"At a virtual public comment hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, a long line of environmental advocates voiced strong opposition to proposed new regulations weakening requirements that utilities must follow in cleaning up toxic coal ash residue at hundreds of sites across the country at which coal was burned to produce electricity."

"At the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission headquarters in Virginia, staff knew their crumbling asphalt parking lot was in desperate need of repair. But instead of replacing the lot with more dark blacktop, the group chose an alternative."

"Pope Leo XIV on Saturday greeted one by one families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia."

"A 35-page booklet distributed in a public meeting by the Tennessee Valley Authority about coal ash is filled with “lies” and misleading information, according to coal ash researchers."

"Wherever they turn, residents in and around Santa Fe Springs, California, contend with toxic hazards." "Proposed hazardous waste oversight changes are years behind schedule and fail to account for a community’s health risks from pollution, environmental groups warn."

"Indigenous organizations from across the Amazon and Latin America sent a letter Monday to the United Nations warning that organized crime — including illegal mining, drug trafficking and logging — is driving violence and accelerating environmental destruction in rainforest communities. However, they urged governments to avoid heavily militarized responses in Indigenous territories."

"Legislation that would reduce plastic waste in New York is advancing in the state Legislature amid a contentious debate over chemical recycling." "Environmentalists and some state lawmakers say the process does more harm than good. Plastics producers are pushing back."

"Earlier this year, a proposal from the New Hampshire House sought to pause the practice of applying PFAS-containing sewage sludge to farmland in New Hampshire. But over the course of multiple packed hearings and after a handful of amendments, the bill’s provisions have changed shape, sparking concern among some early supporters."

"The U.S. Geological Survey announced a massive lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains, large enough to replace years of imports of the mineral." "While the figure is an official USGS estimate, extracting the mineral poses major technical and environmental challenges."

"One of the world's largest sources of climate-warming methane gas is a landfill protruding from hills on the outskirts of Chile's capital of Santiago, a recent study by the UN environment agency shows."