Articles by Grist staff

Canadian lakes set to be reclassified as mining-waste dumps

Sixteen lakes across Canada are set to be quietly reclassified as allowable areas for mines to dump toxic waste. While Canadian law technically disallows chucking harmful substances into fish habitat, lakes can be reclassified as “tailings impoundment areas” under a little-known subsection of mining effluent regulations. With a lake at their disposal (literally), mining companies […]

Oil industry turns to PR offensive to diffuse anger over record prices

Faced with angry consumers incensed at high oil and gasoline prices, oil companies in the U.S. and Europe have turned to well-funded PR campaigns in an attempt to shift their image from profit-hungry oil-mongers to responsible innovators fulfilling their duty as energy providers. ExxonMobil has led the most recent effort to sway the public; on […]

Snippets from the news

• Brazil’s biofuel industry accused of worker exploitation. • With a new kit, turn your car into a hybrid. • Group seeks emergency protection for 32 species. • Oil companies allowed to annoy polar bears. • Intel spins off solar energy technology. • Teeny-tiny delivery vehicle to be unveiled.

Icky disease afflicting Alaskan salmon

Alaska’s prized wild salmon are suffering from a disease that scientists suspect of being boosted by — you guessed it — global warming. The emergence of Ichthyophonus as a threat to king salmon has coincided with a steady warming of Yukon River water over the past few decades, which scientists say has welcomed cold-averse parasites […]