Articles by Grist staff

China will close thousands of small coal mines

China plans to close more than 5,000 small coal mines, accounting for about 8 percent of the country’s coal output, for safety reasons. Some 4,750 people died in China’s mines in 2006.

Erosion is as big a problem as climate change, say experts

Planet Earth loses some 1 percent of its topsoil to erosion every year — and that’s an environmental threat on par with global warming, say experts. “Globally, it’s pretty clear we’re running out of dirt,” says geologist David Montgomery, who identifies agriculture as the main culprit for “soil mining.” In the U.S., cropland is estimated […]

History Channel explores a world without humans

What would the earth be like if we finally manage to bring about our own extinction? Find out Wednesday night.

Prince Charles appears as hologram to speak in Abu Dhabi

Prince Charles recently spoke to political leaders at the World Future energy summit in Abu Dhabi. But swallow your cries of jet-setting hypocrisy: Chas appeared as a hologram. “Scientists are now saying that the problem of climate change is now so grave and so urgent that we have less than 10 years to slow, stop, […]