Articles by Grist staff

Hungary Thirsty for Clean Water

More than a month after a disastrous cyanide spill at a gold mine in Romania killed hundreds of tons of fish in the Tisza and Danube rivers and polluted the drinking water of millions of Eastern Europeans, the affected ecosystems are only now beginning to show signs of recovery. In Hungary, which was most hard-hit […]

A River Runs — Sue It!

The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out an appeal by four conservative Western lawmakers who had challenged President Clinton’s authority to designate “American Heritage Rivers” for special federal assistance and funding. After Clinton created the Heritage Rivers program with an executive order in 1997, four members of Congress filed suit, contending that the initiative violated […]

Hold Your Fire!

Hundreds of forest fires are spreading out of control in the Indonesian regions of Sumatra and West Kalimantan, sending up huge clouds of smoke and threatening air quality across Southeast Asia. The fires are blamed primarily on large plantation owners and small farmers who illegally set blazes to clear forest land. Air pollution from such […]

Thank You Very Little

The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously struck down the tough oil-spill prevention rules that Washington state enacted after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. The justices said that in most situations, federal laws preempt states from setting their own standards to prevent oil spills from tankers. In 1991, Washington state adopted rules that were stricter […]