Incinerators — there may be fewer of them these days, but it’s likely there’s still one near you and it’s probably polluting the air. How a cheap method to make garbage go away now has become a problem of its own, one that often sparks debates over environmental justice. This week’s Tipsheet has a quick rundown on incinerator regulation, outlines key problem areas and offers resources for reporting your own local incinerator story.
"To Sehroon Khan, a scientist at the Kunming Institute of Botany in the province of Yunnan, China, exploring a new garbage dump is kind of like going to the grocery store. “You know that if you go to a vegetable market, you can find all types of vegetables easily,” Khan says. “If you go to a garbage or dumping site where there are many plastic wastes, there must be a microorganism that can degrade it.”
"The Trump administration might be weakening the case for future climate change policy by removing an important metric that lowers the cost of reducing carbon: simultaneous cuts to conventional air pollution."
"3 promising new technologies could help send storm water to taps in thirsty cities".
"When it comes to leadership in environmental organizations, key positions are still held by white men."
"Environmentalists are going on offense against President Trump's latest pick to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, signaling that another bruising confirmation fight looms in the weeks ahead."
"A federal court Friday upheld the massive national monument former President Obama created off of the New England coast in the Atlantic Ocean."
"An earthquake hit northern Haiti late on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and sparking a scramble by rescue agencies to help residents of the worst-hit towns in the impoverished Caribbean country."
"Robert Bilott, who successfully sued DuPont over PFOA, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of everyone in the U.S. who has PFAS chemicals in their blood."
"Tropical Storm Michael is on track to hit the Florida Panhandle midweek as a Category 2 hurricane packing 100 miles per hour (160 kmh) or stronger winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said early Monday in an advisory."
