Latest Pollution News
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs laws to curb oil and gas pollution near neighborhoods
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws Wednesday to reduce oil and gas pollution — the Democrat’s latest move in an ongoing battle against the fossil fuel industry and its impacts on the environment and public health. The new laws set out to give...
EPA data make it hard to know the extent of the contamination from last year's Ohio derailment
The way the Environmental Protection Agency has reported its test results since a Norfolk Southern train derailed and officials released and burned chemicals that spewed a toxic cloud over East Palestine, Ohio, makes it hard for residents to know the full extent of contamination and potential risks...
California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — “Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags. California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at...
Residents in Kyiv told to stay indoors as air pollution blankets the Ukrainian capital
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities in Ukraine advised residents in the capital Kyiv to stay indoors Friday as air pollution, partly caused by fires in the region, blanketed the city. Ukraine’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources said the pollution was a...
High Court rejects the UK's first new coal mine in 30 years
LONDON (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected plans for the United Kingdom’s first new coal mine in three decades, delivering a victory for climate groups who challenged the project's claim it would have zero impact on global emissions. High Court Justice David Holgate's decision...
How this one climate fix means a school nurse sees fewer students sick from the heat
When students would come to the nurse's office at Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, complaining of headaches and feeling too hot, Rebecca Randall was always ready. She would hand out water bottles, apply ice packs and ask the students to remove their hoodies and extra layers. Even...
EPA says Vermont fails to comply with Clean Water Act through inadequate regulation of some farms
Flaws in a Vermont program are preventing the state from controlling phosphorus discharges from certain farms, contributing to severe water quality problems in Lake Champlain and other bodies of water, according to a letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to state officials. ...
Drought is making Sao Paulo's river emerald green while smoke turns its skies grey
SAO PAULO (AP) — A major river in the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo is suddenly emerald green and clear skies this week turned from blue to grey. In the late afternoon, the sun's rays filtering through the smoky haze exhibit the color of deep orange. This isn't a fantasy world:...
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...
