"CHESTER, W.Va. -- The ground here is leaking. Several neighbors have moved away to escape seeps coming out of the hillside. They say the leaks have dampened their backyards and infested their homes with mold. ..."
Do electoral politics and industry lobbying sometimes trump science when it comes to protecting people's health? In an unusual admission, a federal appeals court rules "Yes." And EPA agrees.
"An appeals court is siding with environmental groups that had challenged Environmental Protection Agency regulations on soot as too weak.
The three-judge panel ruled Friday that the EPA regulated soot of a certain size under weaker cleanup requirements than it should have.
Here are SEJ's past supporters and funders.
"Pennsylvania is considering new air pollution limits for diesel- and natural gas-powered engines used in Marcellus Shale development that are stricter than those that exist now but, according to eight environmental groups, not nearly as tough as they could and should be."
"The operator of three coal-fired power plants in Maryland has agreed to pay a total of $2.2 million in penalties and fix long-standing pollution problems at the landfills in Southern Maryland and Montgomery County where it disposes of the ash from those plants, according to court documents."
"GENEVA — Delegates from more than 130 nations began a final round of negotiations on Sunday that are expected to lead to the creation of the first legally binding international treaty to reduce mercury emissions."
"Some Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers — Del. Glen Glass of Harford County included — are convinced that they don't want a smart meter wirelessly sending data about their energy usage day in and out."
"BEIJING — One Friday more than two years ago, an air-quality monitoring device atop the United States Embassy in Beijing recorded data so horrifying that someone in the embassy called the level of pollution 'Crazy Bad' in an infamous Twitter post. That day the Air Quality Index, which uses standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, had crept above 500, which was supposed to be the top of the scale."
KETTLEMAN CITY -- Maria Saucedo cried as she spoke of the two babies she has lost in Kettleman City -- one to birth defects and the other in a miscarriage. There's no proof, but she blames the toxic landscape surrounding her town. She and others who have suffered in Kettleman City say they live in a nasty soup of pollution. They make a compelling case."
"The world could avoid much of the damaging effects of climate change this century if greenhouse gas emissions are curbed more sharply, research showed on Sunday."
