Articles by Grist staff

Tundra-struck

Warming Climate in Alaska Causes Headaches for Oil Companies In an ironic twist, oil companies operating on Alaska’s North Slope are finding their work impeded by a warming climate. The companies depend on long stretches of hard freeze during which they can haul heavy drilling equipment over tundra, but those cold periods are shrinking. In […]

The Smoking Gun?

Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons Raises Health Concerns in Iraq High levels of radiation are showing up at a number of sites throughout Iraq, thanks to the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons by U.S.-led forces during the war in March and April. DU is considered a potential cause of cancers and birth defects. Some […]

Seeds of Destruction

GM Crops Harm Neighboring Flora and Fauna, British Test Results Indicate Genetically modified crops can cause more damage to nearby plants and animals than conventional strains of the same crops, according to preliminary results from British government farm trials. The three crops studied — GM sugar beet, maize, and oilseed rape — destroyed more insects […]

Flexible Fools

Automakers Can Dodge Fuel-Economy Rules with Flex-Fuel Vehicles U.S. automakers are dramatically boosting production of “flexible-fuel” cars and trucks that can run on either gasoline or E85, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gas that results in lower greenhouse gas emissions — but this trend is more likely to harm the environment […]