Articles by Grist staff

When We Said Breach the Dams, We Didn't Mean This One!

A dam break at a mine in northwestern Romania on Friday dumped 20,000 tons of lead, zinc, and other metals, contaminating three rivers, including the Tisza, which was severely polluted by a deadly cyanide spill from another Romanian mine accident six weeks ago. The pollution from the latest spill traveled downstream and hit Hungary on […]

Turning Over a Nuke Leak

Within three years, dangerous tritium contamination from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state could leach into the Columbia River, Hanford officials say. Last year, surveys found tritium, known to cause birth defects, at concentrations 90 times above the federal drinking water standard in a nearby well that lies 3.5 miles from the Columbia. By […]

This Idea Should Be Banished to Siberia

Russian enviros are alarmed by a government proposal to import 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from European and Asian countries for storage and eventual reprocessing in Siberia. The Russian Atomic Energy Ministry hopes that the scheme will earn it $21 billion over the next 10 years, as countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and […]

They Couldn't Car Less

A community of residents Freiburg, Germany, has launched the nation’s biggest experiment in car-free living. The Vauban development — which includes 280 new homes on 94 acres — bans cars within its limits, so people happily get around by bike and on foot. About half of the residents have given up their cars completely, while […]