The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the first-ever nationwide, legally enforceable limits on harmful per- polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — known as “forever chemicals” — in drinking water. The rule is the biggest leap so far in EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and will lower exposure to the toxic substances for roughly 100 million […]
A new study has found that 58 banks in the United States are “sabotaging” their own net-zero commitments by providing financing to meat, dairy and animal feed corporations. Research for the report, Bull in the Climate Shop: Industrial livestock financing sabotages major U.S. banks’ climate commitments, was conducted by U.S. environmental nonprofit Friends of the […]
In a new test commissioned by the Mamavation consumer activist website, results show the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a majority of bandage brands tested. Mamavation tapped an EPA-certified laboratory to test 40 different types of bandages from 18 brands, including top brands like Band-Aid, CVS, Curad and Walmart. Most of the […]
The PBS documentary series A Brief History of the Future was an idea whose germination accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Right around the time that the pandemic was hitting us, I realized that most of the narratives and stories about the future were based in doom and gloom, right?” said Ari Wallach, co-executive producer and […]
A series of research articles published in the scientific journal The Gerontologist collectively outline several risks that climate change poses for aging well. The journal’s special issue, titled “Climate Change and Aging,” presents multiple links between climate change and human health, particularly for aging adults. In one of the forum articles included in the special […]
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the U.S. on March 21 overturned previous orders by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that banned the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in product packaging by a plastics treatment company, Inhance Technologies. In December 2023, the EPA issued two orders for Houston-based Inhance Technologies […]
The architect of the Grand Canyon — the Colorado River — is the lifeblood of the West. The river and its tributaries supply water to more than 40 million people in several major cities, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. New research has found that more than half of the mighty river’s […]
Methane is a heat-trapping greenhouse gas (GHG) that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Most methane comes from human activities — roughly 60 percent — such as agriculture, fossil fuels and the decomposition of waste in landfills. According to a new study led by nonprofit Carbon Mapper, more than half the landfills in […]
The Biden administration restored protections to threatened species in the U.S. on March 29 — protections that had previously been rolled back in 2019 by the Trump administration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) finalized three rules to protect threatened species […]