Articles by Grist staff

Don't Take Me to the River, Don't Drop Me in the Water

More than a dozen former members of an elite Israeli naval unit are filing suit against the government for endangering their health by requiring them to swim and dive in the horrendously polluted Kishon River, and occasionally even drink the river’s putrid water as punishment. More than 30 of the naval commandos have been struck […]

Sing Out Loud, Sing Out Long

Some male humpback whales lengthened their songs while others ceased to sing altogether when exposed to low-frequency sonar tests off the coast of Hawaii in 1998, suggesting that sonar transmissions by the U.S. Navy could disrupt whale breeding and cause other behavioral changes, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. On average, […]

Bordering on Insane

Dozens of illegal immigrants each night enter the New River in Mexicali, Mexico, and float north, hoping to elude U.S. Border Patrol agents who usually avoid the river for fear of pollution. Mexicali dumps 20 to 25 million gallons of raw sewage into the river daily, according to the California Water Resources Control Board, and […]

To Kjell With Nukes

Sweden’s environment minister called yesterday for nuclear and coal power to be phased out of the Baltic Sea region and announced that Sweden wants to be a world leader in developing sources of renewable energy. Kjell Larsson, who spoke at a meeting in Lithuania on the closure of the Chernobyl-style Ignalina nuclear power plant, gave […]