Articles by Grist staff

Tsunamis Tsuck

Ecological damage from tsunami may be long-lasting The tsunami that ravaged coastlines of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and India last week, causing some 150,000 human deaths and countless dollars in property damage, also wreaked havoc on the region’s already-fragile environment. Researchers are just beginning to survey the toll on coastal forests, coral reefs, and wetlands, […]

The Next Asbestos Thing

Specter pushing asbestos-claims bill that would create trust fund Amid a continuing flood of lawsuits against the allegedly cancer-causing asbestos industry, the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), has drafted a bill to try to stem the flow. Specter’s legislation would establish a trust fund into which asbestos companies would pay […]

Turn on, Tune in, Drop Out

ConocoPhillips withdraws from Arctic Refuge lobbying group ConocoPhillips, the third-largest energy company in the U.S., has withdrawn from Arctic Power, a lobbying group the sole purpose of which is to convince Congress to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The company is playing down what it calls “merely a business decision,” saying […]

Right-wingers exploit tsunami by accusing enviros of exploiting tsunami

Was global warming behind the recent catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean? Of course not. Nor did it cause the Iraqi insurgency, the national debt, or Ashley Simpson’s lip-synching episode. A devastated village in India. Photo: USAID. Global warming is an atmospheric phenomenon caused by a buildup of airborne greenhouse gases, and though it’s expected […]