businesses be overrun by flood water.

 

Enviros’ border-fence appeal turned down by Supreme Court

Homeland Security officials can continue to waive environmental laws to speed construction of a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club. The groups had argued that the eco-law-waiving power given to Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff in 2005 was […]

Prez candidates tout new policies to lower oil prices

John McCain and Barack Obama have both called for changes to national energy policy in recent days that they said would eventually help lower oil and gasoline prices. On Sunday, Obama called for closer regulation of oil speculators that have been a major force contributing to the rise in oil prices. He said his plan […]