"The creation of synthetic fertilizers in the early 20th century was a turning point in human history, enabling an increase in crop yields and causing a population boom. But the overuse of nitrogen and phosphorus from those fertilizers is causing an environmental crisis, as algae blooms and oceanic “dead zones” grow in scale and frequency."

"The World Health Organization has cut its recommended limits for air pollution and urged nations to tackle dirty air and save millions of lives. In the first update for 16 years, the guideline limit for the most damaging pollution – tiny particles from burning fossil fuels – has been halved."

"The Biden administration will finalize its first new climate rule Thursday, slashing the use of greenhouse gases warming the planet at a rate hundreds to thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide."

"As climate change amplifies the health risks of extreme heat and pollution from wildfires, researchers scramble to protect farmworkers."

"The hole in the ozone layer that develops annually is “rather larger than usual” and is currently bigger than Antartica, say the scientists responsible for monitoring it."

"The U.S. subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Corporation will pay $2.85 million to settle civil charges it violated federal air pollution laws after a series of fires and explosions at its petrochemical manufacturing plant in Texas injured some of its workers, the Justice Department said on Monday."

"EPA plans to propose the nation’s strongest rules against methane emissions this month, escalating the Biden administration’s use of regulatory tools to reduce greenhouse gases from fossil fuel companies."

"When wildfire smoke descends over a city or town, as it does increasingly often for tens of millions of people in the American West, public health officials have a simple message: Go inside, shut doors and windows. Limit outdoor activities. New research shows that may not be enough to protect a person's health."

"Fire season has become a hard-to-breathe reality in much of the western United States. But the blazes may affect more than air quality or even human lungs. A recent study attributes as many as 7,000 preterm births in California to wildfire smoke exposure."