Author Grist

GRIST: Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’

Grist

Hydrology

August 13, 2026

Unseasonably warm weather that rapidly melts snowpack is becoming more widespread in the U.S. West and happening earlier in the...

GRIST: A new type of levee is taking root in Northern California

Grist

Climate change

August 11, 2026

Combining flood mitigation with wetland habitat restoration, “horizontal levees” could protect coastal cities and wildlife from rising seas. By Charlotte...

GRIST: Wildfire prevention has always been a challenge in the West. Hotter, drier weather is making it worse.

Grist

Wildfires and watersheds

July 31, 2026

In an overheating era, the old ways of keeping fires from raging out of control may no longer work By...

GRIST: El Niño is here, and it’s already scrambling fisheries throughout the Pacific

Grist

Hydrology

July 8, 2026

From India to Peru to California, the powerful weather phenomenon is creating winners and losers across the fishing industry. By...

GRIST: The Colorado River is vanishing — and the fixes are getting weird

Grist

Colorado River

June 23, 2026

Desalination. Pipelines. Cloud seeding. Those are just a few ideas for how the Trump administration should save the desiccated waterway....

GRIST: A solution to data center backlash? Put them in oil fields.

Grist

Planning and management

June 18, 2026

A new project in California’s oil country could dodge national controversies over energy and water usage. By Jake Bittle, Grist...

GRIST: The ‘super El Niño’ is here. What happens next could upend food systems worldwide.

Grist

Hydrology

June 16, 2026

How the cyclical weather pattern interacts with climate change could spark hunger around the world. By Frida Garza, Grist This...

GRIST: Why is this Trump official dead set on saving a failing California dam?

Grist

Planning and management

June 2, 2026

Brooke Rollins’s latest culture war crusade threatens a delicate compromise between Potter Valley farmers and nearby tribes. By Jake Bittle...

GRIST: These maps show exactly where the West might burn this summer

Grist

Wildfires and watersheds

April 2, 2026

Amid drought and heat waves, April’s national wildfire forecast shows that nearly the entire Western U.S. will face an above-normal...

GRIST: The West’s unprecedented winter could fuel a summer of disaster

Grist

Hydrology

March 31, 2026

Record-low snowpack and an early heatwave could mean a higher risk of drought and fire in coming months. By Tik...

GRIST: Why thinning a forest could get you more drinking water

Grist

Wildfires and watersheds

March 6, 2026

Scientists have shown how actively managing forests to prevent wildfires can also boost the snowpack, a critical source of hydration...

GRIST: The Colorado River is nearing collapse. It’s Trump’s problem now.

Grist

Colorado River

February 27, 2026

The Interior Department must force seven bickering states to agree on drastic water cuts — after the driest winter in...

GRIST: Inside the polarizing plan to stash carbon in a California wetland

Grist

Climate change

February 4, 2026

A proposal to store carbon dioxide deep below a Bay Area wetland is testing how — and where — California...

GRIST: How to make data centers less thirsty

Grist

Planning and management

November 24, 2025

There’s a way to reduce both the climate and water harms of data centers: build them in places with lots...

GRIST: The West’s new gold rush is the data center boom

Grist

Planning and management

October 28, 2025

The tech industry’s soaring electricity and water demands are raising consumer rates and threatening sustainability goals. This story was originally...