Anything related to air quality, air pollution, or the atmosphere
"Ford Motor Co installed software that enabled its F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks to cheat at passing federal emissions tests, according to a lawsuit by truck owners filed on Wednesday, a claim the No. 2 U.S. automaker described as “baseless.”"
"Eight northeastern states said on Tuesday they sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force it to impose more stringent controls on a group of mostly Midwestern states whose air pollution they claim is being blown in their direction."
"Day-to-day increases in air pollution, even at levels generally considered acceptable, are associated with increased deaths among the elderly."
"A federal court wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report, with “precision and specificity,” how it plans to take a key step in implementing a 2015 smog pollution rule."
As President Trump continues to fill environment and energy leadership positions in 2018, one source of stories will be potential conflicts of interest for appointed regulators and agency leaders. This week's TipSheet runs down more than 20 key appointments to watch at EPA, Interior, Ag, Energy and more.
"U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is instructing agency officials to effectively drop enforcement of one key facet of the New Source Review program, in what could be a prelude to broad changes in the handling of air permits for both new plants and expansions of existing facilities."
"Fourteen states and the District of Columbia announced Thursday that they are suing the Trump administration over what they say is a failure to enforce smog standards."
"A top Volkswagen official in the United States was sentenced on Wednesday to seven years in prison for his role in the German automaker’s decade-long scheme to cheat on diesel emissions tests."
Purges of EPA science panels by Administrator Scott Pruitt are just one among many moves in an ongoing dispute over the integrity of the environmental sciences in government policymaking. The latest Issue Backgrounder takes a deep dive with a briefing on five likely battles ahead for the coming year.
Trying to figure out the air quality in your coverage area? The EPA may not be much help. But this week's TipSheet suggests some effective work-arounds for your reporting. Get the backstory on ozone standards, tips on how to track ozone "nonattainment" for your area and learn why smog matters so much to public health.
