Articles by Grist staff

BLM plows ahead with drilling plans in Colorado

The Bureau of Land Management, having already made the unpopular decision to drill for oil and gas on Colorado’s Roan Plateau, has politely declined Gov. Bill Ritter’s suggestion that it at least explore in phases or avoid certain environmentally sensitive areas. “There are some areas where we cannot meet the desires of the state of […]

EPA closure of research libraries was a stupid idea, says GAO

The U.S. EPA decision to deal with a 2006 funding cut by closing several research libraries was not very well thought out, says a new report from the Government Accountability Office. To take just one example: The EPA promised to compensate for the closures by making information available on the internet, but due to copyright […]

EPA announces tough air-pollution standards for shipping industry

The U.S. EPA Friday announced tough new diesel pollution standards for the shipping industry (perhaps to distract us from Wednesday’s announcement of not-so-tough ozone standards.) The new standards for diesel trains and ships will begin to be phased in in 2015; when in full effect, they’ll require a 90 percent reduction in soot emissions and […]

Some ‘green’ products test positive for nasty chemical

Nearly half of 100 consumer products claiming to be “natural” or “organic” tested positive for a carcinogenic petrochemical manufacturing byproduct, according to the Organic Consumers Association. The products tainted with scary-sounding 1,4-dioxane came from various well-known brands, including Alba, Jasön, Kiss My Face, Method, Nature’s Gate, and Seventh Generation. Some of the companies said they […]