Articles by Grist staff

A "Likely" Story

Atrazine, the most commonly used herbicide in the U.S., has been deemed a “likely” carcinogen in a draft EPA report. The chemical kills weeds around corn, citrus fruits, and other crops, but it may also cause uterine, prostate, and breast cancer and disrupt reproductive development after it seeps into drinking water, EPA scientists say. The […]

Governor Moonbeam, Mayor Sunshine

The Oakland, Calif., City Council has approved a plan to buy clean, alternative energy for all its municipal needs, from traffic signals to the lights in City Hall. “It leads us in the direction of reducing global warming, stimulating new industry, and sets the pace for the national government,” said Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. Santa […]

Keeping Development at Bay

In an agreement being hailed as a national model, the leaders of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., pledged yesterday to curb sprawl in the Chesapeake Bay area. They vowed to reduce by 30 percent the rate of development in the 64,000-square-mile watershed by 2012, and to permanently protect 1.6 million acres and restore 25,000 […]

Abandon (Partner)ship!

A coalition of enviro and consumer groups is calling for an end to one of Al Gore’s pet projects, the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, under which the federal government and Big Three U.S. automakers have teamed up to develop highly fuel-efficient cars and trucks. Critics point out that despite the millions of […]