Brian Bienkowski

About Brian Bienkowski

Brian Bienkowski is the managing editor at The New Lede.

Posts by Brian Bienkowski:

Installation of a drainage water management system in Sac County, Iowa.

May 15, 2025

WOTUS: A narrowing EPA definition is reshaping the Clean Water Act

By Brian Bienkowski

Debra Shankland was a kid when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire in 1969. “I saw the dead fish, I smelled it,” the retired biologist and environmental educator told a room of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives on Wednesday. Shankland was one of many speakers at the latest listening session led by the EPA as the agency crafts a new definition for the long controversial language “waters of the United States” contained in the Clean Water Act.

May 12, 2025

FDA approves three natural food dyes amid push to eliminate synthetics

By Brian Bienkowski

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three new natural food dyes, making good on a promise to push for a phaseout of synthetic dyes in food.

May 8, 2025

Is there PFAS in your pint?

By Brian Bienkowski

Many popular beers — from both small breweries to large domestic and international ones — contain types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) linked to cancer and other health problems, according to a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology that looked at PFAS in 94 samples of beer.

May 6, 2025

Another PFAS-containing pesticide headed for US registration

By Brian Bienkowski

US regulators are poised to approve a pesticide made with a controversial class of toxic chemicals, stoking concerns of new risks for farms across the country.

May 2, 2025

Industry braces for change as feds target synthetic food dyes

By Brian Bienkowski

As synthetic food dyes increasingly come under public and federal scrutiny over health concerns — in part bolstered by the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement — slightly altered flavors in some of Americans’ favorite snacks are just one of the concerns and challenges with switching to dyes made from natural sources.

April 29, 2025

Common plastic chemicals linked to 356,000 annual heart disease deaths worldwide

By Brian Bienkowski

Chemicals used to make plastics more flexible are linked to more than 356,000 deaths annually across the globe, creating what researchers called a “substantial global health burden,” according to a new peer-reviewed study.

April 23, 2025

$9 trillion in heat damages traced to 5 fossil fuel giants, study finds

By Dana Drugmand

Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the world’s biggest fossil fuel producers have likely caused trillions of dollars in economic damages due to intensifying heatwaves over the last 30 years, according to new peer-reviewed research.

April 22, 2025

FDA moves to phase out petroleum-based food dyes

By Brian Bienkowski

Federal health officials announced plans Tuesday to phase out synthetic food dyes made from petroleum, marking a significant shift in how the U.S. regulates chemical additives in food.