Articles by Grist staff

Fetal Detraction

Air Quality One-Two Punch Hurts Fetuses The combined effects of air pollution and secondhand smoke can hurt fetal development, says a new study conducted in New York City by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health. While previous studies have addressed the effects of both factors in isolation, this study marks the first attempt to […]

20,000 Toxins Under the Sea

Ocean Mammals Getting Pummeled by Pollution New research indicates that human-made toxins have infiltrated deep and remote parts of the ocean. The Ocean Alliance, a Massachusetts-based research organization, has found troubling levels of DDT, PCBs, and other contaminants in the blubber of sperm whales. Scientists were surprised at their initial findings, as the deep-water whales […]

Going on the Rails on a Crazy Train

Study Find Trains Best Transportation Solution for California Building a high-speed rail system that would connect California’s major cities would be more cost-effective and less environmentally destructive than expanding the state’s highways and airports, says a long-awaited government environmental study released today. The study — which considered ways of linking the Bay Area and San […]

Survey Says: Don’t Survey!

Bush Admin. to Ease Rare Species Restrictions on Old-Growth Logging Timber companies hoping to log on federal land in the Northwest will no longer be responsible for surveying and protecting some 300 rare plant and animal species, the Bush administration announced on Friday. (Yes, it’s yet another Friday rollback; they were hoping you wouldn’t notice.) […]