Articles by Grist staff

Your Days Are Lumbered

The health risks posed by arsenic-treated lumber are much greater than previously thought, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group and other public interest organizations. Health and environmental advocates have long questioned the use of arsenic, a known carcinogen, to render lumber resistant to insects and rot. Nevertheless, arsenic-treated wood is commonly used […]

Hello, Minke, Pleased to Meat You

Japanese whaling vessels set sail yesterday on a six-month expedition to hunt up to 400 minke whales in the Antarctic. A 1986 ban on commercial whale hunting by the International Whaling Commission does not apply, because Japan claims the goal of the expedition is to gather data on the feeding habits, migration patterns, and lifecycle […]

Climate Every Mountain

Mount Kilimanjaro could lose all of its glaciers by 2015, Greenpeace warned delegates at the climate change negotiations in Morocco yesterday. In a video-link press conference, Greenpeace reps on the slopes of Africa’s highest mountain offered the delegates a stark reminder of the kinds of changes to expect if climate change is not controlled. At […]

Mormon Tabernacle Acquire

The Mormon Church is angling to buy U.S. Bureau of Land Management property it considers sacred, a move some say could set a troubling precedent. The Church has sought special legislation that would enable it to buy Martin’s Cove, BLM-owned land in central Wyoming where Utah-bound Mormons perished in an 1856 blizzard. The purchase would […]