Articles by Grist staff

Protesters demonstrate against British eco-towns

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Britain’s Parliament Monday to protest the government’s plan to build 15 eco-towns. The government is proposing communities characterized by sustainable construction, public transportation, green space, and walkability. It hopes to have five eco-towns built by 2016, and five more by 2020. Monday marks the last day of the government’s first […]

U.S. Defense Department fighting EPA orders to clean up Superfund sites

Defying environmental law, the U.S. Defense Department has resisted repeated orders lately from the U.S. EPA to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated places. The DoD/EPA standoff has turned into a bureaucratic pissing match wherein the EPA has asserted its authority to order and oversee cleanup of ultra-polluted Superfund sites the DoD owns, […]

Snippets from the news

• Feds recommend 4,400 new natural gas wells in Wyoming. • New Jersey utilities get MTBE settlement. • States shorten work week to save gas. • Delegates choose not to ban toxic waste exports. • Oil hits record high.

Olympics worsening Beijing water crisis, says report

The Beijing Olympics are putting a strain on already-tight water supplies, says a new report from NGO Probe International. Preparations for the Games have sucked up 52 billion gallons of water above normal consumption this year, in a city that already consumes more water than is naturally supplied. Beijing’s two main reservoirs are at less […]