"Groundwater pollution in Umatilla and Morrow counties is growing worse, leading to dangerous levels of nitrates in water pumped up from what used to be safe wells."
"The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request by BP, Shell and Hilcorp oil companies to block the start of a state court lawsuit filed by Cameron Parish seeking as much as $7 billion in compensation for coastal erosion damages."
"Thirteen years after a kayaker reported stepping into a stinging patch of muck in the Congaree River, contractors have cleaned up the toxic mess that covered a stretch of the river bottom below the Gervais Street bridge in Columbia, South Carolina."
"After decades of unrestricted pumping in the rain-starved northwestern corner of the Mojave Desert, the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Basin Authority has the distinction of managing one of the most critically overdrawn aquifers in California."
"Interstate fishing regulators are limiting the harvest of a primordial species of invertebrate to try to help rebuild its population and aid a threatened species of bird."
In our annual look-ahead on the environment and energy beat in 2024, we see a bumpy ride on global climate change talks coupled with more climate-driven disasters, even amid the evolving energy transition. And we see possible risks to ocean life from deep sea mining and continuing risks to human life from pollution of air, water and land. Insights in our overview and our full “2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy” special report.
"Firefighting foam contaminated groundwater beneath O’Hare and Midway airports with PFAS chemicals, military investigators have found. It’s unclear how far it has spread."
"As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources."
"As the world's nations enter another round of talks this week on creating a first-ever treaty to contain plastic pollution, officials are bracing for tough negotiations over whether to limit the amount of plastic being produced or just to focus on the management of waste."
"Australia and Pacific Island state Tuvalu on Friday signed a security and climate change treaty designed to counter China's growing influence in the Pacific and address the low-lying island nation's concerns about rising seas induced by climate change."
