Articles by Grist staff

Bug Bang Boom

A California appeals court ruled yesterday that pesticide companies can be sued over concerns that home bug sprays are making people sick. The court in Los Angeles rejected arguments by Dow Chemical and other chemical manufacturers that they were protected from suits covering chemicals approved by the U.S. EPA for residential use. It said the […]

Spell 'Pig' Backwards and Say 'Funny'

In a pioneering study examining the exposure of urban and suburban children to household pesticides, all but one of 96 Seattle-area preschool children were found to have trace levels of pesticide in their urine, according to researchers at the University of Washington. The study found that "children whose families reported pesticide use in their gardens […]

Green Lantern

Thanks to new LED lamps, thousands of green traffic lights in the Los Angeles area have been retrofitted to use 80 percent less electricity than in the past. The old green lights used 135-watt incandescent bulbs that lasted about a year; the new LEDs require only 17 watts and last from 10 to 15 years […]

Spreading Like Wildfire

The Bush administration and governors from Western states agreed yesterday to the outlines of a 10-year plan to reduce the risk of wildfire, but postponed until next spring discussion on how the plan would be implemented. In the past, fire authorities focused on suppressing fires that had already begun. The new plan focuses on better […]