Articles by Grist staff

El Smog

Mexico City declared its first pollution alert in almost three years yesterday, when ozone levels in the famously smoggy city reached about 250 percent of acceptable levels. The alert resulted in some 350,000 cars being ordered off the city streets. That’s a lot, but it’s far fewer than the nearly half of the city’s estimated […]

Acting Up

The Bush administration announced yesterday that it plans to consider new rules for enforcing the Clean Water Act. Some conservative lawmakers have been pressuring the administration to revise the enforcement rules since January 2001, when the Supreme Court imposed new limits on the scope of the act. Some interpreted that court ruling to suggest that […]

Deaf Charges

In better news for environmentalists, a federal judge has rejected an effort by the White House and the U.S. Navy to exempt underwater military testing and other deep-sea activities from environmental review. Judge Christina Snyder ruled yesterday that the National Environmental Policy Act applies to such activities even if they are conducted beyond U.S. territorial […]

Bowl Game

In an effort to reconcile the problems posed by a growing population and shrinking water supplies, city councilors are contemplating a plan that would retrofit existing buildings with water-saving toilets. The Public Utilities Committee has recommended that the full council adopt a plan whereby builders would retrofit toilets to earn credits toward new building permits. […]