Articles by Grist staff

Howell of Protest

Under federal regulations, private developers have to pay market rates to lease land bordering the 456 lakes owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But last month, Ronald Howell signed a 50-year rent-free lease on 280 along Oklahoma’s Skiatook Lake, which is owned by the corps, to build a $10 million resort, complete with […]

Buhl-dozed

After weeks of intense controversy, the Maryland Senate yesterday rejected Lynn Buhl as secretary of the environment, marking the first time in the state’s history that a governor’s cabinet nominee has been turned down. The 26-21 vote was a major blow to Maryland Republicans and Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Jr. (R), who had championed Buhl, a […]

Splurging General

Calling homeland security an environmental issue, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced yesterday that the Justice Department would crack down on companies that failed to protect their plants, pipelines, storage tanks, and transportation systems from terrorist attacks. The attorney general said the department would use civil and criminal lawsuits to enforce compliance with environmental and […]

PBDE Heebie-jeebies

Women in the San Francisco Bay Area have three to 10 times the amount of a dangerous persistent organic pollutant in their breast tissue as do either European or Japanese women, according to a study released yesterday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants commonly used in foam, textiles, […]