Articles by Grist staff

Exxon will try to convince Supreme Court it’s paid enough for oil spill

On Wednesday, Exxon Mobil Corp. will try to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that it should not have to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages to Alaskan folk affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon, which earlier this month posted an annual profit of $40.6 billion, will argue that the $3.4 billion or […]

South Africa to resume elephant culling despite criticism

South Africa announced it will resume killing elephants in May for the first time since a 1995 ban on the practice. Wildlife officials argued that culling is necessary to reduce elephant populations in the country due to their impacts on vegetation and other species; the number of elephants has more than doubled since the ban […]

Natalie Portman on Target

In talking about her new vegan shoe line, Natalie Portman reveals she often shops at Target to find vegan shoes: "Basically, I [launched the line] out of a lack of choice. Stella McCartney does great shoes, but they’re expensive and very fashiony. I wanted a mary-jane shoe without leather. I’ve been getting stuff from Target, […]

‘Doomsday’ seed vault opens in Arctic, awaits doom

A so-called “doomsday” seed vault opened in the Arctic today that’s designed to store up to 4.5 million seeds as a backup for the world’s food crops (and other seed banks) just in case something ultra-tragic happens. The $9.1 million Svalbard Global Seed Vault was built into the side of a mountain some 620 miles […]