"The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule to limit what research it can use to craft public health protections, a move opponents argue is aimed at crippling the agency’s ability to more aggressively regulate the nation’s air and water."
Environmental journalists may want to brush up on their legalese for 2021, as the likelihood of legal challenges over environmental policies — and Trump-era rollbacks — increases. Our Issue Backgrounder, the newest entry in our growing special report, “2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment,” looks at potential legal conflicts over climate change, pipelines, drilling, auto emissions, clean water and more.
Energy markets may mean more than government action in the ongoing effort to cut global warming emissions. But industry spin makes it tough to sort out the facts. The latest TipSheet, part of our expanding “2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment” special report, has context on tech advances, shifting demand and the impact of subsidies. That, plus six top developments to watch.
"When Carmen Storms, 69, looks down at the trees of Melnea Cass Boulevard from her eighth-floor apartment, she thinks of her father, Alvin — twice driven from his home during Boston's urban renewal boom of the 1950s and '60s, when the city used eminent domain to raze the homes and businesses of Black families."
"Oil blobs and fuel sheens are appearing on waters surrounding the shipwrecked Golden Ray, an adverse byproduct as work progresses on cutting off the vessel’s stern."
"In Hampton Roads, rising tides have started to turn some of the region’s stormwater systems — which are meant to usher rainwater into ponds, lakes and rivers via underground pipes — against this coastal community."
"Mexico’s main agricultural lobby on Saturday criticized the government’s decision to ban genetically modified corn, while organic growers hailed the move that should protect smaller farmers."
"The chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee and nearly two dozen House Democrats urged a federal bank regulator Wednesday to scrap a potential rule forcing banks to serve oil, gas and firearm companies."
"The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday denied DuPont’s request to declare a mistrial after a jury in March sided with cancer survivor Travis Abbott and his wife, Julie, awarding them damages for exposure to a type of PFAS the company produced at a facility along the Ohio River."
"Investor interest in the river could redefine century-old rules for who controls one of the most valuable economic resources in the United States."
