Articles by Grist staff

Sunny Delight

Arizona became the first state in the nation yesterday to require utilities to produce a small portion of their electricity from solar sources. The Arizona Corporation Commission unanimously approved a requirement that utilities generate at least 0.2 percent of their power from renewable sources next year, and at least 50 percent of that from solar […]

A Snowmobile's Chance in Hell

The National Park Service today banned the recreational use of snowmobiles in nearly all national parks, recreational areas, and monuments, saying they have had a “significant adverse environmental effect” on the park system. The only exceptions are parks in Alaska and Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, where Congress has specifically allowed snowmobiles. More than 180,000 […]

Uptown Girl, Downbeat News

The rate of infant deaths near five nuclear power plants dropped substantially after the nuclear reactors were closed, according to a new study published in the spring edition of the Journal of Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology. The study suggests that the health of people who live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant may […]

Brand-Name Genes

A coalition of enviro groups yesterday petitioned the Agriculture Department to tighten its regulation of genetically engineered crops, accusing the department of approving new biotech plants without requiring adequate tests to assure that they won’t harm the environment. Plants that are artificially engineered to be resistant to pests could pass along resistance genes to weeds […]