Articles by Grist staff

Slainte

The Chicago River is a ripe shade of green right about now. The city is famous for its tradition of dyeing the river green for St. Patty's Day, a practice that began in 1962 when city pollution-control workers used dyes to track illegal sewage discharges and realized it could make for a fun holiday event. Although back in '62 they used some 100 pounds of green vegetable dye to do it -- which kept the river green for a week! -- the city now limits it to 40 pounds of the stuff, keeping it green for just a few hours.

Hoping to start a tradition of their own, restaurateurs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this year had planned to dye the New River green for a St. Patrick's Day festival, but Broward County environmental regulators pooh-poohed the idea, saying it violated local water-quality rules. Officials worried about the dye's effects on the endangered West Indian manatee and other environmental treasures in the area.

When party promoters pushed the idea, arguing that the dye is non-toxic, Mayor Kristin Jacobs retorted with a suggestion that the festival organizers dye themselves green by drinking the chemicals if they were indeed so safe. The party planners must not have been interested, as the new plan is limited to dyeing fountains at the Las Olas Riverfront and offering special "Green River Water" drinks. Yum.

Senate votes to open Arctic Refuge to drilling

Stickin’ it to the porcupine caribou in the Arctic Refuge. Photo: Ken Whitten, Wilderness Society. Oil companies are closing in on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In a crushing blow to those who have fought for some 25 years to preserve the unspoiled Alaskan wildland, the Senate voted today to clear the way for oil […]

The Polar Distress

Grizzly bears encroaching on polar bear habitat Polar bears have been having a rough time of it lately, what with global warming melting their habitat and PCBs tainting their food sources. Now they’ve got a new problem to worry about: Grizzly bears have been spotted as far north as Canada’s Melville Island, 600 miles inside […]

They’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad

Hybrid railcar goes into use in California With U.S. imports on the rise, ports are under growing scrutiny from air-quality regulators. Part of that concern focuses on the rail system that chugs goods out of ports and away to various Wal-Marts around the country. Yesterday, as part of its attempts to address such concerns, Union […]