Environmental Health

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fired nearly 400 employees after a directive from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)."

"The president, still angry about the pandemic response, may be cutting into the country’s fundamental ability to identify emerging diseases and head them off."

"Mexican environmental regulators say they have discovered 30,000 tons of improperly stored material with “hazardous characteristics” in the yard of a Mexican plant that is recycling toxic waste shipped from the US."

"In the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that tore through Los Angeles last month, undocumented day laborers will likely make up a significant portion of the workforce tasked with clearing debris and rebuilding homes. As they navigate the environmental hazards of this work, they’re also facing the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on immigrants."

"As Trump pledges regulatory rollbacks, environmental groups say the administration’s aggressive cost-cutting tactics could make it easier for them to win some long-term battles."

"A scientific report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Thursday shows some veterinarians who provide care for cattle were unknowingly infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus last year. ... The report is one of three about bird flu that were scheduled to be published three weeks ago in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). But the scientific publication was abruptly suspended when the Trump administration instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications on Jan. 21."

"The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to end contracts agreed by the previous administration to distribute $20 billion in grants to fund clean energy and transportation projects in disadvantaged communities, he said on Thursday."

"On February 5th, EPA removed from its website the environmental justice mapping and screening tool, EJScreen, as well as several related web pages. ... Public Environmental Data Partners (PEDP) released a reconstruction of Version 2.3 of EPA’s EJScreen."

"Removing lead paint and pipes. Cleaning up contaminated land. Monitoring pollution. Making houses more energy efficient. Installing solar panels in low-income neighborhoods. Those are some of the projects across the country that were cut off from federal funding when the Trump administration paused spending approved earlier by Congress."

"Clean energy installations in the U.S. reached a record high last year, with the country adding 47% more capacity than in 2023, according to new research by energy data firm Cleanview."