"Amid drought and heat waves, April’s national wildfire forecast shows that nearly the entire Western U.S. will face an above-normal risk of wildfires at some point in the next four months."
If drinking water safety is on your beat, then keeping track of seesawing regulations around PFAS is a challenge. But as Reporter’s Toolbox writes, a powerful government data mapping tool can help you at least locate nearby PFAS facilities at a glance. What it does well and where it sources its underlying data, plus some suggestions on using it for your reporting.
"Advocates warn that what’s left of the industry could be lost if companies choose to invest in dirty blast furnaces instead of modernizing with cleaner steelmaking."
"A debate over which federal office should be the primary regulator of hazardous chemical safety in the workplace is playing out in courts and Congress."
"The Trump administration said Friday it is combining two agencies that were separated in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The Interior Department said the overhaul would increase efficiency and speed up permitting for offshore oil and gas drilling."
"The White House released its fiscal 2027 budget request Friday morning, unveiling plans to continue waging its longstanding war against renewable energy and climate initiatives while boosting support for artificial intelligence and fossil fuels."
"Republicans at the state and federal levels are working to shield fossil fuel companies from laws and legal claims that aim to make them pay for some of the damage caused by climate change."
"The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Thursday to include microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a list of contaminants in drinking water for the first time, a step that could lead to new limits on those substances for water utilities."
"President Trump has tried to cut funding for virtually every federal program that addresses climate change. But Congress has been pushing back, sometimes with surprising bipartisan support."
"When pollution gets bad enough in the rivers supplying Iowa’s largest city with drinking water, it costs Des Moines around $16,000 a day to run a special system to filter out dangerous nitrates. It’s a fact of life in the agriculture-dependent state — and climate change is making the water quality problem even worse."
