Articles by Grist staff

U.N. clean-energy program criticized for not funding clean energy

The United Nations Clean Development Mechanism, set up under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, issues carbon credits to industrialized nations that pay for renewable-energy projects in developing countries. Last we checked, coal and natural gas weren’t renewable — but the CDM is currently paying out millions of dollars a year to 13 natural-gas-burning plants in China […]

EPA cracks down on the pesticides on your peppers

The U.S. EPA plans to tighten restrictions on five nasty soil fumigants that keep pests away from strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and peppers. The proposed mitigation measures include buffer zones, warning signs, air-quality monitoring, management and outreach plans, emergency-response training, and provision of breathing masks for farmworkers. The rules would apply to five scary-sounding ‘cides: […]

Court strikes down federal clean-air rule that would have actually cleaned air

One of the rare Bush administration clean-air policies favored by enviros has been struck down by a federal appeals court. The Clean Air Interstate Rule would have required 28 Eastern states to reduce soot-causing, smog-forming emissions that easily spread on the wind. The U.S. EPA estimated that the rule would prevent 17,000 premature deaths per […]

EPA says climate change could worsen smog levels, extend smog season

In a draft report released Thursday, the U.S. EPA said smog levels could increase significantly in many areas of the United States due to climate change, especially in the Northeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic regions. Smog is mainly a summer phenomenon in most places, caused by sunlight reacting with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. […]