Plans are nearing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate PFAS in drinking water — and the complexity around the effort will challenge environmental journalism. In the mix are questions of environmental persistence and health risks, plus thorny politics. Our Issue Backgrounder has guidance on these and more as PFAS regulation hits this critical juncture.
"The White House announced a new initiative this morning [Friday] to help reach net-zero emissions and promised to direct research and billions in federal dollars toward 37 “game-changing” energy technologies."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday it plans to issue tougher greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy duty trucks and other larger vehicles through at least the 2030 model year by the end of 2023."
"If international solidarity with climate victims falls short, litigation offers a vital but imperfect avenue for compensation".
"EPA coal ash regulations issued in 2015 allow polluting utilities to self-regulate. And a giant loophole exempts coal ash piles that stopped receiving coal plant waste before that year."
"The federal government has selected the first two areas for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico, clearing the way for a process that could have windmills spinning over the waves near Louisiana by the decade’s end."
"There are two simple reasons. One, it makes money. And two, people just love water."
"Joe Biden will head to Egypt next week to tout America’s re-emergence as a leader on the climate crisis at the Cop27 talks. But he will be landing in a continent that the US continues to pour billions of dollars into for fossil fuel projects, with seemingly no end in sight despite the president’s promises."
"President Joe Biden escalated weeks of sharp warnings to energy producers on Monday by floating a so-called “windfall” tax on their corporate profits, calling out major gas companies for racking up gains from a spike in prices he attributes to Russia’s war in Ukraine."
The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire need of protection, but a decision on listing it under the Endangered Species Act is months overdue. Environmental reporter Mike Smith looks at the causes and potential consequences of the bureaucratic delay and muses on whether this unique bird will go the way of its even more imperiled relative, the Attwater’s prairie-chicken.
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