Articles by Grist staff

Tick-ing Time Bomb

Global warming could cause a big increase in insect-borne diseases in Europe, according to a new World Health Organization report published in the British Medical Journal. As temperatures rise and precipitation and humidity increase, disease-carrying pests such as ticks, mosquitoes, and rats could expand their ranges and bring malaria, lyme disease, and other illnesses.

We Don't Give a Jack about These Magic Beans

Scientists, consumer groups, and activists yesterday presented Congress and the Food and Drug Administration with a 500,000-signature petition calling for genetically modified foods to be labeled. The demonstration suggested that distrust of genetically altered foods is growing in the U.S.; it is already rampant in Europe. Scientists and protestors pointed out that little research has […]

Monumental Veto

Pres. Clinton would likely veto a bill moving through Congress that would require public input before the president can declare federal land a national monument. Some Republicans are angry that Clinton in 1996 created the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, and they want to restrict the ability of the president to make […]

Y2-Kaboom

An error during a Y2K computer test caused a Los Angeles water treatment facility to spill about 4 million gallons of raw sewage into a city park Wednesday night, raising fears about environmental and other problems that could be in store as January 1, 2000 approaches. Maintenance workers had cleaned up most of the mess […]