"For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. That's partially because of decades of public environmental campaigns, advertisements and even school education aimed at increasing recycling. But the reality is that only a small fraction of plastic is ultimately recycled."
"More than a dozen dead or dying bald eagles were found near a landfill in Inver Grove Heights, suspected victims of poisoning by eating carcasses of animals that were chemically euthanized and dumped at the landfill, according to wildlife officials."
"The city of Los Angeles is going green. On Tuesday, the City Council voted in favor of a several ordinances to reduce the city’s carbon footprint, including resolutions to stop using Styrofoam, plastic bags and other single-use plastics at city facilities."
"An agreement on cleanup measures at one of the nation’s most notorious Superfund sites is drawing blowback from some environmental advocates skeptical of provisions within the deal."
While carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas most often in the news, methane has greater warming power and accounts for a big chunk of the current increase in global warming. Now, growing regulatory pressure may help shift that focus and could drive more local environmental reporting, per the latest TipSheet. The backstory, plus reporting ideas and resources.
"The first round of negotiations on a global plastics treaty ended on Friday with agreement to end plastic pollution but a split on whether goals and efforts should be global and mandatory, or voluntary and country-led."
"Globally, waste pickers are responsible for collecting and recovering—from homes, businesses and landfills—up to 60% of all plastics which are then recycled. These workers do more than any other people to prevent plastic contaminating the environment, yet their work is rarely valued and they struggle to earn a decent living."
"Countries have begun to discuss a future global plastics treaty which would cut pollution, some hope entirely by 2040, at U.N. talks in Uruguay this week, with many states calling for curbs on plastic production as a way to reach that goal."
"A landfill company based in Pittsburgh has applied for a permit to open the first hazardous waste landfill in the state of Pennsylvania, which some fear could threaten waterways and increase air pollution."
Obama-era regulation of the toxic waste product coal ash, which was watered down in the face of resistance from coal and electric utilities and further weakened by the Trump administration, has meant many coal-fired power plants simply ignore disposal requirements. That’s per a new report that the latest TipSheet writes can offer journalists useful ways to report an overlooked environmental story in their area.
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