
California bill to ban food dyes in schools may have nationwide impact
By Shannon Kelleher
A bill that would ban six food dyes linked to childhood learning problems from meals served at California public schools is close to passage and could bolster efforts to make foods safer across the US, according to proponents.

EPA issues rare “emergency” suspension of dangerous weed killer
By Benjamin Purper
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday said it was taking the rare step of issuing an “emergency suspension” of a chemical used to kill weeds on farms, golf courses and athletic fields, citing risks to unborn children.

Postcard from California: Big Oil is not dead yet
By Bill Walker
As California advances toward its goal of virtually eliminating the use of fossil fuels in 20 years, the state has dealt the oil and gas industry a barrage of body blows.

Michigan notches a victory in effort to rein in polluting farm waste
By Keith Schneider
In a rare rebuke to the industrial farm sector, the Michigan Supreme Court this week ruled that state environmental regulators have full authority to require livestock and poultry operations to improve their handling of billions of pounds of manure that contributes to contamination of waterways.

Legal battle over fossil fuels and climate heats up
By Dana Drugmand
As climate change fuels increasingly damaging extreme weather events across the United States, litigation is growing against fossil fuel companies accused of being to blame for the devastation. But a series of recent legal moves by the industry and mixed judicial decisions underscore the challenges that local and state government plaintiffs face in the multi-billion-dollar battle.

EPA has failed to protect consumers from PFAS-laced containers, lawsuit alleges
By Shannon Kelleher
US regulators have failed to protect the public from millions of plastic containers that contain toxic PFAS chemicals, which can leach into pesticides, condiments, household cleaners, and many other products, alleges a lawsuit filed this week by environmental groups

The perils of plastics extend to our pets
By Aidan Charron
By now, you’d practically have to be living on Mars not to have heard about the health risks associated with plastics and the toxic chemical cocktail used to produce them.
Pesticide exposure as risky as smoking, study finds
By Shannon Kelleher
People who don’t farm, but live in US agricultural communities where pesticides are used on farms, face an increased cancer risk as significant as if they were smokers, according to a new study.
PFAS increasingly added to pesticides, study finds
By Shannon Kelleher
Despite widespread alarm about the health and environmental impacts of toxic PFAS, the chemicals are increasingly being added to pesticides applied in homes and crops across the US, according to a new study.
A battle in rural Midwest as farmers fight carbon capture pipeline
By Nina Elkadi
Kathy Stockdale and her husband have spent almost 50 years working the land in central Iowa. As a family farmer raising corn and soybeans, Stockdale knows how to deal with harsh weather, poor crop prices, and an array of other challenges that come with a making a living in agriculture.