Articles by Grist staff

Fear in a Handful of Dust

Household Dust Carries Toxic Chemicals According to a pair of new studies, common household dust carries “unexpectedly high” levels of PBDEs — chemicals used as fire retardants in computers, appliances, and household furnishings, which researchers suspect may cause cancer and stunt fetal brain development. “Exposure to brominated fire retardants is unavoidable,” concluded a study by […]

Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

Monsanto Abandons Plans for GM Wheat With little fanfare, biotech-food giant Monsanto announced yesterday that it would abandon plans to introduce genetically modified wheat to the market. Anti-GM activists, who have fought Monsanto’s plans for some five years, celebrated the announcement as a major victory. However, the impetus for the shift was likely not the […]

Win Diesel

EPA Announces New Diesel Regulations Today the U.S. EPA put in place tough new regulations on off-highway diesel engines — tractors, bulldozers, locomotives, etc. — which produce more soot than the nation’s entire on-road vehicle fleet. The agency says the regs will cut emissions from such equipment by 90 percent over a decade by requiring […]

This Land Is Mine Land

Old Mining Law Gives Taxpayers the Shaft Under an 1872 mining law, private companies and individuals have laid claim to 9.2 million acres of public land for mining, often at prices of $5 an acre or less, says a new report — and 1.2 million acres of that is controlled by foreign companies. The 132-year-old […]