Environmental Health

It’s Brown And Burns Your Eyes. Clean Water Elusive in Small Texas Town

"The water isn’t always brown, but Scarlet Weathers lives like it is. Not once has she drank the tap water from her kitchen sink in her house in Sweeny, Texas. She knows, like everyone else in the town, that it can’t be trusted. Even her small grandchildren have noticed it during bathtime. Why is the water brown?"

Source: Capital & Main, 10/15/2025

Booming Data Centers Pose Big Energy And Environmental Risks

"Google recently courted the township of Franklin, Ind., so that it could construct a giant campus to house the computer hardware that powers its internet business. But the company needed to rezone more than 450 acres in the Indianapolis suburb, and residents weren't having it."

Source: NPR, 10/15/2025

Greens File Hatch Act Complaints Against HHS, USFS Over Shutdown Messaging

"An environmental advocacy group has filed complaints under the Hatch Act against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Forest Service over what it described as “partisan” messaging blaming Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown."

Source: The Hill, 10/14/2025

"Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump"

"President Trump has been a cheerleader for coal miners. But these miners say his administration is failing to enforce limits on a lethal workplace hazard."

Source: NYTimes, 10/14/2025

"A Short-Lived Win in a Never-Ending Fight Over Forever Chemicals"

"For seven years N.C. activists overcame political and scientific hurdles to convince the EPA to enact PFAS regulations in drinking water. Now they’re confronting a Trump administration intent on quashing their success."

Source: Inside Climate News, 10/14/2025

Coal Ash Is an Issue That Just Won’t Stay Buried

Even as the number of coal-fired power plants declines in the United States, the dangerous coal ash byproducts they generate are found in dumps in every state, threatening to leach toxins into drinking water supplies. The latest TipSheet examines why the problem won’t seem to go away, and offers 10 top story ideas and resources for reporting on coal ash in your locale.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Visibility: 

US Oversight Disappearing As Refineries Explode. Who’s In Charge Now?

"An El Segundo refinery fire has renewed questions about who is investigating the state’s oil industry after serious accidents. With the U.S. Chemical Safety Board defunded, California has yet to fill the gap."

Source: CalMatters, 10/10/2025

Officials Won’t Give Cancer Data to Polluted Texas Community

"Last year, state epidemiologists studied an industrialized region east of Houston. They reported  finding high rates of cancer, but refused to release key geographic details—a decision some experts say is irresponsible."

Source: Public Health Watch, 10/10/2025

EPA Drops Planned Delay in Fenceline Monitoring at Coke Plants

"Public health advocates pushed back when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it planned to delay for two years a requirement that steel companies monitor air quality at the perimeters of their 11 coke plants in Western Pennsylvania and across the country. Two groups sued. Now, the EPA has reversed course."

Source: Inside Climate News, 10/08/2025

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Environmental Health