"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is putting public health at risk by continuing to let farmers spray glyphosate, a weed killer linked to cancer, directly on top of oats before harvest, a practice that commonly results in residues of the pesticide remaining on popular foods made with oats, according to a new lawsuit."
"As the Rio Grande dries out months early, water managers look to blessings, prayers and groundwater to save the acequias that have spread water, history and culture to farmers and families since the 16th century."
"The Department of Health and Human Services had canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding previously committed to help develop mRNA vaccines."
"Moderna is launching a large-scale clinical trial of a shot to combat bird flu in humans after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department had canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding previously committed to aid in vaccine development.
"The pharmacologist gathered more than 60 researchers to push back on the retraction of a Monsanto-linked research paper."
'“Severe.“ “Critical.” “Dire.” “Challenging.” “Record-low.” Officials at the Rio Grande Compact Commission annual meeting Friday worked through the thesaurus to describe the conditions on the river that flows out of southwestern Colorado.'
SEJournal is providing full coverage of all eight of the day-long tours from the annual Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, April 15-18, in Chicago. In Part 2, contributors Meg Duff, Nathaniel Eisen, Nhung Nguyen and Marlowe Starling provide detailed reports from tours focused on the transitioning steel industry, microgrids, climate-friendly crop practices and evolving Midwestern agricultural systems.
Also check out the first round of tour coverage and read all the great work from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.
Nearly as rejuvenating as attending the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual gathering is perusing the après-conference spoof by contributing quipster David Helvarg. While it seemed he was mostly there unabashedly preselling his forthcoming book, he somehow found time to send up SEJ’s earnest sessions, lambast its blown-up tours and rib its beat dinners. Read his Chicago roast.
"Drought in the contiguous United States has reached record levels for this time of year, weather data shows. Meteorologists said it’s a bad sign for the upcoming wildfire season, food prices and western water issues."
"The Trump administration will pull its emergency levers to head off a major water and power crisis." "Interior said it will cut releases out of one of the river’s two main reservoirs, Lake Powell, to the minimum amount legally allowed — 6 million acre-feet — between now and October."
"A bill in the Illinois General Assembly would require certified pesticide users—anyone licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to use Restricted Use pesticides, such as paraquat or fumigant insecticides—to give written or emailed notice at least 24 hours before application at any school, child care facility or park located within 1,500 feet of application that opted to receive them."
