Articles by Grist staff

IMF report says economic costs of climate-change action negligible

The International Monetary Fund said in a report released today that sharply reducing the world’s carbon emissions will cost relatively little economically if a carbon-pricing scheme is adopted soon that includes all the major-emitting countries. The report didn’t endorse one specific pricing mechanism, but said that either a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system could […]

A roundup of news snippets

• An independent expert recommends an up to $16 billion fine for Chevron’s role in polluting the Ecuadorian Amazon. • “Eco-fur” doesn’t fly. • More funding is needed to fix the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. • A Paris airport will tap geothermal energy. • The sun still isn’t causing global warming.

Animal-welfare group backs toad-killing in Australia

Australian politician Shane Knuth has proposed a special “Toad Day Out” for residents of the state of Queensland to kill cane toads, a poisonous invasive species that Knuth calls “the greatest environmental vermin and probably the most disgusting creature known to man.” The plan even has the backing of the Royal Society for the Prevention […]

Chinese environmental activist jailed

Chinese activist Hu Jia, a high-profile campaigner for human rights, religious freedom, and environmental protection, has been convicted of “inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system” and will be jailed for three-and-a-half years.