Articles by Grist staff

Keeping the Chemical Fires Burning

Army Begins Burning Chemical Weapons in Alabama To the dismay of environmentalists and many community members in Anniston, Ala., the U.S. Army on Saturday started incinerating millions of pounds of chemical weapons stored at an army depot in town, a process expected to take seven years. A federal judge cleared the way on Friday when […]

The 411 on 9/11

White House Pressed EPA to Say Air Was Safe After 9/11 In the days immediately following the 9/11 attacks, the White House pressured the U.S. EPA to issue unsupported statements reassuring the public that air quality around ground zero was safe, according to an investigation by the EPA’s inspector general. Also, as a result of […]

Going Down in Flames

California Bans Flame Retardants Linked to Serious Health Problems In a precedent-setting move, California has become the first state in the nation to ban two flame-retardant chemicals that have been shown to accumulate in the blood of mothers and nursing infants. The chemicals, known as PBDEs, are widely used to coat furniture, electronics, plastics, and […]

A View to a Drill

Bush Administration Seeks to Increase Drilling In Rockies Federal land managers throughout the Rocky Mountain region must look for ways to remove or relax environmental restrictions on oil and gas drilling on federal lands, according to a Bush administration mandate issued yesterday. In the mandate, the Bureau of Land Management calls on its regional officials […]