"EPA is dropping plans to issue a final version this year of its divisive plan to limit the agency's use of scientific studies in crafting major new regulations, Administrator Andrew Wheeler indicated at a congressional hearing this morning [Thursday]."

"The number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the past half-century, scientists find."

"Contaminated tap water causes 100,000 cancer cases in the US over a lifetime, according to a new study from scientists with the Environmental Working Group."

"From New York City to coastal California, a poison-producing living slime is overtaking waterways and shorelines, killing pets, ravaging tourism markets and making its way into local drinking water. So far this year, algae has been implicated in dog deaths and illness in California, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas. In August, toxic algae overtook Lake Erie, growing to 620 square miles."

"U.S. President Donald Trump and the state of California went to war on Wednesday over who should set the standards in the United States for vehicle emissions and electric cars, foreshadowing a legal battle over environmental policy issues that will affect the auto industry and consumers."

"One is a senior-level retiree from a power company that has battled stricter environmental regulations for decades. Two are industry consultants who helped co-author a 2015 paper questioning the approach that led EPA to tighten its national ozone standards later that year. A fourth, on the advisory board of a conservative nonprofit, questions evidence of the long-term health risks posed by exposure to fine particulates."

"A judge on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of South Dakota’s new “riot-boosting” law, which passed earlier this year to deter pipeline protests. The law threatens heavy penalties for any person or group that encourages a “riot,” which is defined broadly enough to include many forms of public protest."

"When career EPA enforcement staffers accused an Indiana whiskey distillery of emitting massive quantities of smog-forming pollution, Patrice Douglas knew just who to call."

"The public and private sectors are rapidly picking up efforts to ramp up carbon farming."

"At a meeting of the Senate climate crisis task force on Tuesday, lawmakers praised a group of young activists for their leadership, their gumption and their display of wisdom far beyond their years. They then asked the teens for advice on how Congress might combat one of the most urgent and politically contentious threats confronting world leaders: climate change."