Articles by Grist staff

A Plastic Only an Industry Group Could Love

Anti-PVC movement grows, even as PVC use rises A growing coalition of scientists, public-health advocates, environmentalists, and even corporations is fighting to rid the world of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Some 300 billion pounds of PVC are in use worldwide, and 7 billion pounds are discarded each year in the U.S. alone, says the Center for […]

The Phony Express

Falsified Yucca documents lead to investigation of project’s science The use of fabricated sources in a study about the safety of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste dump — revealed in a series of emails between scientists — has Energy and Interior Department officials scrambling to investigate. The U.S. Geological Survey study was critical to the […]

The Curious Incident of the Mercury in the School Yard

Study suggests mercury and autism linked Higher levels of mercury in the environment may be linked to higher rates of autism, a study of Texas school districts found. Districts with the highest rates of autism and special-education students also had the most mercury in the air and water, researchers discovered. They caution that the study […]

Murder by Numbers

Environmental funders share blame for movement’s weak pulse Much of the debate over the alleged “death of environmentalism” has centered on the narrow focus, tech-oriented solutions, and political ineptitude of big environmental organizations. Oddly omitted from these discussions is the way environmental foundations and funders perpetuate these problems and hamstring the movement. Longtime activist Ken […]