Latest Pollution News
Maui's toxic debris could fill 5 football fields 5 stories deep. Where will it end up?
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hinano Rodrigues remembers being 4 or 5 years old, carrying a bucket across a highway to the ocean in the Maui community where he still lives. At dawn, he would accompany his grandmother to a reef at low tide, where she plucked black snails, spiny lobsters...
The world is pumping out 57 million tons of plastic pollution a year
The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people's bodies, according to a new study that also said more than two-thirds of it comes from the Global South. It's enough pollution...
The EPA can't use Civil Rights Act to fight environmental injustice in Louisiana, judge rules
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has weakened the Biden administration’s effort to use a historic civil rights law to fight industrial pollution alleged to have taken a heavier toll on minority communities in Louisiana. U.S. District Judge James David Cain of Lake Charles...
British energy giant reports violating toxic pollutant limits at Louisiana wood pellet facilities
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — British energy giant Drax Global, already under scrutiny for running afoul of environmental laws in multiple states, has disclosed to the state of Louisiana that its wood pellet production facilities emit hazardous air pollutants above their permitted limits. ...
Wildfire smoke may be worse for your brain than other air pollution, study says
Wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution, according to new research linking it to an increased risk of dementia. The findings, reported Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the...
Wood pellets production boomed to feed EU demand. It's come at a cost for Black people in the South
GLOSTER, Miss. (AP) — This southern Mississippi town's expansive wood pellet plant was so close to Shelia Mae Dobbins' home that she sometimes heard company loudspeakers. She says industrial residues coated her truck and she no longer enjoys spending time in the air outdoors. ...
Monsanto agrees to $160 million settlement with Seattle over pollution in the Duwamish River
SEATTLE (AP) — Ending an eight-year legal battle, chemical giant Monsanto has agreed to a $160-million settlement with Seattle for its part in polluting a river that runs through the heart of the city with toxins that posed a threat to humans, fish and wildlife, the city attorney's office said...
Billion-dollar Mitsubishi chemical plant economically questionable, energy group says
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A $1.3 billion chemical production facility to be built in Louisiana by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi is economically questionable and unnecessarily increases greenhouse gas emissions, according to an energy think tank report released Monday. The proposed...
EPA awards $4.3 billion to fund projects in 30 states to reduce climate pollution
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $4.3 billion in grants to fund projects in 30 states to reduce climate pollution. The money will go to 25 projects targeting greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electric power, commercial and residential buildings,...
US appeals court allows EPA rule on coal-fired power plants to remain in place amid legal challenges
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a victory for President Joe Biden's administration, a federal appeals court on Friday ruled that a new federal regulation aimed at limiting planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants can remain in force as legal challenges continue. Industry groups...
