Latest Pollution News
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...
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...
