"The legislation aimed at regulating North Carolina’s huge and largely unregulated poultry industry seemed modest in scope, ... But as the legislative session in Raleigh came to a close in July, the bill had moved not an inch—and no one was surprised."

"Toxic chemicals known as PFAS exist in almost 42,000 sites around the U.S., according to research released on Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group."

"The state of Michigan has told a majority-Black city not to use tap water for drinking, bathing, or cooking “out of an abundance of caution” because of lead contamination. Residents of Benton Harbor, three hours west of Detroit, have been dealing with poisoned water for at least three years, and experts say that state and local officials have not done enough to help...."

"They are flavoured, colourful and popular with teenagers, but new Australian research is discovering mounting evidence that vapes are also unsafe to use."

"The Canadian government has invoked a decades-old treaty with the United States in its latest bid to save a pipeline that critics warn could be environmentally catastrophic if it were to fail."

"Analysis of the total carbon dioxide emissions of countries since 1850 has revealed the nations with the greatest historical responsibility for the climate emergency. But six of the top 10 have yet to make ambitious new pledges to cut their emissions before the crucial UN Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November."

"Ever since a pipeline failure caused at least 126,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Pacific Ocean, threatening a fragile coastal ecosystem and forcing some of Southern California’s most popular beaches to close, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been scrutinizing satellite imagery to track the oil’s spread."

"There have been 53 oil spills in Venezuela this year through September, most of them concentrated on the Caribbean coast where massive government oil refineries operate with little environmental oversight."

"Officials investigating one of California’s largest recent oil spills are looking into whether a ship’s anchor may have struck an oil pipeline on the ocean floor, causing heavy crude to leak into coastal waters and foul beaches, authorities said Monday."

"Crews on the water and on shore worked feverishly Sunday to limit environmental damage from one of the largest oil spills in recent California history, caused by a suspected leak in an underwater pipeline that fouled the sands of famed Huntington Beach and could keep the beaches there closed for weeks or longer."