Articles by Grist staff

Freedom to Chews

Shocking — but might this be a bit of good news? A U.S. Food and Drug Administration report has found that consumers want mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods and feel “outrage” when they learn just how many supermarket products already contain genetically engineered elements. Consumers are concerned that such foods may have negative environmental […]

The Tragic School Bus

The air inside school buses can contain dangerous levels of cancer-causing soot, according to a study released this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Coalition for Clean Air, and scientists at the University of California at Berkeley. The levels of diesel exhaust on the buses were up to 8.5 times higher than the […]

Lake a Virgin, Flooded for the Very First Time

Portugal will begin cutting down 1.3 million trees this month to make way for Europe’s largest human-made lake. The government says the 62,000-acre, 50-mile-long lake will provide water for arid fields, as well as hydropower and 20,000 jobs — some at golf courses built for tourists — for what is now a poor region of […]

Talking 'Bout Power Generation

A coalition of unions, environmental groups, and consumer advocacy groups plans to unveil a plan tomorrow to tackle California’s energy crisis. The coalition members are concerned that labor and environmental protections might be rolled back. In their view, utilities and power generators are the big bad guys whose pursuit of wealth led to the current […]