Articles by Grist staff

It’s Girl Scout cookie season …

And along with $400 million worth of cookie orders, the national office of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. has received a number of concerns about the cookies saying, among other things, that child labor is used to produce the chocolate that covers Thin Mints -- an allegation Girl Scout officials deny. Critics also charge that Girl Scout cookies are contributing to the American obesity epidemic with high levels of unhealthy trans fats, particularly in their newest cookie, Animal Treasures, a shortbread treat featuring endangered animal imprints. Says Jennifer Romback of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, "I'd like to think that Girl Scout cookies are the least of our worries." Indeed.

Polluter Actually Pays

Illinois power plants will spend half a billion on pollution controls A 1999 lawsuit against Illinois Power has ended in a proposed settlement of more than $520 million, most of which will go to installing new pollution controls. The suit charged that Illinois Power had violated the Clean Air Act by upgrading several plants without […]

Half a Bridge Over Troubled Water

EPA proposes stronger protections on lead in drinking water The U.S. EPA has proposed strengthening protections against lead in drinking water for the first time since 1991. The move comes in response to the recent brouhaha in the Washington, D.C., area, where residents were not informed of widespread lead contamination until years after it was […]

Oh You Nasty Soy

Brazil solves problem of illegal GM soy production by legalizing it In a victory for biotech conglomerates everywhere, lawmakers in Brazil last week lifted a ban on the growing of genetically modified crops in the country, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to quickly sign the changes into law. Brazil is now […]