A new bid to safeguard Mississippi River amid growing environmental concerns
By Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A proposal to create a federal funding program to protect the Mississippi River is back in front of Congress.
Congress
New EPA plan for hormone-harming pesticides sparks hope, but also skepticism
By Johnathan Hettinger
A new US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan aimed at protecting the public from exposure to pesticides that harm reproductive health is sparking hope for advocates who have called for action for more than two decades, but skepticism remains high.
EPA internal emails suggest science took back seat to political pressure in pesticide approval
By Johnathan Hettinger
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a new approval for a pesticide that would be used on Florida oranges and grapefruits despite the fact that agency scientists have repeatedly found the chemical does not meet safety standards designed to protect children’s health, internal agency records show.
Battle brewing over proposed US law that would protect pesticides
By Carey Gillam
Cancer patients are celebrating a string of courtroom victories after juries in three US states recently ordered Germany’s Bayer to pay more than $500 million in damages for failing to warn about the health risks of its Roundup herbicides. But the consumer wins come as proposed federal legislation backed by Bayer and the powerful agricultural industry could limit similar cases from ever going to trial in the future.
“Polluter pays” debate heats up over toxic PFAS chemical cleanup plan
By Carey Gillam
As US regulators work to tackle the toxic threat posed by a class of widely used chemicals known as PFAS, debate is heating up over who could – and should – get hit with the cleanup costs.
Postcard from California: In climate crisis, farmworkers need more protection from heat
It’s been over 20 years since a 24-year-old migrant farmworker named Constantino Cruz collapsed and died following a nine-hour shift picking tomatoes in 107-degree Fahrenheit heat near Bakersfield, California.
Reporting project examines the scandal of US farm pollution
By Keith Schneider
There’s no way to describe farm-related nutrient pollution other than what it is – a national scandal. A tiny minority of Americans, half of one percent, is grossly fouling the waters for tens of millions of others.
Letter to the EPA: Take action on “Devil’s bargain” pesticides
An Open Letter to: Michael Regan, Administrator; Michal Freedhoff, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention; and Ed Messina, Office of Pesticide Programs Director, Environmental Protection Agency.
Guest column: EPA has lost its way
By Tim Whitehouse
It has been more than 20 years since I worked as a senior attorney at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using my legal training to help enforce the Clean Water Act, and advise agency managers on a range of hazardous waste issues.
Postcard from California: Carbon capture won’t solve climate crisis
Four miles from my house, a Silicon Valley company wants to drill an 8,000-foot-deep well to store millions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the greenhouse gas identified as the main cause of the climate crisis.