Pollution

"A western Michigan school has begun distributing bottled water after state environmental officials said it had elevated levels of toxic industrial chemicals."

"The fires burn constantly in and around Onitsha, a growing city nestled on the banks of the Niger River in southern Nigeria. Each fire is surrounded by its own hellscape of rotting food, mounded rubbish, castoff computers, and slaughterhouse scraps, and the blazes — often fueled with old tires sliced into ribbons — incinerate the city’s waste and send out noxious plumes of smoke laden with dangerously high levels of particulate pollution."

"Air pollution kills an estimated 600,000 children every year and causing symptoms ranging from loss of intelligence to obesity and ear infections but there is a limited amount parents can do, a World Health Organization report said on Monday."

"The United Nations shipping agency pushed back this week on any phased entry for tougher marine fuel rules and further tightened regulations that will come into force in 2020."

"A group of 20 U.S. states and several major cities on Friday urged the Trump administration to abandon a proposal to freeze fuel efficiency standards after 2020 and strip California of the ability to impose its own vehicle emissions rules."

"Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order Thursday blocking offshore drilling, joining several other states trying to shield themselves from the Trump administration's plan to drill for oil and gas off the U.S. coast."

"The research the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited in proposing to roll back a major truck pollution rule was “not accurate,” the university that conducted the study has concluded."

"Last spring, air pollution researchers from around the world gathered to discuss their latest findings. Among them were scientists who led landmark studies linking smog and soot to deadly health problems. So it was shocking when one speaker essentially told everyone in the room that they were wrong."

"GOP candidates in Arizona, Texas and Florida face environmental attacks, but party strategists think voters won’t care."

"Microplastics have been found in human stool samples from countries in many parts of the world, according to a small pilot study being presented this week at the 26th annual United European Gastroenterology conference in Vienna."