Latest Articles
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Kenaf Already!
As Paper Use Rises, So Do Environmental Woes Remember when computers first became popular and we were told the “paperless office” was just around the corner? Turns out a company’s use of email increases its use of paper by some 40 percent. U.S. paper producers now consume 1 billion trees a year — generating 735 […]
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Haiku Enough for Ya?
Our Haiku Hullabaloo fundraiser elicited hundreds of poems from creative Grist fans. We whittled the submissions down to a top 11 contenders, through a semi-scientific process involving repeated syllable counting, unabashed lobbying, and a measure of fisticuffs. (We kid — no interns were harmed in the making of this contest.) Now we need your help […]
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Tirana-saurus Wrecks
Albanian Capital Faces Air-Pollution Crisis You may never have heard of Tirana, the capital city of Albania, but it falls not far behind Beijing and New Delhi on the list of the world’s most polluted cities. Hazardous emissions plague the city’s air at levels 10 times higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization, […]
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Weapons of Mass. Reduction
Massachusetts Unveils Nation’s Most Stringent Mercury-Emissions Rules Today Massachusetts announced the nation’s most restrictive regs on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, putting the state way ahead of the Bush administration in addressing the problem. The rules will require four big power plants to install equipment to reduce their mercury emissions 85 percent by 2008 […]
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Crop Busting
Monsanto Wins Landmark Biotech Case Against Canadian Farmer The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled in favor of biotech giant Monsanto in a case widely thought to be pivotal for the biotech industry. The court determined late last week that Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser had violated a Monsanto patent by growing the company’s herbicide-resistant canola without […]
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Open-source Agriculture
Smart Breeding Holds Promise of Replacing GM Foods Imagine a technology that can produce all the benefits of biotech crops — resistance to pests and pesticides, long shelf life, rapid (or delayed) ripening, etc. — without the worries about environmental harm, corporate consolidation, and international trade wars. Some researchers believe they have discovered — or […]
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The Full Vermonty
State of Vermont Endangered by Wal-Mart, Group Says The National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of endangered historic sites yesterday, citing such imperiled landmarks as Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem Works steel plant, Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon, and the state of Vermont. Yup, the whole state. According to the trust, mega-retailer Wal-Mart’s aggressive plans for expansion […]
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Audit, Shucks
U.S. Nuclear Contractors Underreporting Worker Injuries Government contractors have underreported injuries and illnesses at Hanford Nuclear Reservation and other nuclear cleanup projects for years, creating a false image of safety for their own enrichment, according to a new federal audit. The Department of Energy, responsible for overseeing cleanups at the Hanford site in southern Washington […]
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You Want Fries With That?
High Gas Prices Increase Popularity of Biofuel Many enviros have been bonkers for biofuel for years — trust us, we have the letters to prove it. But with gas prices heading for the stratosphere, the idea of using vegetable oil to power cars is spreading. Some restaurant owners happily give their used oil away as […]
