Pollution

"Good neighbor agreements, or GNAs, aim to hold big firms accountable for their environmental conduct – but can wealthy companies really be tamed?"

"The Trump administration is seeking to fast track environmental reviews of dozens of major energy and infrastructure projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, including oil and gas drilling, hazardous fuel pipelines, wind farms and highway projects in multiple states, according to documents provided to The Associated Press."

"Federal, state and tribal officials are hailing the completion of a more than $1 billion cleanup of contaminated sediments in the Lower Fox River. The cleanup is considered one of the largest and most expensive in the nation."

"Researchers say that more microplastics pollution is getting into farm soil than oceans—and these tiny bits are showing up in our fruits, veggies, and bodies."

"A U.S. appeals court on Monday overturned the Trump administration’s July 2019 rule that sought to suspend a regulation that more than doubled penalties for automakers failing to meet fuel efficiency requirements."

"EPA is relaxing Obama-era regulations for wastewater coming from coal-fired power plants, discharges that can contain high levels of toxic chemicals like mercury, arsenic, nitrogen and selenium."

"Thousands of protesters demonstrated in the Mauritius capital Port Louis on Saturday to demand an investigation into an oil spill from a Japanese ship and the mysterious death of at least 40 dolphins that have been found near the site of the spill."

"Faced with plunging profits and a climate crisis that threatens fossil fuels, the industry is demanding a trade deal that weakens Kenya’s rules on plastics and on imports of American trash."

"Hurricane Laura rolled over a coast studded with refineries and chemical plants. Other storms have caused the release of toxic substances, often affecting poorer or minority communities."

"Hurricane Laura tore through a region that is home to dozens of major oil refineries, petrochemical plants and plastics facilities. Now, residents could be breathing dangerously polluted air from those sites, public health experts and local advocates say."