"It’s not a question of whether national soot standards will be tightened, but by how much — a decision with sizable implications for Americans’ health and industry regulations."
The Biden administration, which has been making environmental justice a top goal, has released a new screening tool that complements existing environmental equity databases, but with especially strong attention to a range of categories like clean transit, clean water, housing issues, life expectancy and more (although, interestingly, not race). The latest Reporter’s Toolbox has a guide to the new screening tool.
"The Environmental Protection Agency’s approach to removing toxins from the Housatonic River, first outlined in broad terms two years ago, now is official."
"The filters distributed in Benton Harbor, Michigan during the city’s recent lead water crisis worked properly, according to a study state officials said was conducted to give residents assurance."
"The fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant was extinguished Friday after Russian shelling lit ablaze a building on its site and prompted international fears of a nuclear disaster."
"Increasing wildfires in a warming world may slow the recovery of the ozone layer, according to new research."
"Three Democratic U.S. representatives introduced a bill last week that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to create a pilot program for air monitoring in communities overburdened with pollution."
"The administration is supporting the crafting of a global treaty that would address pollution across the plastics life-cycle, from manufacture to disposal."
"Long home to industrial hog facilities, North Carolina has seen a huge increase in large-scale poultry farms, with more than 1,000 added in 2020 alone. The state scarcely regulates the poultry industry and its waste, which threatens waters in low-wealth communities of color."
"More than 100 nations convening in Nairobi next week are expected to take the first steps toward establishing a historic global treaty to tackle the plastic crisis afflicting the planet."
