Consumer

"Two Senate Democrats introduced a bill Monday to set cybersecurity standards for water utilities — something Republicans and industry have long fought."

"Mutual aid groups that started giving out PPEs during Covid are now loaning air purifiers and distributing masks to fume-addled communities"

"Republicans on Thursday voted down a proposed amendment to the Farm Bill that would have  protected consumer rights to sue pesticide manufacturers over alleged harm after the US Supreme Court recently narrowed those rights."

"Every single English water body is polluted with toxic chemicals, new government data shows, while just 14.3% of surface waters achieved good ecological status."

"A federal appeals court signaled that it might not allow a lawsuit brought by fishing industry businesses and trade groups against a California aquarium to proceed because of the case’s potential impact on free speech."

"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has backed off its re-assessment of cancer-causing nitrates despite decades of research suggesting the contaminant is more harmful than previously thought and that nitrate pollution is at crisis levels in US drinking water."

"The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show that many yards still have harmful levels of lead."

"Winners this week either want to crack down on new data centers or enact a moratorium."

"In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration proposed creating stronger cybersecurity guidelines to better safeguard the nation’s water supply from hackers. ... The E.P.A. rescinded the order, however, after Republican-led states and industry groups sued to block its enforcement."

"A pioneering California law meant to sharply limit use of the familiar “chasing arrows” recycling symbol has been blocked by a federal judge who said it probably violates the First Amendment."