Pollution

"Drought made the Mississippi River sluggish and led to a smaller than average dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico — an area where there’s too little oxygen to support marine life, the scientist who’s been measuring it for decades said Wednesday."

"Near-record amounts of seaweed are smothering Caribbean coasts from Puerto Rico to Barbados, killing fish and other wildlife, choking tourism and releasing stinky, noxious gases."

"The Senate voted Tuesday night to pass a long-sought bipartisan legislation to expand health care benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The final vote was 86-11."

"A group of whistleblowers has provided evidence that the Environmental Protection Agency has not adequately assessed the health risks posed by several new chemicals on the grounds that they are corrosive."

"New research shows that rainwater in most locations on Earth contains levels of chemicals that "greatly exceed" safety levels."

"California claims to know how much climate-warming gas is going into the air from within its borders. It’s the law: California limits climate pollution and each year the limits get stricter."

"States facing a mounting volume of plastic are turning to a recycling method that uses heat and chemicals to break down materials, even as critics say the process could do more harm than good to the environment."

"The water that comes out of the tap for more than 900,000 Californians is unsafe to drink and the state isn’t acting fast enough to help clean it up, state auditors said in a report released Tuesday."

"Climate change is surfacing industries’ toxic legacy in marginalized communities."