Postcard from California: State’s status as clean energy pacesetter threatened by Trump’s attacks
By Bill Walker
For decades, California has been on the cutting edge of US environmental policy. The state has enacted landmark measures to regulate air and water pollution, protect residents from exposure to toxic chemicals, and combat the climate crisis. Many of its groundbreaking policies have spread to other states.
Oil and gas industry linked to thousands of yearly US deaths and preterm births, study finds
By Shannon Kelleher
Air pollution from oil and gas activities is responsible for an estimated 91,000 deaths and over 10,000 premature births in the US each year, according to a new study that examined the impacts of the industry through its lifecycle from extraction to refining to burning fuel in power plants.
The unseen harvest: Pesticides, cancer and rural Missouri’s health crisis
KENNETT, MO. — Nestled in Missouri’s Bootheel is the small town of Kennett, the Dunklin County seat. With just over 10,000 residents, it’s a close-knit community where good-natured teasing is a common show of affection. Once a sprawling swampland, it has since been transformed into an expanse of flat, fertile fields where agriculture stands as the backbone of the region’s economy.
EPA delay threatens fenceline communities near steel and coke plants, report warns
By Brian Bienkowski
Steel and coke plants in the US are regularly releasing illegal amounts of air pollutants and the Trump administration’s delay on stricter rules at these plants leaves fenceline communities struggling for long-sought federal help, according to a new report.
Trump – Making America Polluted Again
By Keith Schneider
President Donald Trump’s campaign to carve up federal environmental agencies and paralyze statutes that cleared the air, cleaned US waters, and protected wildlands marks the opening of MAPA, the new era to Make America Polluted Again.
“How can this happen?” Fight over sewage sludge on farms intensifies
By Marin Scotten
Ryan Dunham heard his eleven-year-old daughter’s scream from his living room. He bolted up the stairs to the bathroom where she was taking a shower and couldn’t believe his eyes. The water flowing from the faucet was brown, and it smelled like “decay, rot and death.”
New evidence of chlorpyrifos harm to kids’ brains amid regulatory retreat
By Brian Bienkowski
Children highly exposed to an insecticide prior to birth showed signs of impaired brain development and motor function, according to a new study of chlorpyrifos — a pesticide still used on US crops despite decades of warnings about its impact on children’s health.
Federal judge rules to restore some USDA grants for farmers and underserved communities
By Shannon Kelleher
A federal judge this week ruled that the Trump administration’s move to terminate several grants to support farmers and underserved communities was likely “arbitrary and capricious,” and ordered the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to restore five grants it canceled and cease the cancellation of a sixth grant.
Federal judge sees “urgency” in Maryland PFAS contamination claims
By Shannon Kelleher
A federal judge this week said that a group of Maryland residents could proceed with a class action lawsuit against Perdue Farms that alleges the company’s soybean plant improperly discharged harmful chemicals that contaminated their well water, but dismissed claims seeking to link the contamination to residents’ existing medical ailments.
Syngenta closer to settling thousands of US paraquat lawsuits
By Carey Gillam
Syngenta is another step closer to potentially putting an end to thousands of lawsuits brought by people blaming the company’s paraquat weed killer for causing Parkinson’s disease.