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Nuclear plant’s pollution will never, ever be cleaned up

If you got all warm and fuzzy reading our previous post about the revitalization of the Howe Sound, and if you want to keep that feeling, don't read this post. Because it is the exact opposite story, one in which humans mess up the environment and can never, ever take it back.

In Scotland, from 1963 to 1984, a nuclear plant leaked lethal-if-ingested radioactive waste. That waste got all over beaches and other lovely sea-side resources. A while back, the Scottish version of the EPA recommended that someone make this right and return the area to a "pristine condition."

But now, they're giving up.

Once a wasteland, Howe Sound comes back to life

Humans can royally muck up the environment, but sometimes we can put things right again. Seven years ago, Vancouver's Howe Sound was a lifeless chemical stew, poisoned by contamination from a copper mine. And now, according to the Globe and Mail, there's this:

Sightings of grey whales, killer whales and schools of hundreds of white-sided dolphins are now being made regularly in the Sound, where massive herring spawns are once again occurring. “We are seeing the revitalization of an entire ecosystem. It is really uplifting,” said John Buchanan, a Squamish conservationist who voluntarily walks streams in the area to help count spawning salmon.

And this:

Food Studies: the honeybee and the tweezers

For agriculture studies student Ben, a summer spent in greenhouses manually pollinating tomato plants is the perfect preparation for studying honey-bee physiology this fall.

Critical List: #realtalk from Clinton on climate; a DIY electric car

“We look like a joke, right?” — President Bill Clinton, on the ridiculousness that is America’s climate-denying Republican candidates.

Obama is at least TRYING to cut coal, oil, and gas subsidies with his deficit reduction proposal.

Your commute could give you a heart attack. Not in some stress-related indirect way. The fumes from the cars increase the risk of your heart bottoming out.

These guys are DIYing an electric car. It’s awesome.

Featured Friend: Grace Chen

Each month, we showcase one of our beloved Friends with Benefits — folks who have donated to support our work. Want to take your relationship with Grist to the next level? Just donate any amount to join the fun.  Grace Chen “Stylin’ in my Grist Friends with Benefits T-shirt is a gentle reminder to be green. Grist […]

Blogs put bikes on a path to world domination

The revolution won't be televised. Instead, we'll turn to the grassroots bicycle media to see the bright future of the sport take shape.

In its previous life, this corner grocery was a shipping container

Mobile food deliveries bring fresh, healthy produce to food deserts. But to really change a neighborhood's access to food, a small store with big ideas learns you have to take the wheels off.

Over 100,000 Americans work in solar industry

The GOP makes no effort to hide its opposition to clean energy. But the solar industry far outpaces the growth rate of the overall U.S. economy.

Here's what we can do with all the tires after the carpocalypse

In the post-peak-oil, post-automotive world, we'll have to do something while we're huddled around our campfires in Bartertown. And we'll need to do something with the parts of our now-useless vehicles. Sure, we'll have to build shelters with the metal carapaces, and we'll need some of that tire rubber for shoes and things. But there […]

Why Walmart's money helps more than it hurts

Growing Power's Will Allen should take Walmart's million-dollar gift and do great things with it. But that doesn't mean the fight against Walmart can't or won't continue.