Articles by Grist staff

Mess Transit

Many top enviro groups made a last-minute appeal to Pres. Clinton yesterday to veto a transportation spending bill with a provision that would prevent the federal government from even studying the possibility of raising fuel-efficiency standards for new cars and light trucks. But White House officials said they expect Clinton to sign the bill. Enviros […]

A Cigar Is a Cigar, But a Rainforest Is a Smoke

Smoke from the burning of forests decreases rainfall, according to new research to be published this month in Geophysical Research Letters. Scientists studied the area of Kalimantan, Indonesia, last year when the southeastern portion of the island was engulfed in smoke and the northwestern portion was relatively smoke-free, and found that precipitation was much lower […]

O, Say, Can You See?

Four utilities that own a massive coal-fired power plant in Nevada that has been accused of polluting the Grand Canyon and blocking its views have agreed to spend $300 million to install scrubbers to reduce sulfur-dioxide pollution. The agreement, expected to be announced today, comes as a settlement in a lawsuit brought by enviro groups […]

Jeremiah Was a Sick Frog, Was a Deformed Friend of Mine

Pesticides used in agriculture have been linked to some frog deformities in Minnesota, according to two new studies published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. A combination of chemicals in Minnesota ponds appears to be causing malformations of frogs’ limbs, eyes, mouths, and other parts. Doug Fort, a coauthor of one of the studies, […]