"EPA and the agency’s inspector general are at odds over whether federal oversight is sufficient to ensure U.S. water operators are protected against hackers and other saboteurs."
Obama-era regulation of the toxic waste product coal ash, which was watered down in the face of resistance from coal and electric utilities and further weakened by the Trump administration, has meant many coal-fired power plants simply ignore disposal requirements. That’s per a new report that the latest TipSheet writes can offer journalists useful ways to report an overlooked environmental story in their area.
"Staffing shortages and infighting among a dwindling number of decision-makers are hampering investigations of chemical fires, explosions and other petrochemical industry accidents in Louisiana and across the country, according to a new federal inspector’s report."
"Louisiana communities containing industrial plants and high percentages of Black residents experienced seven to 21 times more toxic air emissions than similar locations with higher percentages of White residents, according to a new study by researchers with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic."
"The EPA is vowing to move quickly to designate two “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, but has to balance the Biden administration’s desire to better protect disadvantaged communities with public and private sector fears they’ll be held liable for a problem not of their own making."
"Habitat loss and food shortages have pushed bats into closer proximity to horses and humans, fueling Hendra virus spillover, a new study suggests."
"Global average sperm count is declining at a quicker pace than previously known, chemical exposure is a suspected culprit."
"State public health officials and experts are increasingly concerned about residents’ chronic exposure to toxin-filled smoke."
When engineers reversed the Chicago River, they also upended a hydrologic system that years later required electrification to repel an invasive species threatening a major fishery. This is but one example from the latest book by New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert of the unintended consequences of human actions to dominate nature that may solve one problem only to create another. BookShelf contributor Gary Wilson has a review.
"A federal appeals court has vacated a ruling that would have helped to clear the way for a project to build a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska. The court said it would rehear the case, which involves a land swap that was approved by the Trump administration."
