Pollution

The 386-acre property looks like a giant Lego set rising from the banks of the Ohio River. It is one of the largest active construction projects in the United States, employing more than 5,000 people. When completed, the facility will be fed by pipelines stretching hundreds of miles across Appalachia. It will have its own rail system with 3,300 freight cars. And it will produce more than a million tons each year of something that many people argue the world needs less of: plastic."

"The top U.S. auto safety official, a key player in efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to rollback the nation’s vehicle fuel efficiency requirements, will step down at the end of the month, the Transportation Department announced on Monday."

"The gases heating the planet in 2018 were higher than humans have ever recorded, according to an authoritative new report from the American Meteorological Society and the US government."

"Environmental groups urged Georgia officials to reject plans by Georgia Power to keep coal waste in ponds at several power plants."

"The Environmental Protection Agency told staff scientists that it was no longer opposing a controversial Alaska mining project that could devastate one of the world's most valuable wild salmon fisheries just one day after President Trump met with Alaska's governor, CNN has learned."

"For more than a year, Newark officials denied the city had a widespread lead problem with its drinking water. Then, in an abrupt shift last fall, New Jersey’s largest city began giving out water filters to some residents."

"The Trump administration is proposing changes to federal regulations that could fast-track the approval of natural gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure. Environmental advocates say the move will weaken the ability of states and tribes to protect their waters."

"Environmentalists yesterday mounted a new legal attack against the Trump administration's efforts to lease as much offshore acreage as it can to oil and gas developers."

"Workers at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South Philadelphia began neutralizing tens of thousands of barrels of a highly toxic chemical this week. The refinery is shutting down after an explosion and fire destroyed part of the plant. The company has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy."