National (U.S.)

"Senators are growing increasingly bullish on the prospects of returning to a major energy reform bill and a Flint, Mich., aid package."

"Using cosmetics and personal care products that don’t contain certain hormone-disrupting ingredients for only three days, women can significantly reduce their exposure to these chemicals, according to a study published today in Environmental Health Perspectives."

"The problems that led to Flint, Michigan's water crisis must not be repeated in other U.S. cities and states, the top U.S. environmental health official said on Monday."

"The Obama administration has made a first installment on its $3 billionn pledge to help poor countries fight climate change – defying Republican opposition to the president’s environmental plan."

"Water utilities in some of the largest cities in the US that collectively serve some 12 million people have used tests that downplay the amount of lead contamination found in drinking water for more than a decade, a Guardian analysis of testing protocols reveals."

"When it comes to water, only about half of Americans are very confident in the safety of what's flowing from their tap, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, which found that trust is even weaker among minorities and people with lower incomes."

"A report by Media Matters for America reveals that the media are failing to inform the American public on the most important issue of our time".

"Award-winning American environmental photographer Gary Braasch died on Monday while snorkeling at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef."

"Hillary Clinton used Sunday's Democratic debate to for the first time directly call on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign over the water crisis in Flint, Mich."

Some chemicals that are common in commercial products and processes are known to find their way into the environment and seriously (even fatally) harm human health. Yet current U.S. law makes it hard for EPA to keep companies from using them. Sometimes the chemicals used to replace them are just as bad, but the law does not even require those to be tested. A vast regime of secrecy based on unchallenged claims of "confidential business information" makes the danger to public health worse. Often, not even the EPA employees responsible for protecting people can access information about the toxic chemicals. The chemical reform bills now pending in Congress won't fix the problem.