"The Trump administration is working to cut global health funding to developing nations by tens of billions of dollars by 2030, according to a new analysis of the secretive agreements U.S. officials have pursued with more than a dozen governments to date."
So-called confidential business information is a major obstacle to the dissemination of knowledge about environmental threats for the public, cautions WatchDog Opinion. Part of the problem is how federal agencies treat requests for confidentiality, and so is the way environmental laws handle the issue. A look at the worst offenders, and a call for journalists to break through the veil of secrecy.
The world may be your oyster, but if you’re an environmental journalist, the oyster may also be your story. The latest TipSheet points out (amid numerous tasty serving tips) that oysters say a great deal about the health of local waters … and of the humans who consume the mollusk. Get a dozen-plus oyster story ideas and reporting resources.
"McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell are failing to keep up with pledges to reduce the use of antibiotics in their beef supply, according to a group of food safety advocates."
"The Make America Healthy Again movement has taken on many issues over the past few years: pesticides, processed foods, vaccines. Now it has another target, and it’s one that President Trump likes to promote: coal."
"Ebola virus, hantavirus and the pathogen that causes Covid-19 likely jumped from animals to humans. So do these viruses — and scientists say climate change is speeding their spread." "By the time colleagues called Dr. Matías Lahitte, an Argentine infectious disease specialist, it was too late."
"The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) wants to change a key step in the review process determining which research it funds, raising concerns about transparency and political interference."
"President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will nominate Heidi Overton, a top aide at the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, to serve as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration."
"The United States will send a military hospital ship to Peru’s Pacific coast next year to help Peru cope with the effects of the El Nino climate phenomenon as part of a broader collaboration with the South American country, U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro announced Wednesday."
"Nearly 4 in 10 Americans say their communities were damaged by extreme weather events over the past year, according to a new survey released Tuesday."
