The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday finalized greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light trucks that it says are the most ambitious ever. The new standards replace lower standards set by the Trump administration, which were already a rollback of Obama-era standards. New cars will now have to average 55 miles per […]
By Brett Wilkins As Big Ag fumed Monday over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determination that herbicides including the endocrine-disrupting atrazine and carcinogenic glyphosate are likely to harm more than 1,600 protected plant and animal species, environmentalists pointed to the agency’s findings as proof of the need for stricter limits on the use of […]
Is your tap water safe to drink? The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has updated its Tap Water Database for the first time since 2019, which allows U.S. residents to enter their zip code and view the contaminants in their water supply. The update reveals 56 new contaminants identified by regulators and utilities, The Guardian reported, […]
An extensive analysis by ProPublica reveals a detailed map of more than 1,000 American communities that are hotspots for carcinogenic air pollution. The worst three are in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” five of the top 20 are in Texas, and predominantly Black areas experience double the cancer risk of white areas. “Go read this investigation on […]
Scientists have found microplastics in nearly every kind of aquatic ecosystem, from rivers and lakes down to the depths of the ocean. Now, new federal guidelines show how anyone interested in undertaking their own community science experiment can investigate their waterways — but their results may not perfectly represent what’s lurking underwater. Community scientists can […]
It is widely known that the controversial pesticide chlorpyrifos harms children’s brains, yet despite this, it was not banned on food in the U.S. until August of this year. A little more than a week later, new science published in Nature Communications revealed the controversial pesticide could be contributing to another public health crisis. “[I]ts […]
Is your drinking water contaminated with toxic forever chemicals? A new study published in a special issue of the American Water Works Association Water Science journal Tuesday found that there were nearly 42,000 potential sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution that could contaminate surface water or drinking water in the U.S. “It is […]
A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule, first proposed in May, will lower the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) 85 percent over the next 15 years. HFCs have a thousand times the heat-trapping potency of carbon dioxide and often leak through pipes or appliances that use compressed refrigerants like air-conditioners and refrigerators. The White House […]
By Jessica Corbett Conservationists, local tribes, and commercial fishers celebrated on Thursday the Biden administration’s move to permanently protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed from the proposed Pebble Mine and similarly destructive projects. “Placing a massive mine at the headwaters of the world’s greatest, most productive wild sockeye salmon fishery has been a terrible idea from […]