Articles by Grist staff

Kickin' Asthma, Taking Names

Air pollution from two coal-burning power plants in Massachusetts can be linked to more than 43,000 asthma attacks and an estimated 159 premature deaths each year, according to a study released yesterday by the Harvard School of Public Health. Locals and enviros say the study gives Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci (R) the evidence he needs […]

Corning the Market

Two powerful farm-state senators introduced a bipartisan bill yesterday that would triple the use of ethanol over the coming decade and help replace the controversial gasoline additive MTBE. The bill, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), would let states opt out of the federal requirement that gasoline in […]

Seven Brydes for Seven Samurai?

Japan, which has stirred up controversy for more than a decade by hunting minke whales ostensibly for scientific research, now plans to expand its hunt to include sperm and Bryde’s whales. The nation has submitted its proposal for an expanded hunt to the International Whaling Commission, which banned commercial whaling in 1986 but allows nations […]

There's Goldfish in Them Thar Streams

The diversity of fish species in America is in serious decline, according to new research published in today’s issue of the journal Science. Small populations of native fish have gone extinct while popular food and game fish have been spread by humans, leading fish populations across the country to become less diverse. In recent years, […]