Pollution

"A booming petrochemical buildout on the Gulf Coast has drawn billions of dollars in public subsidies from state tax abatement programs despite regular violations of pollution permits, according to a new report released Thursday."

"Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe."

"EPA on Thursday announced new regulations to slash releases of a cancer-causing compound used by dozens of medical equipment sterilization plants, often located in heavily populated and marginalized communities." "The rule would cut ethylene oxide releases at sterilization facilities by more than 90 percent."

"In the “lithium triangle” – a region spanning Argentina, Chile and Bolivia – native communities sit upon a treasure trove of the stuff: an estimated trillion dollars in lithium."

"The climate benefits of trees storing carbon dioxide is partially offset by dark forests’ absorption of more heat from the sun, and compounds they release that slow the destruction of methane in the atmosphere, the research shows."

"The city of Flint has been found in civil contempt by a federal judge for its handling of its lead pipe replacement program."

"For the second year in a row, the Mississippi Senate has passed a bill that would transfer control of the state capital city’s troubled water system to a regional board."

"American oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government thinks, causing $9.3 billion in yearly climate damage, a new comprehensive study calculates."

"Nine states this week sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a rule that requires publicly traded companies to disclose some climate-related information to potential investors."