Articles by Grist staff

Refine! Be That Way!

EPA rejects stricter emissions standards for U.S. refineries Following a review of the refinery pollution rules it issued in 1995, the U.S. EPA has decided not to improve the 12-year-old rules because the analysis found that “the risks to human health and the environment are low enough that no further controls are warranted.” As the […]

Lower the Pollution and Back Away Slowly

BP says it will back off from releasing more Lake Michigan pollution In what’s being billed as a victory for environmentalists, oil company BP has said it will back off from dumping more pollution into Lake Michigan. The company had just weeks ago received permission from Indiana state authorities to increase the amount of sludge […]

No Peaking

Bush administration eases restrictions on mountaintop-removal mining The Bush administration has given a big thumbs-up to mountaintop-removal mining, the practice of blasting the peaks off of mountains and dumping the rubble into watersheds and valleys. A proposed rule issued today will exempt mining waste from an inconsistently interpreted 1983 rule that disallows mining activity within […]

The Branhams’ mining permit protests

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This week, Gabriel Pacyniak and Katherine Chandler are traveling throughout southern West Virginia to report on mountaintop removal mining (MTR). They'll be visiting coalfields with abandoned and "reclaimed" MTR mines, and talking with residents, activists, miners, mine company officials, local reporters, and politicians.

We'll publish their reports throughout the week.

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Driving to the north end of Mingo County, W.Va., we get lost and arrive late, which is pretty much par for the course. (Sample directions: ... after you get out of that little town make a right after the bridge, go about a mile and half, make a right after the scenic bridge ... ) Fortunately, Donna and Charlie Branham don't seem to mind, and neither do we. The six-mile drive up the hollow is a pleasure: we're listening to "Coal Country Radio" ("The best country music countdown on Earth") as we wind our way past everything from single-wide trailers with chicken coops to custom-built stone homes.

Entrance to Donna and Charlie Branham's homestead. (photo: Katherine Chandler)