Waste

"Unearthed: The Mining Issue"

"The world needs massive amounts of critical minerals to power the transition to clean energy. But as countries and industries explore new mining opportunities, a major question looms: Can all of this extraction be done without the same environmental and human costs associated with fossil fuels?"

Source: Grist, 03/28/2025

"New Mexico Set To Become Third State To Implement Full PFAS Product Ban"

"New Mexico is poised to become the third state to institute a full-fledged ban on products that contain toxic “forever chemicals,” as two key bills head to the governor’s desk."

Source: The Hill, 03/28/2025

Sewage Sludge Is Used As Farm Fertilizer. Some Neighbors Hate It

"When Leslie Stewart moved to her home in a rural expanse of Lincoln County outside of Oklahoma City more than 20 years ago, she thought she’d found a slice of heaven. ... But several years ago, her neighbor began applying sewage sludge, which consists largely of human waste left over from municipal wastewater treatment facilities, as a fertilizer on his farmland, causing a rancid smell so powerful it nearly took her breath away."

Source: AP, 03/27/2025

Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout

Hazardous sites around the United States are supposed to have disaster plans, which make for a localizable story environmental journalists can tell to help protect their communities. The problem, reports TipSheet, is that a key federal database of these plans may be shut down by the Trump administration. More on the Risk Management Program, efforts to protect the data and how reporters can use it.

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"Canadians Protest Imports Of US Toxic Waste Amid Trump Tariff War"

"The proposed expansion of a Quebec landfill that accepts hazardous waste from the United States has ignited a turf war between the Quebec provincial government and local leaders, who say they oppose putting US trash into a local peat bog."

Source: Guardian, 03/20/2025

Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.

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New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste

Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.

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Plastic Pollution Leaves Seabirds With Brain Damage Similar To Alzheimer’s

"Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife."

Source: Guardian, 03/13/2025

"E.P.A. Targets Dozens of Environmental Rules as It Reframes Its Purpose"

"Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency’s mission was to make it cheaper to buy cars, heat homes and run businesses."

Source: NYTimes, 03/13/2025

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