Articles by Grist staff

Billions and Billions Swerved

Cleanup of the most dangerous nuclear waste at the Hanford reservation in Washington state, the most contaminated site in the U.S., will likely be delayed again after the U.S. Department of Energy’s announcement yesterday that it plans to cancel its cleanup contract with BNFL. The move comes two weeks after the company said that the […]

Under Lock and Kiwi

New Zealand’s system to protect against the invasion of non-native species is the most advanced in the world, but globalization is making it increasingly likely that the system will be breached and the country’s environment and agriculture disrupted. Over time, the country’s geographic isolation led it to develop a unique ecosystem and helped protect its […]

This Gives Me the Shakes

The use of pesticides in homes and gardens may lead to increased risk of contracting Parkinson’s disease, according to a study presented on Friday at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. Lorene Nelson of the Stanford University School of Medicine and colleagues found that people who had been exposed to pesticides in the […]

The Smoky Gun

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the biggest wholesale power producer in the U.S., filed suit last week to stop the EPA from requiring more pollution controls on its coal-fired power plants. The EPA says that TVA improperly upgraded seven old coal-fired plants without bringing them into compliance with current Clean Air Act standards. Even as […]