In climate push, federal reviews to nudge new infrastructure projects toward clean energy

Federal energy regulators are working to consider greenhouse gas emissions and environmental justice concerns when approving new infrastructure like oil and gas pipelines, while easing barriers to renewables and energy storage.

www.post-gazette.com

Forgotten oil and gas wells linger, leaking toxic chemicals

Many of the wells are releasing methane, a greenhouse gas containing about 86 times the climate-warming power of carbon dioxide over two decades. Some are leaking chemicals such as benzene, a known carcinogen, into fields and groundwater.

apnews.com

EPA takes up environmental justice complaint against Philly's permit for natural gas power plant

Residents and activists say the project will increase air pollution and lock in reliance on fossil fuels. They claim institutional racism is involved in the decision.

www.alleghenyfront.org

Drilled Podcast: Plastic Pipelines: And then there was Covid...

Just as the fossil fuel industry was starting to worry about demand for single use plastics, along comes a global pandemic that they could leverage to push more of the stuff. And they did! But was it enough to save them entirely?

drillednews.com

Environmental groups urge Senate to pass bill banning single-use plastics in the Philippines

Environment groups have challenged the Senate to urgently pass a measure that would regulate the production and use of single-use plastics, after the House of Representatives approved a counterpart bill last week.

newsinfo.inquirer.net

Ex-SpaceX engineers in race to build first commercial electric speedboat

LA-based Arc Boat company announces $4.25m seed fund to start work on 475-horsepower craft.

www.theguardian.com

NGO calls on cities to ban pesticides

Vigilance OGM says they mimic those used to indicate pesticides have just been sprayed and "to remind us of the level of our exposure to pesticides."

montrealgazette.com

Quebec university starting ‘observatory’ to watch Lake Memphremagog’s health

The move from the Canadian college comes as Vermont rolls out PFAS testing in the cross-border lake.

vtdigger.org

Grassy Narrows funding pact for mercury-poisoning care home spurs joy and bitter memories

Ontario Treaty 3 First Nation says agreement with Ottawa just 'first step' in getting 'mercury justice.'

www.cbc.ca

The Biden administration’s embrace of environmental justice has made wary activists willing to believe

"i could not have predicted this," says Vernice Miller-Travis, who gathered data for a seminal 1987 study, "toxic wastes and race in the United States."

insideclimatenews.org

Wildfires highlight need for climate action, Biden says

US President Joe Biden spoke Friday with governors of several western US states where severe wildfires are devastating communities, telling them the crisis highlights the urgent need for action to stem climate change.

www.globaltimes.cn

Senate expects to move forward with infrastructure bill on Sunday

US senators were expected to move forward on Sunday on a $1tn package for roads, rail lines and other infrastructure, with text of a bill due to be delivered.

www.theguardian.com

Evacuations underway as alarming outbreak of wildfires sweeps Europe

Authorities evacuated dozens of villages in tourist areas in southern Turkey on Sunday as wildfires that have claimed six lives raged for the fifth day, while Greece, Italy and Spain were also hit by blazes.

www.modernghana.com

COP26: UK's 2050 net zero target is 'too far away', PM's spokesperson admits

The UK's target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050 is "too far away" to be the sole focus of attention, the government's spokesperson for COP26 has said.

news.sky.com

Smoking, climate change may trigger risk of lung cancer: Doctors

Climate change, smoking and long term impact of Covid-19 pandemic could spurt an increase in lung cancer cases, according to experts.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

California bacon ban? State to enforce animal welfare proposition

At the beginning of next year, California will begin enforcing an animal welfare proposition approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 that requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves.

www.usatoday.com

Turkey wildfires: 'The animals are on fire,' say devastated farmers as wildfires sweep Turkey

In the small village of Kacarlar, on Turkey's southern coast, farmers are facing apocalyptic scenes as wildfires continue to sweep the country.

www.cnn.com

Carol M. Browner: Biden has historic opportunity to cut pollution with new clean cars rule

The Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency must work to develop the strongest possible clean car standards as quickly as possible.

thehill.com

Wildfires in Canada are blowing an ‘unprecedented’ smoke swath into Minnesota

Smoke from across the Canadian border is seeping into Minnesota. Officials warn unhealthy air quality will persist until next week, fueling concerns over possible health impacts.

www.washingtonpost.com

Martinelli’s among brands searching for safer bottle cap options

A study found potentially harmful chemicals in bottle caps used by Martinelli's but the Watsonville, Calif., company is the process of addressing the issue.

pajaronian.com

Living on Earth: Beyond the Headlines

Peter Dykstra joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about G20 nations providing more than $3 trillion in subsidies for fossil fuels despite their pledges to reduce emissions under the Paris Accord. Then, the two turn to the Great Salt Lake, which is becoming an environmental hazard as it continues to dry up. Finally, the two look at the 100th anniversary of the first crop dusting by airplanes and the birth of Delta Airlines.

loe.org

Plastic Free July press conference highlights important legislation

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, State Rep. David Gomberg, State Rep. Janeen Sollman, the Surfrider Foundation, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Environment Oregon, and Oceana united at a press conference at the Oregon Zoo to draw attention to the plastic pollution crisis and the recent legislative measures offering solutions.

www.currypilot.com

Environmental Science And Social Justice Activism Make Extraordinary Bedfellows: A Review Of ‘The World We Need.’

'The World We Need: Stories and Lessons from America’s Unsung Environmental Movement' is a gripping new anthology published by The New Press and edited by Brooklyn-based journalist Audrea Lim. It expertly shows how and why environmental science and social justice activism must work together.

www.forbes.com

Climate activists target a retrofitted ‘peaker plant’ in Queens, decrying new fossil fuel infrastructure

They say burning natural gas harms communities of color, exceeds New York's carbon limits and helps make the case for a federal clean energy standard.

insideclimatenews.org

Lead exposure during childhood may influence adult personality, and not for the better

Early exposure to lead pollution may lead to less mature personality traits as an adult.

theconversation.com

Farmer who lost all to PFAS inspires law to get day in court

A new law in Maine clarifying that legal cases alleging damage or injury from PFAS can be filed up to six years after the harm was or could reasonably have been discovered may have ramifications outside the state, attorneys said.

news.bloomberglaw.com

Bayer to replace glyphosate from US lawn products by 2023

German chemical company Bayer A.G. announced Thursday that it would replace the herbicide glyphosate from all lawn and garden products sold in the United States by 2023.

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Burning for bitcoin

Some power generators — finding they can make more money supplying electricity to Bitcoin-mining operations than selling it to the grid — are shifting focus.

newsinteractive.post-gazette.com

Tracking environmental actions under Biden

President Biden is unwinding Donald Trump’s environmental legacy, while forging his own. The Washington Post is chronicling every step.

www.washingtonpost.com

5% of Earth's power plants create 73% of the energy sector's emissions

A handful of "super emitters" are responsible for the vast majority of all emissions in the energy sector.

www.vice.com

The race for EV parts leads to risky deep-ocean mining

The electric vehicle boom is driving a surge in demand for metals needed for batteries and other components. Some companies say the solution lies in mining the deep oceans. Scientists say that could irreversibly damage a vast, largely pristine ecosystem.

e360.yale.edu

Belgium and Germany deal with ‘unimaginable’ piles of post-flood trash

The push is to get rid of the garbage as fast as possible, even if that means not following the niceties of recycling regulations.

www.politico.eu

What’s the true cost of retail giants shipping your junk across the ocean?

Tracing the impact on the environment from shipping any of these goods is tricky to do.

grist.org

Mapping the past and future of urban highways

Decades ago, the federal highway boom tore apart historically Black neighborhoods across the U.S. The legacy of this racist federal transportation policy continues to define urban spaces, even as some cities look to reconnect these communities.

www.bloomberg.com

Gassy coal mines can be environmental commodities. CNX shows how

There is so much unwanted gas coming out of American coal mines that federal data suggests it outpaces the carbon emissions footprint of the entire U.S. petrochemical industry. This represents a huge, barely-tapped resource that could prevent emissions.