Articles by Grist staff

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Cheap Oil

BP is gearing up to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska, a highly controversial venture that has been the target of protests by enviros. The project in the Northstar field of the Beaufort Sea could get underway as soon as November, and another similar project in the Liberty […]

Where the Rubbers Meet the Road

Lack of promised funding from the U.S. and other industrialized nations has led to a severe shortage of condoms in the developing world, hampering efforts to curtail population growth, stem the spread of HIV, and give people the means to control the size of their families, according to a report released this week by the […]

Fish Ain't Brain Food Anymore

The U.S. EPA is expected to announce as early as next week a plan to begin regulating dangerous mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. Mercury contamination is believed to cause neurological damage in some 60,000 babies born each year in the U.S., and the damage may affect kids’ performance in school, according to a report […]

Stop, Children, What's That Sound?

This fall National Park Service officials are expected to ask all park superintendents to come up with plans for limiting noise in national parks and protecting the “soundscape,” or the natural sounds unique to each area. “All of a sudden, places that look the same as 100 to 200 years ago don’t sound like they […]