United States

A personal appreciation of Grist contributor Donella Meadows

I was once speaking with Donella Meadows in her Dartmouth College office a few years ago, back when I taught with her in the environmental studies program. She was responsible for my appointment in environmental literature and writing and had become a mentor I could call on for advice at any time, no matter how […]

Let's hope campaign finance reform saves the day

I will never believe he won. I’ll always think he got a minority of both the popular and the electoral vote. To me he’ll always be President-Under-False-Pretense. The president-elect prepares to step up to the plate. Well, but you know, the Rs would feel the same way if a few hundred Florida votes had tipped […]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

What do you do when you want to move fast but the way ahead is dark, possibly dangerous, and almost entirely unknown? Accelerate? Proceed with moderation? Slow way down? Stop? Don’t spray it. That question underlies most environmental regulations. We are not sure what pesticides are doing to soils, waters, other creatures, or ourselves. We […]

Both Gore and Nader could have won with this more sensible election system

From the standpoint of most environmentalists, very little went right on election day. Ralph Nader fell short of getting 5 percent of the vote, so the Green Party won’t qualify for federal matching funds in 2004. And it seems likely that Al Gore, despite receiving more of the popular vote than his Republican rival, won’t […]

Did the top U.S. negotiator at The Hague climate talks drop the ball?

Lots of grumbling lately from environmental insiders displeased with the way Frank Loy handled negotiating duties for the U.S. during the fruitless climate change talks at The Hague, Netherlands. The main complaint: Bad clock management. Pretty boy Loy. Photo: Courtesy of IISD. Without getting too mired in bad sports metaphors, the knock on Loy, the […]

Climate talks collapse over carbon sinks, and Americans just don't see the problem

Bill McKibben reports from The Hague: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Depending on how you spin it, the collapse of the climate negotiations in The Hague, Netherlands, could leave you confident that much progress has been made, despairing that a Bush presidency dooms the future of new talks, or convinced […]

Is cheap meat worth the karmic cost of industrial animal production?

With Thanksgiving nigh, the question arises: What is the meaning of sustainable cuisine? Which came first? Kennedy with both a chicken and an egg. The word sustainable expresses the obligation that each generation has to the next to preserve the value of the natural world. It does not mean we can’t use nature. Humankind, a […]

A look back at Al Gore's 1992 opus on the environment

How many environmentalists have actually read Earth in the Balance? Very few, I'm willing to wager.

The truth is that until recently, I myself felt qualified to pontificate on Al Gore's environmental beliefs and, yes, occasionally question whether he'd lived up to them, even though I hadn't read more than a few excerpts from the book. Well, that age of innocence is over.

The Cars Are Stacked Against Us

While a few small cars being sold in U.S. showrooms get 40 or more miles to the gallon, the vast majority of 2001 model year vehicles get about 20 mpg, according to annual fuel economy statistics released yesterday by the U.S. EPA. The popularity of SUVs, pickup trucks, and minivans drove down the mileage figures. […]