The Canadian oil pipeline giant Enbridge will pay Wisconsin law enforcement for riot suits, training, and hours spent policing protests, according to an agreement approved by two counties last week. The secretive arrangement offers an uncapped funding source to local sheriffs as the company prepares for disruptive, Indigenous-led resistance to...
Appalachia’s iconic salamander was slated for federal protection. It’s still in limbo.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina. Andy Hill keeps a wetsuit and snorkel in his car at all times. Sometimes, when he’s driving around Watauga County, North Carolina, he’ll see a particularly clear, swift stream, pull off, suit up,...
A regional network is racing to save the Midwest’s native seeds
Under the warm light of a hanging lamp, Marty Landorf carefully crumbled the dried flower head of a black-eyed Susan between her fingers, teasing apart the chaff to uncover its puny black seeds. Each one was destined for long-term cold storage alongside roughly 46 million other seeds at the Chicago...
Balcony solar is taking state legislatures by storm
Lauren Phillips’ balcony just became a power plant. A very small, carbon-free one. A few weeks ago, the attorney set up what may be the first plug-and-play solar panel in the Bronx. The 220-watt installation, which is secured to the balcony railing with zip ties, has been a boon for the renter and mother...
The Trump administration’s favorite nuclear startup has ties to Russia and Epstein
At 26, Isaiah Taylor had accomplished more than most people do by the time they’re twice his age. The founder of Valar Atomics, a Southern California-based company that aims to make small-scale nuclear reactors, Taylor, a father of four, has government contracts, invitations to Mar-a-Lago, and investments from some of the biggest names in...
The Colorado River is nearing collapse. It’s Trump’s problem now.
The Colorado River currently supports 40 million people and $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity in seven U.S. states and Mexico — but it was never intended to be stretched so thin. A century-old legal framework promises those users more water than there is to go around. The river’s flow...
The culture war is coming for your electricity
Relations between states are becoming so strained over their different approaches to fossil fuels and renewables, some politicians are calling for a “divorce.” Utah Republicans celebrated last week when PacifiCorp, one of the largest utilities in the West, announced it would stop serving customers in Washington state. PacifiCorp mainly operates...
Ski resorts are increasingly reliant on snowmaking. But at what cost?
This winter’s snow cover is the lowest on record in the Western United States. While that could cause a torrent of trouble come spring — more wildfires, less water for farms and fish — at the moment, there’s one thing on many Westerners’ minds: skiing. In Colorado, less than a...
The beautiful Venetian plant with a secret climate superpower
Venice’s landmarks teem with tourists — so many, in fact, that the city has had to implement restrictions, like banning guides from using loudspeakers. But just outside the famous canals and resplendent architecture sits an ecosystem that teems with less obnoxious forms of life: the Venetian lagoon. For millennia, its...
A tough Supreme Court hearing brings little clarity on Line 5 pipeline’s fate
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday about whether state or federal court will have the final say on the future of the controversial Line 5 pipeline, which carries crude oil and natural gas liquids across the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan. The case dates to a 2019 lawsuit...