Articles by Grist staff

Painting the Town Lead

Nearly 3,000 young children were poisoned last year by the lead paint wearing off the old housing in Rhode Island’s cities and towns. The rate of lead-poisoned children is two-and-a-half times higher in Rhode Island than the rest of the U.S.; the rate in Providence is four times higher than elsewhere in the country. Eight […]

Hot Kofi

Three days after President Bush unveiled his energy plan, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized the Bush administration for its stance on climate change and suggested that the U.S. should do more to conserve energy. At a commencement address yesterday in Massachusetts, Annan also rejected the idea espoused by the administration that implementing the Kyoto treaty […]

Wait, I Thought the Bengals Were From Cincinnati

In the biggest donation of its kind, General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, is giving $10 million to protect 30,000 acres of coastal rainforest in southern Brazil, the Nature Conservancy said last week. GM may get pollution credits sometime in the future for preserving the forest and its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the […]

Didn't Cheech and Chong Already Think of This?

Hemp cars could be ready to hit the road within a decade, say researchers in Australia. Alan Crosky of the University of New South Wales says hemp is the most viable biodegradable material to use for car bodies, beating out coconuts and banana trees in early studies. Crosky thinks car owners will soon save money […]