"Microplastics have been found in every human placenta tested in a study, leaving the researchers worried about the potential health impacts on developing foetuses."
"EPA announced an additional $1 billion will go toward cleaning up the nation’s most contaminated areas under its Superfund program." "The funding will help scrub 25 waste sites and speed cleanups at another 85 existing tracts."
"A new report finds that 1 in 4 people in the U.S. are breathing unhealthy air as rising temperatures and bigger fires create a "climate penalty.""
"An Ohio commission awarded bids to frack oil and gas under state parks Monday, despite statewide backlash and an ongoing investigation into possibly fraudulent support."
"It was the puddles of green sludge left by the tires of massive tractors in western Belgium’s industrial farmlands that drew the attention of biological engineer Ineke Maes. The slime was destructive algae, the result of the excess of chemicals used by farmers to boost their crops, but at a high cost to nature."
"Federal environment officials have ordered a Los Angeles County landfill to take urgent action to protect public health, citing noxious odors and hazardous waste issues in the surrounding community."
"Texas regulators recently authorized a company to operate ponds to store and recycle millions of gallons of oilfield wastewater laced with toxic chemicals next to a Baptist summer camp in the Permian Basin."
"Dramatic shifts to EPA’s priorities and structure are central to plans for a GOP-led White House drawn up by Trump-era officials and right-leaning influencers."
A new book makes the case that U.S. cities have had their environments, their housing and their businesses warped by parking policies. BookShelf contributor Jennifer Weeks, who shares her own parking-related frustrations, explores the arguments made in “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World,” and also takes a look at what the author sees as “parking-light” solutions.
A new Spill Tracker website is a good source of information on chemical spills, albeit one with an agenda. But according to the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, it’s just one among a set of powerful resources for covering dangerous releases, large and small. More on Spill Tracker, plus another half-dozen-plus government and nonprofit data sources on petrochemical incidents.
