Pollution

"An industry-backed bill to regulate how data from community air monitors is used was given final legislative approval Monday over objections from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and activists seeking to reduce pollution."

"Officials in Alameda, Calif., have told scientists to stop testing a device that might one day be used to artificially cool the planet by making clouds brighter, reflecting planet-warming sunlight back into space."

"The Food and Drug Administration has missed its own deadline to propose a ban on the use of formaldehyde as an ingredient in hair relaxers and hair straighteners on the market in the United States."

"It emerged as a powerful tool for public health officers during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was used to gauge the prevalence of coronavirus in communities across the nation. But wastewater surveillance — the testing of sewage for signs of pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, poliovirus and mpox virus — has yet to be employed in the tracking of H5N1 bird flu virus."

"At a conference meant to address the plastic crisis, pro-plastic messaging was inescapable. Meanwhile, industry insiders — some positioned as government delegates — were given access to vital negotiations."

"The U.S. oil industry is drawing up ready-to-sign executive orders for Donald Trump aimed at pushing natural gas exports, cutting drilling costs and increasing offshore oil leases in case he wins a second term, according to energy executives with direct knowledge of the work."

"The largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide laden in the world’s atmosphere has just occurred, according to researchers who monitor the relentless accumulation of the primary gas that is heating the planet."

"In one Chicago suburb, people have been waiting for relief for years."

"Republican legislators have blunted the impact of citizen-led air monitoring, which is set to receive millions from the feds."

"Republican attorneys general from 27 U.S. states and industry trade groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, seeking to block a landmark rule requiring sweeping reductions in carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas plants."