Pollution

"Two centuries after the coal miners arrived, residents are racing to save the stream and bring back the trout."

"A US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan to reduce the amount of atrazine running off into US rivers, lakes and streams would leave 99% of watersheds contaminated at levels that exceed the agency’s threshold for harm to plants, fish and other species, according to a new study."

"The leaders of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup have officially missed another deadline for achieving their nutrient-reduction targets needed to meet the estuary’s water-quality goals — the third time that’s happened in as many tries."

"The Supreme Court on Monday grappled with whether to let a novel lawsuit go forward that is seeking to hold two large oil companies liable for the effects of climate change, a decision that will be critical to similar litigation that dozens of states, counties and cities have brought in recent years." "After more than two hours of argument, it was unclear whether the justices would green-light Boulder, Colorado’s novel lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy."

"Two members of Congress are ramping up efforts to investigate the consequences of DDT pollution off the Southern California coast — an issue that has horrified scientists and policymakers since they learned that as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been dumped into the ocean after World War II."

"Recycled black plastics leach hazardous chemicals that disrupt metabolism and hormone genes, raising hidden safety concerns for everyday consumer products."

"The US should review policies that allow major food crops to be sprayed directly with herbicides shortly before harvest, and should tighten related policies that allow for high levels of residues of those pesticides in finished food products, according to a petition filed Thursday with the government regulators."

"California regulators broke state environmental laws by allowing polluters to buy clean fuel credits from large farms that are extracting gas from manure, a policy that harms poor communities and perverts the state’s clean air program, four advocacy groups allege in a lawsuit."

"Federal and state regulators in North Carolina propose a fix to repair damage caused by more than 50 years of toxic pollution from a pulp mill."

"Heatwaves and wildfires helped expose 34 percent of the world’s population to “extremely poor” ozone air quality in the first eight months of 2026, according to a European Union report published Wednesday. Asia recorded the highest exposure, while ozone pollution remained difficult to curb despite decades of progress in reducing other harmful emissions."