Water & Oceans

UN Paris Meeting Presses Ahead With Binding Plastics Treaty — US Resists

"At a May-June meeting in Paris, the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) agreed to create, and submit by November, a first draft of an international plan to end plastic pollution by 2040. The United States declined to join the 58-nation “High Ambition Coalition” to create a legally-binding cradle-to-grave plan to address plastic production and use."

Source: Mongabay, 06/12/2023

"States Sue DuPont, 3M in Search of Funds for PFAS Cleanup Costs"

"States facing mounting costs over the cleanup of “forever chemicals” have directed their attention at chemical manufacturers, with a flurry of lawsuits coming as the companies reach large settlements over similar pollution claims."

Source: Bloomberg Environment, 06/12/2023

"The Revolving Door At Public Utilities Commissions? It’s Alive And Well"

"If the words “public utilities commission” put you to sleep, you’re not alone. These are the government agencies that regulate utilities — companies that supply us with electricity, gas, water and more. All 50 states have them — and as boring as they sound, their work affects our daily lives."

Source: LA Times, 06/09/2023

"The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River"

"Down beneath the tourist lodges and shops selling keychains and incense, past windswept arroyos and brown valleys speckled with agave, juniper and sagebrush, the rocks of the Grand Canyon seem untethered from time. The oldest ones date back 1.8 billion years, not just eons before humans laid eyes on them, but eons before evolution endowed any organism on this planet with eyes."

Source: NYTimes, 06/08/2023

Chemical Industry Used Big Tobacco’s Tactics To Conceal Evidence Of PFAS Risks

"Like the tobacco industry before it, the chemical industry managed to keep PFAS’s health risks hidden from the public for decades. A new peer-reviewed study dissecting PFAS producers’ public relations strategies provides a smoking gun timeline composed of industry studies and comments from DuPont and 3M officials showing they knew the dangers, but publicly insisted the chemicals were safe."

Source: Guardian, 06/08/2023

"Brazil’s Lula Lays Out Plan To Halt Amazon Deforestation"

"Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unveiled a plan on Monday to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon, a major campaign pledge that is a critical step in addressing the country’s significant carbon emissions from the region."

Source: AP, 06/07/2023

Corps Revokes Permit For Minnesota Mine, Cites Threat To Tribe’s Water

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday it has revoked a crucial federal permit for the proposed NewRange Copper Nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, a project popularly known as PolyMet, saying the permit did not comply with the water quality standards set by a sovereign downstream tribe."

Source: AP, 06/07/2023

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