“Epidemic of chronic disease” spotlighted in Kennedy confirmation hearing
By Carey Gillam
America’s “epidemic of chronic disease” was spotlighted Wednesday in a contentious senate confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Upcoming Kennedy hearings to spotlight hotly debated public health issues
By Carey Gillam
Advocates for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda were gathered in Washington this week ahead of a senate committee hearing on Kennedy’s nomination to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – an event expected to put a spotlight on a number of hotly debated public and environmental health issues.
Amid series of rapid-fire policy reversals, Trump quietly withdraws proposed limits on PFAS
By Shannon Kelleher
Amid a flurry of actions curtailing Biden’s environmental policies, the administration of newly inaugurated President Donald Trump this week withdrew a plan to set limits on toxic PFAS chemicals in industrial wastewater.
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA nominee, pledges independence from industry ties in senate hearing
By Douglas Main
Incoming President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appeared on track for confirmation after a Senate hearing Thursday in which he pledged independence from industry money and influence.
As Los Angeles fires rage, states battle over effort to make oil and gas industry accountable for climate change harms
By Dana Drugmand
As fires rage through southern California, the costs of extreme weather events linked to climate change are forecast to keep climbing – adding fuel to growing efforts by some US states to make the oil and gas industry liable for helping foot the bill despite looming legal challenges.
Postcard from California: State and feds head for showdown over electric cars
Of California’s dozens of landmark laws to curb climate-heating greenhouse gases and health-threatening air pollution, none is more ambitious than the rule that by 2035 all new passenger cars and trucks sold must be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) that run on electricity.
Can anything be done to Trump-proof the environment?
By Douglas Main
As advocacy groups brace for a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump —fearing a slew of deregulation and policy changes that would undermine a range of environmental health measures —some are pondering ways to try to “Trump-proof” the planet.
US EPA enables polluting plastics plants by failing to update wastewater limits, report says
By Shannon Kelleher
Federal regulators have enabled US plastics plants across the country to dump dangerous chemicals into waterways by failing to update wastewater limits for over 30 years, according to a new analysis by a watchdog group.
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.
EPA internal emails suggest science took back seat to political pressure in pesticide approval
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.