Articles by Grist staff

Indiana county has three times more parking spaces than residents

Indiana’s Tippecanoe County is home to 155,000 residents whom apparently are swamped with visitors, as the county has 355,000 public parking spaces. We’ll just float this by them: Parking lots can contribute to water pollution, erosion, the urban heat island effect, and local flooding. Which could be extra dangerous for those in a Tippecanoe — […]

Schwarzenegger unveils $9 billion water bond package

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has unveiled a $9 billion water bond plan, including an unprecedented level of taxpayer payout for water projects and funding to build or expand three dams. Lawmakers hope to place some form of water bond on a Feb. 5 ballot, and Democratic legislators will likely spend the next few weeks lobbying […]

San Francisco plans hour of darkness for October

If you’ll be in San Francisco between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, be sure to have a candle handy. Green group Lights Out San Francisco is encouraging residents to turn off all unnecessary lights during that hour to raise awareness of energy use. Nate Tyler, a former Google spokesperson who is […]

Lead levels in toxic toys were off the charts

In reaction to the recent lead-painted-toy recalls, no doubt some laissez-faire non-parents shrugged it off — when pretty much everything is tainted with toxins, what’s a little lead in paint? Except that, well, it was more than just a little lead. Some of the toys recalled by Mattel this summer contained 180 times the legally […]