drinking water

Drinking Water PFAS Contamination Crisis: Ex-Koch Chemicals Executive Playing Key Role in Shaping EPA’s Response

Drinking Water PFAS Contamination Crisis: Ex-Koch Chemicals Executive Playing Key Role in Shaping EPA’s Response

A former chemical and fossil fuel industry executive who recently oversaw the anti-environmental agenda of the Koch brothers is playing a lead role crafting the Trump administration’s plan to address the crisis of PFAS contamination in the nation’s drinking water supply, according to a report Monday by Politico. David Dunlap, a top political appointee in […]

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    Plastic Straws Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

    Plastic Straws Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

    By Kate Melges Much of the stuff that accumulates during the holidays comes with single-use plastic packaging. We open a gift, rip it out of the package and toss the plastic into a bin, hoping it will get recycled and not end up polluting our oceans. Unfortunately, the vast majority of single-use plastic is not […]

    Trump Plan to Protect Kids From Lead Falls Far Short

    Trump Plan to Protect Kids From Lead Falls Far Short

    The long-awaited plan by the Trump administration to “wage a war against lead” and protect children from exposure to the potent neurotoxin is a woefully unacceptable response to this public health crisis, said Environmental Working Group. The administration’s Lead Action Plan—announced Wednesday by Andrew Wheeler, acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—is nothing […]

    Major Health Study Shows Benefits of Combating Climate Change

    Major Health Study Shows Benefits of Combating Climate Change

    During the holiday season, people often drink toasts to health. There’s something more we can do to ensure that we and others will enjoy good health now and into the future: combat climate change. “Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century, and tackling it could be our greatest health opportunity,” […]

    New EPA Rule Would Sabotage Clean Water Act

    New EPA Rule Would Sabotage Clean Water Act

    By Jake Johnson In a move environmentalists are warning will seriously endanger drinking water and wildlife nationwide, President Donald Trump‘s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reportedly gearing up to hand yet another gift to big polluters by drastically curtailing the number of waterways and wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act. “As a result […]

    Hormone-Disrupting Weed Killer Taints Tap Water for Millions in Corn Belt

    Hormone-Disrupting Weed Killer Taints Tap Water for Millions in Corn Belt

    Seasonal spikes of atrazine–a weed killer that can disrupt hormones and harm developing fetuses–contaminate drinking water in corn-growing areas of the Midwest and beyond, according to an analysis of federal records by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data show that in some Corn Belt communities, atrazine levels can spike three […]

    8 World Cities That Could Be Underwater as Oceans Rise

    8 World Cities That Could Be Underwater as Oceans Rise

    If global temperatures rise above 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels—the ideal temperature limit set by the Paris agreement—global sea levels will rise by more than 40 centimeters (approximately 15.7 inches) by 2100. If temperatures top 2° Celsius, sea level rise will be more than 50 centimeters (approximately 20 inches) by century’s end. This could be […]

    Congress Poised to Act to Reduce Major Source of PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

    Congress Poised to Act to Reduce Major Source of PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

    House and Senate leaders included a provision in legislation to fund the Federal Aviation Administration and strengthen disaster programs that will give commercial airports the option to switch to firefighting foams that do not include the highly toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS. Under current law, airports are required to use firefighting foams that contain […]