Latest Articles

Bump and Rind

Please Help Put an End to Our Silly, Sophomoric Grapefruit Fundraiser Here’s a five-second reader survey for you: Should we change the name of the Daily Grist to the Daily Rind? No, no, we’re just kidding … but on this second-to-last day of the 2003 Grist Grapefruit Challenge, with daily rinds piling up around us, […]

Death Warmed Over

Climate Change Tied to 150,000 Deaths a Year, WHO Says How’s this for classic gloom and doom: Climate change led to 150,000 premature deaths in 2000, and the annual number of such deaths could double in 30 years if current warming trends are not reversed, according to a new report by the World Health Organization. […]

Baby’s Breath

Exposure to Pesticides May Lead to Childhood Asthma Yet another reason to keep pesticides out of the house: Children exposed to household bug-killing chemicals during the first year of life may be more than twice as likely to develop asthma as those not exposed, according to new research by scientists at the University of Southern […]

Let ’em Snowmobile, Let ’em Snowmobile, Let ’em Snowmobile

Bush Administration Will Allow Snowmobiles in Yellowstone Snowmobiles will be welcome to keep zooming through Yellowstone National Park, the Bush administration announced yesterday, despite tens of thousands of public comments calling for the vehicles to be phased out from the oldest national park in the U.S. Final rules released yesterday on the issue will place […]

Umbra on washing produce

Dear Umbra, Does one really need to wash produce off the shelf or out of the bag? I’ve been eating vegetables as they are for years. Does it really do any good to wash them? If they are contaminated internally, then washing the outside won’t help, will it? JaneSteubenville, Ohio Dearest Jane, Please wash your […]

Umbra on eco-friendly meat

Dear Umbra, While I’m not a vegetarian, I try to choose my foods based on their environmental impact. For me, most non-organic meat doesn’t make the cut: It uses too much water, land, and other resources, and it pollutes our land and water. I know this because I know about CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations), […]

Umbra on food storage

Dear Umbra, I recently read about the possible effects of plastics on women and the fetuses they may be carrying. I’m ready to change my ways, but I’m not sure how. Do you have some good suggestions about other ways we can package our leftovers or pack foods for lunch at school and work? NataliePortland, […]

True Grime Stories

Rochester Investigates Link Between Lead and Crime If you read yesterday’s review of Six Modern Plagues in Grist, you know that environmental problems can be linked to health issues. But can they be linked to crime? That’s what officials in Rochester, N.Y., are trying to determine by investigating the relationship between violent behavior and lead […]

Inuit and Out

Inuit Plan to Launch Human-Rights Case Against U.S. Over Climate Change Saying global climate change threatens them with extinction, the world’s Inuit people yesterday announced plans to launch a human-rights case against the United States, which has repeatedly reiterated that it will take no decisive action on the issue. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference represents 155,000 […]

Oil and World Bank Shouldn’t Mix

Report Recommends That World Bank Stop Backing Oil, Coal Projects The World Bank should phase out all investments in oil and coal projects by 2008 because the environmental risks are too high, an independent report has recommended. Now, the bank must figure out how to respond to the Extractive Industry Review, which it commissioned in […]