Articles by Grist staff

Concerns raised about wildfire-fighting chemicals

As wildfires rage in southern California, concerns are burgeoning about the chemical mix that firefolk drop as a fire retardant. It’s “fairly well known that it’s toxic to aquatic organisms, to fish,” says one fire management officer; nonetheless, notes another firefighter, “It’s the people whose houses are not on fire that are concerned about it.”

Western lands opened to oil-shale development

The Bush administration on Monday cleared the way for tens of thousands of acres in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming to be used for oil-shale development, publishing final rules governing how federal land will be leased for extraction of the expensive, pollute-y, only recently un-banned fuel source. Companies tapping into oil shale will have to pay […]

Giant public-lands bill put on hold ’til next year

A bill that would protect millions of acres of public land is being put on hold until the new year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act passed out of committee with bipartisan support, but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has threatened to filibuster over concerns that it will […]

iPhone rideshare app coming soon

It’s the 21st century, folks — text with your hitchhiker’s thumb. An iPhone application called Avego will soon be available to hook up drivers with those who need rides, helpfully suggesting a safe place to pull over and calculating the split cost between driver and rider. No word on how it’ll go over in Ontario, […]