Uncategorized
All Stories
-
Officials in three states pin water woes on gas drilling
This article was written by ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten. Pat Farnelli, top left, Ronald Carter, bottom left, Richard Seymour, top right, and Norma Fiorentino, bottom right, live in Dimock, Pa. A year after Cabot Oil & Gas landmen knocked on their doors to sign drilling leases, they are finding that their drinking water now contains methane, […]
-
Internet Debate 101
(Photo credit: patries71 photo stream Flickr) Several years ago, the Easter Bunny brought my youngest daughter a pet rabbit. She immediately jumped on the Internet to learn about care and feeding. One site told her that rabbits were social animals and that they should be kept warm and dry in the house, preferably in the […]
-
Did Guilt Drive Thoreau into the Woods?
Henry David Thoreau went to the woods because, he wrote in Walden, he wanted to “live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life.” Yet in the book Thoreau didn’t mention the fact that a year earlier, he had accidentally set the woods near his home town of Concord on fire, causing a 300-acre […]
-
Not all environmental websites are created equal
I’ve been visiting a wide variety of environmental blogs lately to get my daily dose of information and commentary. I have settled on eighteen feeds that I visit most days, opening tabs to articles of interest from each to be read right away or later in the day. This has given me the opportunity to […]
-
An earthy non-prescription anti-depressant
Medical researchers in the United Kingdom have found evidence that “friendly” bacteria found in soil may activate the immune system, produce the brain compound serotonin, and help ward off depression. According to a study published last week in Neuroscience, researchers from Bristol University and University College London found that mice treated with the soil agent […]
-
CDC study finds rocket fuel chemical in baby formula
This story was originally published at ProPublica.org. Perchlorate, a hazardous chemical in rocket fuel, has been found at potentially dangerous levels in powdered infant formula, according to a study [PDF] by a group of Centers for Disease Control scientists. The study, published last month by The Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, has intensified […]
-
In India, leading a lavatory revolution
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak displays a beaker of colorless, odorless, pathogen-free liquid manure distilled from human excreta. The fertilizer is created using a low-tech, five-step process that includes sand and charcoal filtering and exposure to ultraviolet rays. Methane is captured and burned as cooking fuel. Kevin Ferguson DELHI, India — Ah, the Sulabh International Museum of […]
-
Republicans as defenders of the poor
Last week, the House GOP leadership proposed a budget outline that provides an alternative to President Obama’s. Here’s Citizens for Tax Justice’s [PDF] analysis of how it compares to President Obama’s plan: Over a fourth of taxpayers, mostly low-income families, would pay more in taxes under the House GOP plan than they would under the […]
-
Welcome to the new Grist!
This year marks Grist’s tenth anniversary! To celebrate this momentous occasion, we’ve redesigned our site. (We’ll also be passing out glasses for a sparkling organic-cider toast at some point, so don’t run off to the powder room.) The new Grist.org is better organized and easier to navigate, featuring topic areas like politics, food, and climate. […]
