Articles by Grist staff

Dissolving your corpse is the green way to go

Concerned about the environmental impact of your burial or cremation? Well, don’t die. But if you must, consider a third option: have your corpse dissolved. In a procedure called alkaline hydrolysis, the deceased is put into a stainless-steel cylinder resembling a pressure cooker; application of lye, 300-degree heat, and 60 pounds of pressure per inch […]

Stressed by housing slump, developers sell land to conservationists

Looking for a bright side to the real-estate crunch? Look no further: Some developers, financially stressed by the housing slump, are selling land to folks who want to conserve it. It’s a win-win situation: developers aren’t stuck building expensive real estate that no one wants to buy, and conservation groups like the Trust for Public […]

U.S. fails to be climate leader because of war, says Obama

The war in Iraq is one reason the U.S. is such an environmental laggard, Barack Obama said in a CNN interview Thursday. “I think the way we have run this war in Iraq has … led us to ignore the critical needs for us to focus on a sound energy policy in this country,” Obama […]

Snippets from the news

• Wild Sky Wilderness bill becomes law at long last. • Illinois really, really wants FutureGen. • Rancher acquitted of murdering nun in the Amazon. • Don’t buy tar-sands oil, say green groups. • Seattleites urged to stop buying bottled water. • Beijing Olympics will be “basically” carbon neutral, says official.