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.
science
For a second time, US court bans dicamba weed killers, finds EPA violated law
By Johnathan Hettinger
Dealing a blow to three of the world’s biggest agrochemical companies, a US court this week banned three weed killers widely used in American agriculture, finding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in allowing them to be on the market.
Cancer in the corn belt sparks actions to fight farm chemical contamination
When directors of the public water utility in Des Moines, Iowa, went to court in 2015 to try to stop toxic farm nutrients from contaminating the city’s drinking water, they knew the federal lawsuit they filed would be seen as not just a desperate step to protect public health, but also a brazen act of defiance that would provoke a ferocious response from Iowa’s powerful farm and political leadership.
EPA rushed to issue 2020 dicamba approval despite scientific concerns, documents reveal
By Johnathan Hettinger
In December 2021, a small team of scientists working for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a stark report on a controversial weed killer that had been the subject of years of complaints from farmers and environmentalists.
Postcard from California: Idle oil wells threaten health, climate and will cost billions to plug
By Bill Walker
Last June, at commencement ceremonies in the small, heavily Latino town of Arvin, Calif., proud graduates threw their caps in the air. But those gathered at the Arvin High School football field didn’t know there was something else in the air: potentially explosive levels of noxious methane gas leaking from an idle oil well only 400 feet away.
Doctors raise alarm on dropping global fertility rate, environmental pollutants cited
By Shannon Kelleher
Health researchers from around the world are sounding an alarm on a persistent drop in fertility rates, pointing to environmental pollutants among a wide range of factors that they argue need to be urgently addressed in a paper published Wednesday.
A “grave concern” – fight building against Biden’s hydrogen hubs
By Dana Drugmand
When President Joe Biden visited Philadelphia in mid-October to announce a $7 billion federal investment in seven regional ‘clean’ hydrogen hubs proposed across the country, he touted the promise of “tens of thousands of jobs” and the potential for sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to “taking 5.5 million gas-powered vehicles off the road.”
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.
Paraquat ties to Parkinson’s disease featured on Al Jazeera news
Evidence tying the popular weed killer paraquat to Parkinson’s disease is featured this week in an online news segment that includes fresh details about corporate influence over US regulators and suppression of scientific research.
Citing new science, groups petition EPA to suspend glyphosate weed killer
By Carey Gillam
Citing new scientific research, a coalition of farmworker, public health and environmental advocates on Wednesday filed a legal petition with US regulators demanding they immediately suspend authorization for the controversial weed killing chemical called glyphosate.