"The EPA still has unfinished business on a handful of major air rules, which environmentalists fear will endanger Americans’ health and worsen the climate crisis."
"Construction on — or at least preparations for — a border wall through Texas’s Big Bend National Park and the larger Big Bend region have been halted through Sept. 15, and possibly longer, a federal judge said from the bench Friday."
So-called confidential business information is a major obstacle to the dissemination of knowledge about environmental threats for the public, cautions WatchDog Opinion. Part of the problem is how federal agencies treat requests for confidentiality, and so is the way environmental laws handle the issue. A look at the worst offenders, and a call for journalists to break through the veil of secrecy.
"Amid a busy season of summer food recalls and illnesses, sustainable farming advocates are warning that salmonella bacteria found in poultry is increasing strains most likely to cause illness, hospitalization and death, and that such bacteria are also increasingly resistant to antibiotic medicine."
"The Trump administration on Friday moved to relax fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks."
"The largest planned AI datacenter in New Jersey is being accused of violating federal law after a visual investigation found the site running dozens of unpermitted gas-powered generators."
"The Trump administration has approved two new datacenter chemicals to which exposure can result in “sudden death” and a range of other serious health risks, like cancer, eye corrosion, neurological damage and reproductive harm, a new lawsuit warns."
"In 2024, the Biden administration enacted wide-ranging regulations to protect communities near petrochemical plants from air toxics. The Trump administration has since granted exemptions to scores of polluting facilities and is working to rewrite the long-awaited rule."
"McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell are failing to keep up with pledges to reduce the use of antibiotics in their beef supply, according to a group of food safety advocates."
"As farmers balk at skyrocketing fertilizer costs and runoff threatens drinking water sources in Iowa, North American manufacturers are raking in cash." "The net earnings of North America’s top fertilizer producers raise questions about who benefits most from fertilizer use, an advocacy group says."
