Articles by Grist staff

Lawn Order

Senate Says No to California Plan to Cut Small-Engine Pollution California’s cutting-edge environmental policies were dealt a blow yesterday when the U.S. Senate voted to prevent the state from regulating air pollution from small engines such as those found in gas-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and weed whackers. Although lawn equipment is small, its environmental […]

Drug Busting

Enviros Sue USDA Over Biopharmaceuticals A coalition of green groups and consumer advocates took the U.S. Department of Agriculture to court yesterday in an effort to halt experimental planting of “biopharmaceutical crops,” plants genetically engineered to produce medicine. The coalition, which includes Friends of the Earth and the Center for Food Safety, wants the USDA […]

Chromium and Punishment

New Jersey Wins $17 Million Settlement in Chromium Case A 20-year battle over chromium pollution in northern New Jersey came to an end yesterday when three companies agreed to pony up $17 million to clean hundreds of sites contaminated by the deadly chemical. From the 1890s to the 1950s, Honeywell International, Tierra Solutions, and PPG […]

The Non-Peace Non-Dividend

U.K. Cuts Funds for Amazon Protection to Pay for Operations in Iraq In the latest evidence that war is bad for the environment, biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest stands to suffer because of the conflict in Iraq. Sounds a bit roundabout, but the reason is simple: money. Straining to come up with almost $900 million […]