Articles by Grist staff

Snippets from the news

• British eco-town plan could be illegal. • Climate change could mean more kittens! • Women exposed to high levels of PCBs are less likely to birth boys. • Ford shifting to smaller cars. • Wildfire smoke could ease warming in Arctic. • General Motors and utility group will collaborate for electric-car infrastructure. • California […]

Google Maps adds walking directions

Taking another step toward complete indispensability, Google Maps on Tuesday became the first service of its kind to add walking directions. In addition to searches for car and transit travel, pedestrians — and, hell, Segway-ers too — can now find the most direct and flat route from Point A to Point B. The function works […]

World Bank overstates commitment to environment, says internal watchdog

The World Bank overstates its commitment to financing sustainability-minded projects in developing countries and should greatly improve its efforts, according to an internal review. Official estimates hold that the bank put $59 billion into environment-focused projects between 1990 and 2007; while the bank’s coding system makes it difficult to figure out specifics, the Independent Evaluation […]

Most sunscreens ineffective or pose a health risk, says group

Some 85 percent of 952 sunscreens tested are ineffective or contain potentially harmful chemicals, says this year’s annual sunscreen review by the Environmental Working Group. Of 144 sunscreen products distributed by the top three leading brands — Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena — only one meets EWG’s criteria for safety and efficacy. The group raises […]