Articles by Grist staff

Hi, Ho, Quicksilver

Debate is brewing over safe levels of exposure to mercury and whether new limits should be imposed on mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants. While most industrial uses of mercury are declining, concentrations of methylmercury, a particularly toxic form of mercury, are increasing in the environment and the food chain. Consumption of fish is the […]

Yes, Trash Can!

At least four commercial ventures are gearing up to make money from biomass power, which uses organic refuse (corn stalks, rice straw, even household food scraps) to produce alcohol-based substitutes for gasoline. Only some 3 percent of the nation’s energy is currently derived from biomass, nearly all of it from burning wood or making ethanol […]

Hold On, There

Enviros are becoming increasingly concerned about the development of “inholdings,” or private land within national parks and national forests. There are about 50 million acres of such land, only a fraction of the total land within park and forest boundaries, and in the past most landowners have kept their areas in a natural state or […]

Take Two Rhinos and Call Me in the Morning

The World Wildlife Fund is campaigning to transform traditional Chinese medicine, working to promote new green standards that would halt the use of endangered species. Although trade in tiger bones, rhinoceros horns, and bear bile is officially banned, the items are still highly sought after as ingredients in traditional treatments. Chinese medicine, which is quickly […]