"It wasn’t Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh’s intention to become a community leader when she moved back to her hometown of St. Rose, Louisiana in 2017. But it’s the role she felt she had to take when she learned a petrochemical company had plans to build a $4.6 billion blue ammonia plant in her predominantly Black community."

"A chemical reaction involving emissions from cars and buildings can negate their environmental benefits. New research shows what big cities can do about it."

"Recycled plastic can be more toxic than virgin plastic, yet the federal approval process to use it in food packaging is lax and leaving consumers at risk, researchers say."

"Experts meet in Bangkok this week to advance what would be the first international treaty to tackle the surging problem of plastic pollution. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November. Yet most of the people who have been closely tracking the negotiations — environmentalists, tribal leaders and residents from communities hard-hit by plastic production and waste — are shut out of the talks in Bangkok."

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday vetoed a bill aimed at tightening air pollution monitoring provisions for so-called fence-line zones that mark the perimeter of oil refineries."

"It was a different kind of phone call that Fall River fire Lt. Jason Burns made on the morning of Aug. 1, after the passage of a bill by Massachusetts lawmakers to ban the use of chemicals linked to cancer in firefighting protective gear."

"Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators."

"On a humid summer afternoon in July, about 40 minutes from Houston, children are running up and down the Texas coastline of Sylvan Beach. Families make camps for the day with coolers filled with drinks and snacks. It doesn’t take more than a few steps near the shore to realize plastics have overtaken the beach."

"British energy giant Drax Global, already under scrutiny for running afoul of environmental laws in multiple states, has disclosed to the state of Louisiana that its wood pellet production facilities emit hazardous air pollutants above their permitted limits."

"The United States, one of the world's biggest plastic makers, will support a global treaty calling for a reduction in how much new plastic is produced each year in a major policy shift, a source close to U.S. negotiators told Reuters on Wednesday."