Articles by Grist staff

Step on the Gas

The California Air Resources Board yesterday unanimously approved a new formula for the state’s gasoline that will eliminate the clean-fuel additive MTBE while maintaining strict air quality improvements. The board set 2003 as a deadline to have MTBE removed; most oil companies in the state plan to substitute it with ethanol, a more expensive octane […]

It's Bloomin' 'ot!

Scientists in England say 1999 will almost certainly be the warmest year ever recorded in the U.K., topping the previous high recorded in 1990 by about a tenth of a degree Celsius. Worldwide, 1999 is on track to be one of the 10 hottest years ever, but not nearly as warm as the blistering years […]

Chew on This

Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker (think hourglass Barbies and those fun-to-chew-on Fisher-Price figures), has announced that it will begin a major push to make its plastic toys from more environmentally friendly, organically based materials such as oils and starches. The new materials would replace polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and a controversial group of chemicals called phthalates […]

Kiwis Greener

Victories this week by the New Zealand Green Party, which has won seats in Parliament for the first time, have temporarily thrown the country’s fledgling center-left coalition into flux. The coalition had expected to win a majority of seats, but now has to count on Green support to exert control. The six victorious Greens toasted […]