Consumer

"The Biden administration on Friday proposed tightening an efficiency standard for new residential water heaters — a move that it said would both save consumers money and combat climate change."

"A proposed rate hike on gas in Chicago highlights a troubling nationwide trend."

"California researchers have found new evidence that several chemicals used in plastic production and a wide array of other industrial applications are commonly present in the blood of pregnant women, creating increased health risks for mothers and their babies."

"Language blocking a ban on gas stoves has been incorporated into a bipartisan Senate appropriations bill, giving it a significant chance to ultimately become law."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tuesday took another step toward reducing the use of planet-warming gasses called hydrofluorocarbons, issuing a rule moving toward a 40 percent phasedown of the substances."

"The World Health Organization’s cancer agency has deemed the sweetener aspartame — found in diet soda and countless other foods — as a “possible” cause of cancer, while a separate expert group looking at the same evidence said it still considers the sugar substitute safe in limited quantities.

The differing results of the coordinated reviews were released early Friday. One came from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a special branch of the WHO. The other report was from an expert panel selected by WHO and another U.N. group, the Food and Agriculture Organization.

"The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint dust in homes and child care facilities built before 1978, an effort to eliminate exposure to lead that could require millions of property owners to pay for abatement."

"The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that Alabama had agreed to remediate a sewage crisis in majority-Black Lowndes County."

"Chlorpyrifos is so harmful that America banned its use on food. But a top EPA official made it clear that the U.S. was not ready to support similar protections for the rest of the world under a treaty that restricts pollutants that travel the globe."

"EPA has found that a dangerous chemical prevalent in drinking water poses more risks than previously determined, including outsize cancer threats."