Air

"Driving an electric vehicle could get more expensive if congressional Republicans have their way." "House Republicans want to impose an annual $250 fee on electric vehicle drivers, who don’t pay the gas tax. Critics say the fee is too high."

"The House of Representatives took a trio of votes this week targeting California’s decades-old authority to enforce its own environmental standards, setting the stage for a significant standoff in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats say Republican leaders would have to defy long-standing congressional order to get the measures passed."

"The House on Wednesday voted to axe California’s clean truck rules — defying Congress’s own internal watchdog in doing so."

"On the morning of March 20, Mathew Roberts was working at a chemical plant on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he was involved in an accident with a forklift. Unresponsive and in critical condition, the father of two and Iraq War veteran known for his big laugh and warm smile was taken from the Nutrien nitrogen plant to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries."

"Five facilities near schools and houses in LA County fumigate produce shipped from overseas with methyl bromide. But the air agency doesn’t plan to monitor the air or take any immediate steps to protect people from the gas, which can damage lungs and cause neurological effects."

"Fossil fuel interests like carbon capture — it helps them drill more oil and emit less greenhouse gas. Homeowners say, ‘Not in my backyard’"

"American Lung Association’s study says almost 156 million people live in areas with unhealthy levels of soot or smog. Almost half of Americans are breathing in dangerous levels of air pollutants, a new report shows, a rise compared with a year ago and likely to further increase in coming years thanks to the climate crisis and the Trump administration’s sweeping environmental rollbacks."

"A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new rule to limit silica dust exposure for coal and other miners. The rule, from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), was imposed last year in response to an epidemic of severe black lung disease among coal miners."

"The Trump administration has granted nearly 70 coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene."

"Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited two Warrior Met mines to emphasize the administration’s commitment to lifting regulations on the extraction of ‘clean beautiful coal.’ He did not mention the company’s checkered safety and environmental record."