"A near record-sized “dead zone” of oxygen-starved water could form in the Gulf of Mexico this summer, threatening its huge stocks of marine life, researchers said."
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to a hear a bid by a unit of British oil major BP Plc to avoid a lawsuit by private landowners in Montana seeking to force the company to pay for a more extensive cleanup of a Superfund hazardous waste site than what federal environmental officials had ordered."
"The head of the national coal miners’ union on Thursday urged the Trump administration to impose regulation on silica dust in mines, which researchers believe is responsible for a resurgence of black lung disease in central Appalachia."
"Members of EPA's Science Advisory Board grappled with whether and how to weigh in on the Trump administration's rollback of clean water standards given the administration's insistence that the proposal is a question of policy, not science."
"One of the only things standing between the residents of Keystone, in McDowell County, and more reliable water service is access to a backhoe, said Vondalere Scott, the town clerk and current acting mayor."
"Michigan authorities investigating contamination of the city of Flint’s water supply obtained a search warrant to seize former Governor Rick Snyder’s cell phone and hard drive, according to court documents made public on Monday."
"Carnival Corp. reached a settlement Monday with federal prosecutors in which the world’s largest cruise line agreed to pay a $20 million penalty because its ships continued to pollute the oceans despite a previous criminal conviction aimed at curbing similar conduct."
A revamped Reporter’s Toolbox begins today with a new focus on data resources for environmental journalists. The now biweekly column starts with a look at a massive database designed for federal land managers that reporters can use to scan dozens of pollution data sets about air quality and more in parks, forests and other federal lands.
Marine ecologist Drew Harvell’s new book makes the case that the world’s oceans are sick and that few are paying enough attention. According to our latest BookShelf review, her “Ocean Outbreak” takes readers on a panoramic journey through the deep, while equipping reporters to better report problems that go well beyond climate change.
