Articles by Grist staff

Pennsylvania will allow hormone labels on dairy products

A decision by Pennsylvania agriculture officials that dairy products sold in the state could not be labeled as synthetic-hormone-free sparked a consumer outcry and a review by Governor Ed Rendell. Yesterday, officials more or less reversed that ban: dairies will be allowed to advertise that their cows aren’t shot up with synthetic hormones, which increase […]

Judge temporarily drops two restrictions on Navy’s use of sonar, retains others

Earlier this week, President Bush exempted the U.S. Navy from parts of an environmental law so it could continue to use mid-frequency sonar off the California coast. Mid-frequency sonar has been linked to deafness, beachings, and other injuries of marine mammals. Responding to Bush’s move, the federal judge who earlier this month ordered the Navy […]

Google announces expansion of philanthropic goals beyond alternative energy

Google has announced it’s expanding the goals of its philanthropic arm, Google.org, beyond alternative energy to include fighting disease, averting pandemics and other mass crises, and alleviating poverty in the developing world. Along with the expansion of its mission, Google.org announced some of the recipients of the first round of grants and investments yesterday, totaling […]

Coal company penalized for Clean Water Act violations

Massey Energy Co., the nation’s fourth-largest coal producer, has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over allegations of Clean Water Act violations. Massey was accused of polluting streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with the detritus of mountaintop-removal mining on at least 4,500 occasions between 2000 and 2006. The […]