Articles by Grist staff

Hell-bent for Leatherbacks

Leatherback turtles in the Pacific Ocean are in a serious decline that may lead to their extinction within a decade unless commercial fishing practices are changed, according to a new study in today’s issue of the journal Nature. The giant turtles, which weigh an average of 1,000 pounds and travel thousands of miles through the […]

Set This Insecticide Aside

The EPA plans to effectively remove from the market all over-the-counter products containing chlorpyrifos, one of the most commonly used pesticides in the U.S., often sold under the brand name Dursban. The pesticide, made by Dow Chemical, is contained in some 800 consumer products, everything from lawn spray to flea collars. The EPA is expected […]

Please Don't Squeeze the Chairman

Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who became chair of the Senate Environment Committee six months ago following the death of pro-conservation Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), has been a not-entirely-unpleasant surprise for enviros. Many had feared that the conservative Smith would use his new position to lead a no-holds-barred assault on environmental protection. Instead, Smith has shown […]

Not Appealing

Enviros were unhappy yesterday at the news that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the EPA should have taken into account costs to industry when it issued tougher clean-air standards in 1997. Last week, the court agreed to hear the federal government’s challenge to a lower court ruling that invalidated those tougher air-quality […]