Articles by Grist staff

Largest Iraqi dam on verge of collapse, say U.S. officials

The largest dam in Iraq “is judged to have an unacceptable annual failure probability,” according to assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In other words, the “most dangerous dam in the world” could potentially collapse in the near future, sending a trillion-gallon wave of water into the cities of Mosul and Baghdad and […]

Pediatricians warn climate-change health effects worse for kids

Just in time for Halloween, there’s yet another danger to children for frazzled parents to fret about. For those of you keeping track at home, dangers include strangers, tainted candy, strangers with tainted candy, razorblades, pedophiles, smut, the dark, and now … the health effects of climate change, at least according to the American Academy […]

U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal of Exxon Valdez damage award

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to hear ExxonMobil’s appeal of the $2.5 billion in damages it was ordered to pay for the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. An Alaskan jury in 1994 originally ordered the company to pay $5 billion in damages, but the amount was cut in half by an appeals […]

Organic food healthier than non-organic, research finds

Who woulda thunk: Organic food is healthier than pesticide-ridden food, according to preliminary results of a four-year study funded by the European Union. Researchers found that organic nosh contained more antioxidants (yum!) and less fatty acids (ew!) than non-organic. Organic milk was found to have up to 80 percent more antioxidants than conventional cow juice, […]