Environmental Health

"As climate change fuels more severe wildfires that burn through larger swaths of forestland and homes each year, firefighters are facing increasingly unpredictable, catastrophic blazes, leading many to speak out about suicide among their ranks, an occupational hazard they once kept to themselves."

"President Biden vowed yesterday to avoid repeating the “mistake” of Agent Orange in determining when rare diseases suffered by veterans are tied to environmental exposures during military service, throwing his support behind expansive legislation aimed at providing more benefits to veterans suffering health problems linked to burn pits."

"California is back in the driver’s seat as it steers the nation toward a future of cleaner cars and light trucks. The Biden administration on Wednesday reinstated the state’s authority to set motor vehicle pollution standards stricter than the federal government’s."

"Decades of federal housing discrimination did not only depress home values, lower job opportunities and spur poverty in communities deemed undesirable because of race. It’s why 45 million Americans are breathing dirtier air today, according to a landmark study released Wednesday."

"Ukraine appealed to Russia for a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday to allow repairs to be made to a power line to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, warning that there could be a radiation leak if the electricity outage continued."

"Congressional negotiators released a $1.5 trillion fiscal 2022 omnibus spending deal early this morning that falls short of Democratic ambitions for major clean energy and environment spending."

"Lawyers for DuPont knew the Food and Drug Administration had a serious concern that the company’s new food packaging product might be toxic."

"A new study finds communities of color face the greatest increase in emergency room visits for flood-borne illnesses, showing the growing health risks and disproportionate burdens of climate change."

"The Defense Department will permanently shut down the Navy’s massive fuel tank facility in Hawaii that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap water, and will remove all the fuel, the Pentagon said Monday."

"The Biden administration on Monday proposed strict new limits on pollution from buses, delivery vans, tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks — the first time in more than 20 years that tailpipe standards have been tightened for the biggest polluters on the road."