Pollution

"EPA has resumed its efforts to reorganize the agency after the Supreme Court earlier this month lifted a lower court’s injunction that stalled the Trump administration’s restructuring efforts. But EPA employees will have less say in where they end up under the restructuring because of the time lost while the injunction was in place, an EPA official told colleagues in an internal email obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News."

"Closing Mauna Loa and three other U.S. sites that track greenhouse gases would disrupt a decades-long record of the planet’s changing atmosphere." 

"The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would apply new layers of political review to wind and solar projects, potentially creating hurdles for renewable energy developments across the country."

"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would give utility companies an additional year to begin cleaning up contamination from toxic coal ash landfills across the country."

"President Donald Trump is allowing chemical makers, coal-fired power plants and other facilities to bypass a range of environmental regulations on grounds that the waivers are needed for national security purposes."

"A growing body of research shows the cascading health impacts of wildfire smoke, from cognitive decline to heart issues." 

"Researchers in Europe found everyday plastics, especially farmers’ baler twine, being used by the birds as a building material and entangling their young. It is a problem that affects other species too, say experts in the US, UK and Argentina" 

"Grid experts say DOE’s new forecast of major blackout risks by 2030 misuses data to justify the Trump administration’s push to force dirty plants to stay open." 

"Sandwiched between the Delaware River and closely spaced homes, the Monroe Energy oil refinery in Trainer exemplifies the need for better regulation of a dangerous chemical used around the country to produce high-octane gasoline, environmental groups said." "Monroe Energy in Delaware County is among more than 40 still using hydrofluoric acid, despite safer alternatives"

"Documents expose the huge cleanup BC faces for Port Alice and 11 more shut mills. Will new projects also slip off the hook?"