Articles by Grist staff

The Air of Their Ways

EPA falling short on clean-air protection, GAO says The Government Accountability Office is on the U.S. EPA’s case again, reporting that the agency has, and we quote, “not reduced human health risks from air toxics to the extent and in the time frames envisioned in the [Clean Air] Act.” The EPA has largely failed to […]

And the Wind Cries Scary

Pacific Northwest ocean dead zone getting larger Researchers believe global warming is behind a recurring low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Pacific Northwest ocean. Triggered by north winds, a process called upwelling encourages the growth of phytoplankton blooms; when the water calms, the phytoplankton die for lack of nutrients, sink to the bottom, and rot, using […]

Cotton a Trap

GM cotton doesn’t cut pesticide use long term, new research indicates Biotech giant Monsanto touts its genetically modified cotton seed — spliced with the bollworm-killing Bt toxin — as money- and earth-saving, because it lowers the need for pesticide use. Funny story about that: a new study found that cotton farmers using the seed soon […]

Readers talk back about Wal-Mart, vegetarian jokes, hope for the future, and more

  Re: The Writing on the Wal-Mart Dear Editor: First let me say, I love Grist and appreciate the work you do and, mostly, enjoy the irreverent humor with which you do it. However, being a staunch liberal Protestant, a devoted environmentalist, and an ardent Democrat living in a deeply red state, I found your […]