Articles by Grist staff

U.S. fertility rate now high enough to sustain population

Americans consume far more than their fair share of the world’s resources — and more Americans are on the way. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. increased 2 percent from 2005 to 2006, nudging the average number of babies born per woman to 2.1 — high enough to sustain a stable population for the […]

Japan says it won’t hunt humpback whales, at least for now

Under pressure from, well, most of the world to stop targeting humpback whales, Japan has announced it will hold off on its hunt for the imperiled humpback — at least for now. “Japan has decided not to catch humpback whales for one year or two, but there will be no change in our stance on […]

Vote for the most heroic eco-hero of 2007

Check out our nominations for the most ass-kicking hero of 2007, then vote at the bottom of this post. (And tell us who we missed.)

Barbara Boxer. Sen. Boxer (D-Calif.) has been pushing for tough climate and energy legislation as chair of the Senate Environment Committee, and going head-to-head with James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on global warming. She's also trying to make Capitol Hill more energy efficient.

Leonardo DiCaprio. This green-leaning actor shined a spotlight on the world's top environmental leaders in his eco-documentary The 11th Hour, plotted a reality TV series about green building, and topped Grist's list of green celebs.

John Edwards. Edwards pushed other Democratic presidential contenders to go greener by coming out first with an aggressive climate plan and environmental platform.

Al Gore. This climate crusader won a Nobel Peace Prize, starred in an Oscar-winning film, and, uh, was named first runner-up for Time magazine's Person of the Year.

James Hansen. Hansen, the top climate scientist at NASA, has been outspoken and aggressive about the need to fight global warming. He's taken his share of hits, and punched right back.

Van Jones. Jones has been everywhere this year fighting for environmental justice and promoting a green economy. Plus, he's a hottie.

Angela Merkel. German Chancellor Merkel has made fighting climate change a top priority this year. She had hoped to advance her cause at the G8 summit this past summer; unfortunately, the U.S. got in the way.

Nancy Pelosi. The House speaker doggedly pushed through an aggressive energy bill -- though the Senate neutered it before it got to Bush's desk. Pelosi has also kept up demands for action against climate change, called for green-collar jobs, and worked to green the Capitol -- even if she doesn't "carry a big stick."

Kevin Rudd. Elected as Australia's prime minister in November 2007, Rudd followed through on his campaign promise to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on his first day in office, leaving the U.S. all by its lonesome.

Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governator continues to be California's most pumped-up environmental defender and ambassador. Watch out, Bush, cause he's pissed about the EPA's auto-emissions decision.

Vote for the most villainous eco-villain of 2007

Check out our nominations for the most reprehensible eco-villain of 2007, then vote at the bottom of this post. (And tell us who we missed.)

George W. Bush. You've heard of him, right?

Pete Domenici. Sen. Domenici, top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, played a key role in neutering the just-signed energy bill, pushing successfully to remove a provision that would have required utilities to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources -- even though Domenici's home state of New Mexico is well-positioned to profit from renewables. He also relentlessly shills for the nuclear industry.

Stephen Johnson. Bush's man at the EPA, Johnson just denied California's request for a waiver that would let the state regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks -- against the advice of the career professionals at the agency.

Julie MacDonald. This Bush appointee to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service abruptly resigned in May 2007, just as Congress was about to consider charges that she had altered scientific reports to minimize protection for numerous species under the Endangered Species Act (and had inappropriately released government documents). Ongoing review of her decisions continues to turn up trouble.

Robert Murray. He is owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, which collapsed in August, causing nine deaths -- and which had racked up hundreds of safety citations since January 2004. Murray insisted his mine was safe (all evidence to the contrary), whined about federal mine regulators, complained about proposed climate-change bills, bitched about the miners union, and moaned about how hard the whole collapse had been for him.

Harlan Watson. Before attending the December climate negotiations in Bali as chief U.S. negotiator, Watson told Reuters, "We don't believe targets and timetables are important, or a global cap-and-trade system." He also argued that the U.S. shouldn't be singled out for criticism for rejecting Kyoto, because Turkey rejected it too. No surprise, then, that the U.S. gummed up the climate talks and watered down the final deal.

Americans for Balanced Energy Choices. Once ABEC, now apparently "America's Power" (perhaps the patriotism didn't come across well enough), this coal front group is the leading wedge of a multimillion-dollar PR campaign aimed at buffing dirty energy's clean image among lawmakers. Last seen sponsoring presidential debates and sending Santas out to dispense coal-shaped chocolates (really).

UNGREEN. The nefarious United Nemeses aGainst Reliable Eco Experts Network kidnapped our beloved advice maven, Umbra Fisk -- forcing her to (horrors!) eat from Styrofoam containers, use energy-inefficient appliances, and live in a sprawling McMansion. Fortunately, with the help of our readers, she was released.