Articles by Grist staff

Environmental scientist Theo Colborn warns about the chemicals all around us

This guest essay comes from Theo Colborn, an environmental health analyst, professor of zoology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and president of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX). She's one of the experts featured in Leonardo DiCaprio's new eco-documentary The 11th Hour, which opens in L.A. and New York on Aug. 17 and in other spots around North America on Aug. 24.

What a crazy world we live in when almost everyone knows what the acronym ED stands for. Millions of dollars have been poured into creating awareness of ED, erectile dysfunction, because it is profitable. This 21st-century sales-pitch strategy -- "disease mongering" -- has proven to be good for the bottom line. The irony of all this is that there is another ED out there into which millions have also been poured -- to keep it a secret. That ED is endocrine disruption, and if the public were to learn about it, bottom lines could shrink instead of grow.

Endocrine disruption should be right at the top of the list of most critical technological disasters facing the world today, up with climate change. With little notice, vast volumes and combinations of synthetic chemicals have settled in every environment in the world, including the womb environment. Synthetic chemicals at very low concentrations in the womb change how genes are programmed, cells develop, tissues form, and organs function, and thus undermine the potential and survival of developing animals, including humans. The chemicals threatening the integrity of future generations are derived from the processing of crude oil and natural gas, the same processes that are driving climate change. This is an integral part of the climate change story.

A tip from Leonardo DiCaprio

Start talking about global warming.

Twice the Grist with half the pain: Netvibes and Twitter

For all of you tech-savvy Grist readers, we've added two more methods of getting yer Grist:

Twitter is "a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send 'updates' (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS, instant messaging, email, the Twitter website, or an application such as Twitterrific." In other words, it's Facebook statuses mashed up with RSS and IM. In nontechnical terms, it's everyone in the same room together yelling out what they're doing every so often. You can follow what Grist is shouting about here.

Netvibes, along somewhat similar lines, is "a multi-lingual Ajax-based personalized start page ... [which] includes an RSS/Atom feed reader, local weather forecasts, a calendar supporting iCal, bookmarks, notes, to-do lists, multiple searches, support for POP3, IMAP4 email as well as several webmail providers including Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and AOL, Box.net web storage, del.icio.us, Meebo, Flickr photos, podcast support with a built in audio player," among other features. Basically, it's the kitchen sink for the Web you always wanted, and now there's Grist-flavored water in the tap. You can access Grist via Netvibes in one of two ways: the Grist Universe, or the Grist Tab.

Charlie and the Optimism Factory

Florida’s governor names climate panel, talks up green economy Used to be the greenest thing in Florida was a golf course — or maybe an old lady’s dye job gone slightly awry. But something’s happening in that sunshiny state. This week, Gov. Charlie Crist (R) followed up on an early-summer commitment by picking 21 business, […]