Articles by Grist staff

Peru’s guano supply threatened by overfishing

Peru is in deep shit. No, seriously: thanks to an exceptionally dry climate, islands off the Peruvian coast are awash in preserved bird guano, which the country has long exported as non-chemical fertilizer. But while 60 million seabirds were pooping on Peru in the 19th century, the birds now number 4 million; with synthetic-fertilizer costs […]

Ocean seeding banned at U.N. biodiversity conference

A 12-day United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ended Friday with just a wee bit of progress toward salvaging the world’s rapidly disappearing flora and fauna. Perhaps most encouraging: The 191 countries present agreed to ban the controversial practice of seeding the ocean with nutrients to encourage growth of carbon-sucking algae. In addition, Germany, which […]

U.S. public transit overwhelmed by increased ridership, higher fuel costs

Public transit agencies across the United States are lately encountering a curious double-bind: ridership has increased quickly and dramatically, straining current capacity, and at the same time, significantly higher fuel costs have stretched many transit budgets too far. If the current ridership boom had taken hold when fuel prices were much lower, transit agencies would […]

Snippets from the news

• Critics bemoan diminished role of science in U.S. policy. • Ecosystem damage costs us trillions each year. • Solar plane takes off. • Railroads play up their green image. • Germany will cut solar-power subsidies. • Guerrilla gardeners attack!