Articles by Grist staff

Bush admin moves to ease restrictions on mountaintop-removal mining

The Bush administration is about to ease restrictions on mountaintop-removal mining, making it easier — and legal — for companies to dump mine waste in streams. Since 1983, dumping mine waste within 100 feet of streams has been illegal, but many mining companies have done so anyway due to a combination of lax enforcement and […]

Snippets from the news

• U.S. advances proposal to ease restrictions on mountaintop-removal mining. • Argentina requires companies to buy environmental insurance. • Dutch farmers say E.U. pesticide rules will take down tulip industry. • Eiffel Tower scales back its twinkle. • Energy-producing shoes could power your gadgets.

Federal agencies graded on scientific openness

Some federal agencies are far more transparent than others when it comes to releasing scientific information to the press and public, says a new report card from the Union of Concerned Scientists. A sampling: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission received a B+; NASA, commended for improving its policies following muzzling complaints from climate-change expert James Hansen, […]

Belugas listed as endangered over Sarah Palin’s objections

Despite opposition from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, beluga whales in the Cook Inlet have been declared endangered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency estimates that only 375 belugas currently frolic in the inlet, down from some 1,300 in the 1980s. Restricting subsistence hunting by Native Alaskans has not helped the problem, says […]