Articles by Grist staff

Take That Back

Maryland yesterday became the first state to lose the authority to enforce federal clean air laws. The loss is the result of the state’s failure to act on a U.S. EPA order to create more public participation in the industrial permit application process. Under Maryland law, only the owners of property abutting an industrial polluter […]

Pulling Back the Rains

A single rainstorm can whisk 10,000 tons of dirt and grit and millions of pounds of toxics and nutrient pollution into the Chesapeake Bay. Officials from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia are unveiling plans today to rein in rain-related pollution problems, in the first major restoration effort they’ve announced since pledging well […]

Sprayer in Schools

Republicans on a congressional conference committee killed legislation on Friday that sought to protect public school students and staff from pesticides. The School Environment Protection Act would have required schools to notify parents when pesticides were being sprayed, and directed states to develop pest-management plans that considered alternatives to toxic sprays. All Democrats on the […]

Zuni Day, Sweeping the Clods Away

The Zuni Pueblo tribe is joining forces with the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and other enviro groups to fight a utility’s plans to strip-mine coal from 18,000 acres of state, federal, and private land in western New Mexico. The coalition says the mining would draw water from the Zuni Salt Lake, where […]