"Colorado oil and gas companies used toxic chemicals prohibited under state law in operations involving dozens of wells on either side of the Rocky Mountains over at least the last 18 months, a Capital & Main investigation found."

"When Philadelphia filed a lawsuit last month alleging two prominent companies were engaged in a “coordinated campaign of deception” regarding the recyclability of their plastic film products, the city joined a growing group of state and local governments hoping litigation can help stem a rising tide of plastic waste."

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill that would have banned the use of “forever chemicals” in cookware and other products in California."

"The United Nations warned that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in Colombia’s Atrato River basin has created a “serious and ongoing human rights crisis,” threatening the health and survival of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who depend on the river for food, water and culture."

"Southern California air regulators issued violations to two foundries in southeast Los Angeles County after air sampling revealed elevated levels of a highly toxic metal near the facilities."

"For seven years N.C. activists overcame political and scientific hurdles to convince the EPA to enact PFAS regulations in drinking water. Now they’re confronting a Trump administration intent on quashing their success."

"An El Segundo refinery fire has renewed questions about who is investigating the state’s oil industry after serious accidents. With the U.S. Chemical Safety Board defunded, California has yet to fill the gap."

"Last year, state epidemiologists studied an industrialized region east of Houston. They reported  finding high rates of cancer, but refused to release key geographic details—a decision some experts say is irresponsible."

"Corn monocropping emits higher levels of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas which traps heat in the atmosphere more than 300 times as effectively as carbon dioxide. Simple interventions could drastically reduce emissions, experts say."

"The chair of stalled UN plastics treaty talks, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, is preparing to step down, after accounts of behind-the-scenes pressure from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep)." "In August, global talks at the UN headquarters in Geneva to agree on a treaty to deal with accelerating plastic pollution collapsed after three years of negotiations. There is currently no deal and the future of the agreement is unclear."