"Companies feared rules and lawsuits based on the Office of Research and Development’s assessments of the dangers of formaldehyde, ethylene oxide and other substances."
"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that it would eliminate its scientific research arm and begin firing hundreds of chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, after denying for months that it intended to do so."
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to forbid government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals, WatchDog was among those who paid heed to this worrisome move to censor science, and the harm it portends for environmental science, environmental journalism and, ultimately, public health. But as WatchDog warns, it could be just the tip of the iceberg.
"Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too"
"The U.S. suffered 15 billion-dollar weather disasters during the first half of 2025, said insurance broker Gallagher Re in its latest quarterly report issued July 16. The average number of January-June inflation-adjusted billion-dollar disasters over the previous 10 years in the U.S. was 15; the record was 23, set in 2024. The Gallagher Re quarterly reports help fill a void left by the elimination of NOAA’s program to track billion-dollar weather disasters, which was terminated this year."
"Closing Mauna Loa and three other U.S. sites that track greenhouse gases would disrupt a decades-long record of the planet’s changing atmosphere."
For environmental journalists looking for data riches to help tell their stories — whether about urban heat islands, sea-surface temperatures or air pollution — NASA has the satellites whose sensors capture insights galore. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers an introduction to the U.S. space agency’s incredibly extensive data portal, and how to get started amid the wealth of information (caveat: before it’s gone).
"A growing body of research shows the cascading health impacts of wildfire smoke, from cognitive decline to heart issues."
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