Articles by Grist staff

CEO Boy!

In a rare expression of unity from an otherwise cutthroat industry, the world’s automakers pledged Friday to work together on global safety and environmental standards for cars. In a joint statement issued after an auto show in Paris, 13 industry CEOs agreed to work on promoting new technologies and better fuel quality, international standardization of […]

Everything Goes Worse With Coke

As if population pressures and the international demand for wood weren’t exacting enough of a toll on tropical ecosystems, here’s another problem: cocaine. In the last 30 years, some 5.7 million acres of Peruvian rainforest have been razed to make way for coca crops, and more than 14,800 tons of toxic chemicals used in the […]

Nepa’ed in the Bud

If you’ve been following environmental news lately (or duly reading the Daily Grist), you’ll have noticed an unusual number of stories involving the National Environmental Policy Act. The act, signed into law by President Nixon in 1970, requires all federal agencies to assess and limit the environmental impact of their activities. But the Bush administration […]

Ashes of Fire

Every year, coal-fired power plants in the U.S. produce more than 100 million tons of ash, a byproduct of the burning process containing heavy metals or metal-like substances such as boron, selenium, arsenic, and magnesium. The energy industry claims the ash is benign, but many others fear that it is bad for the environment and […]