"The Trump administration tried to pin California’s water woes on the homeless, but water quality experts say there is little connection between homeless camps and water pollution."
"For years, the Interior Department resisted proposals to raise the height of its towering Shasta Dam in Northern California. The department’s own scientists and researchers concluded that doing so would endanger rare plants and animals in the area, as well as the bald eagle, and devastate the West Coast’s salmon industry downstream."
"Banks are shielding themselves from climate change at taxpayers’ expense by shifting riskier mortgages — such as those in coastal areas — off their books and over to the federal government, new research suggests."
"Off the coast of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a group of scientists is tearing a reef apart in a feverish attempt to save some of its coral. They are battling a fast-moving, lethal disease that researchers say is unprecedented in the speed with which it can damage large numbers of coral species across the Caribbean Sea."
"Legislation that would require the EPA to designate all PFAS as hazardous substances within one year isn’t feasible, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Sept. 26."
"Arctic sea ice has reached its annual minimum. And according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), this year’s extent—1.6 million square miles—is the second lowest extent on record, trailing only 2012 when sea ice dropped to 1.37 million square miles. This year is tied with the minimums we saw in 2007 and 2016."
"The Senate urged its negotiators Sept. 25 to back language banning the Pentagon’s use of firefighting foam containing potentially hazardous nonstick chemicals known as PFAS, as House-Senate talks continue toward a single Defense Department reauthorization bill."
"Chemicals used for carpets and anti-stain products have been found in water sources for 7.5 million people in California, detailing the extent of the problem as state regulators work to develop safety levels for the contaminants that have been linked to cancer."
"California sued the Trump administration today over EPA's refusal to extend Clean Water Act protections to salt ponds in San Francisco Bay."
