Environmental Health

Environmental Justice Adviser Slams Pruitt Plan to Weaken Coal Ash Rules

"A newly appointed environmental justice adviser to the Environmental Protection Agency is criticizing an agency proposal to roll back regulations governing coal ash ponds, saying doing so would hurt disadvantaged communities."

Source: InsideClimate News, 03/16/2018

WHO Launches Study After Microplastics Found In 90% Of Bottled Water

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a review into the potential risks of plastic in drinking water after a new analysis of some of the world’s most popular bottled water brands found that more than 90% contained tiny pieces of plastic."

Source: Guardian, 03/15/2018

Offshore Safety Chief Meets Almost Exclusively With Industry

"Documents show that Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Scott Angelle has spent more than 98 hours meeting with oil and gas lobbyists and executives since he began the role last May. In contrast, during this same time he only spent 1.75 hours with NGOs."

Source: Think Progress, 03/14/2018

Searching for Environment Themes at Sundance 2018

While environmental themes were less prominent at the Sundance Film Festival this year, our correspondent JoAnn Valenti unearthed ecological messages from documentaries that explore the emergence of climate change refugees in the face of sea level rise, the escape from modernity into wilderness and the confrontation of environmental threats by young innovators.

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As Threat of Coal-Ash Pollution Grows, Data May Diminish

Coal ash can contaminate surface and ground water with toxic heavy metals. But as this week’s TipSheet reports, Trump deregulation aims to loosen EPA rules on its disposal. That may mean a big local pollution story. If journalists can find the data, that is. The latest on the new rules, plus resources for coverage.

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Michigan: "DEQ Ignored Crucial Warning On Wolverine Dump Plume"

"BELMONT, MI -- Mark Worrall knew where to look. Worrall, a state geologist, told his superiors at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in April 2017 that drinking water in homes southeast of Wolverine World Wide's now-infamous House Street sludge dump should be tested for toxic chemicals."

Source: Grand Rapids Press, 03/12/2018

"Trump Rollbacks Target Offshore Rules ‘Written With Human Blood’"

"PORT FOURCHON, La. — A dozen miles off the coast, on a rusty, aging platform, workers in hard hats and overalls spend their days extracting oil and gas from the ocean floor before retreating at night into tiny weather-beaten steel cubes that act as dorms."

Source: NY Times, 03/12/2018

"What Swamp? Lobbyists Get Ethics Waivers To Work For Trump"

"President Donald Trump and his appointees have stocked federal agencies with ex-lobbyists and corporate lawyers who now help regulate the very industries from which they previously collected paychecks, despite Trump’s promises as a candidate to drain the swamp in Washington."

Source: AP, 03/09/2018

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