Articles by Grist staff

Louisiana will crack down on oil industry waste-disposal practices

Oil companies accustomed to a hodgepodge of regulation will soon see stricter oversight from a new initiative in Louisiana, which will pool the resources of 15 state and federal offices to crack down on Big Oil’s waste-disposal practices. The program will train some 100 field officers to identify oil and brine-water spills in the Gulf […]

Public hits the streets to rally for global-warming action

Speaking of people who make it difficult for us to maintain our well-earned cynicism, Saturday’s Step It Up 2 climate rallies were, by all accounts, a grand success. Following up on the first Step It Up in April, the movement — spearheaded by author Bill McKibben — spurred some 1,000 rallies across the U.S. From […]

U.S. mayors hit Seattle to plot climate strategy and get a dose of hope

More than 100 mayors from across the U.S. gathered in Seattle late last week to share lessons from their efforts to address climate change, producing the world’s first climate conference that didn’t lead to a spike in Prozac sales. Perhaps it was the uncharacteristic sunshine in the Emerald City, but mayors could barely contain their […]

Whether Daylight Savings Time saves energy or not, don’t forget to turn your clocks back

Most American clocks will fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday — a week later than last year, thanks to legislation that passed through Congress in 2005. The bill’s sponsors argued that moving the time that the time moves would save energy, a claim that is shabbily supported statistically. Especially since everybody spends that extra […]