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☆ The World’s Largest Salmon Fishery Is in Danger - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Carl Safina | Joel Reynolds | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Dunleavy’s direction, the state bypassed the normal appeals process by going directly to the United States Supreme Court to challenge the E.P.A. It’s no mystery why: Since last year, the Supreme Court has gut-punched the E.P.A. In fact, a recent poll found that 74 percent of Alaska’s voters are still concerned that the E.P.A.’s rejection of the project won’t do enough to protect the Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining. The initial petitions that led to the E.P.A.’s veto were filed by six Bristol Bay tribes and later joined by a consortium of other federally recognized tribes. Last summer alone, this single fishery produced a record run of nearly 80 million fish, surpassing a succession of annual record runs year after year.

Persons: Dunleavy, ’, ” Alannah Hurley, “ Organizations: Gov, United States, Bristol, Natural Resources Defense Council, “, United Locations: Bristol, United Tribes, Bristol Bay

☆ New Top Cop at the E.P.A. Aims to Get Enforcement Back on Track
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Lisa Friedman | More About Lisa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And last month, the E.P.A. In his first interview since his July 20 confirmation, Mr. Uhlmann said he was intent on increasing the number of administrative actions as well as the criminal and civil cases that the E.P.A. brings for violations of environmental law. intends to announce enforcement priorities, with a new emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions. The agency said it would focus on making sure that oil and gas wells, landfills and other facilities did not leak methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Persons: Uhlmann, ” Organizations: University of Michigan Law School Locations: Louisiana, E.P.A, America, United States

☆ ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Everywhere. What Are They Doing to Us?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Kim Tingley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

What’s in your tap water?” (If the drinking water is contaminated, formula mixed with it will be, too.) “But they feel heard.”Among the groups most likely to be exposed to PFAS in their drinking water are those in low-income communities or who live near military or industrial sites. determined that two kinds of PFAS — PFOS and PFOA — are “likely to be carcinogenic to humans” and proposed a goal of removing them almost entirely from public drinking water. The problem of PFAS pollution goes beyond drinking water: The Faroe Islands demonstrate as much. One afternoon this spring, Grandjean, Weihe and I sat around the kitchen table in Weihe’s clinic.

Persons: ” Elizabeth Friedman, don’t, ”, Friedman, he’d, Irving Selikoff, Selikoff, Grandjean, Selikoff’s, ” Grandjean, “ Organizations: Children’s Mercy, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, DuPont, Chermours, Toxic, European Chemicals Agency, European Union, Sinai Locations: Children’s Mercy Kansas, Missouri, U.S, United States, Paterson , N.J

☆ His Recycling Symbol Is Everywhere. The E.P.A. Says It Shouldn’t Be.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Chang Che | More About Chang Che | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

said in December that it was seeking public comment on changes to its environmental advertising and labeling regulations, known as the Green Guides. Last revised in 2012, the guides are meant to protect consumers from companies that make false claims about their efforts to protect the environment. Since then, the problem of how to handle plastic waste has intensified. said, was a 2018 policy shift in China, which used to take millions of tons of American plastic waste. They look at the stuff that they bought from the store, they see recycling symbols on it and they put it in the recycling bin.”

Persons: John Hocevar, “ I’ve, Mr, Hocevar, ” Organizations: Greenpeace, Green Guides, Greenpeace U.S.A Locations: United States, China

☆ Biden Administration Moves to Tighten Fuel Economy Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Coral Davenport | More About Coral Davenport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

That would be the equivalent of taking more than 233 million vehicles off the road from 2022 through 2050. “Better vehicle fuel efficiency means more money in Americans’ pockets and stronger energy security for the entire nation,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. The administration is aiming to ensure that two-thirds of all new passenger cars sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032, up from just 5.8 percent last year. Both agencies will take public comment on the rules, and then go back to the drawing board before issuing the final, legally enforceable rules next year. But, should a Republican win the White House in 2024, the new president could begin the legal process of rolling back the rules.

Persons: Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s, ”, Michael Gerrard Organizations: Transportation Department, Environmental Protection Agency, United, Columbia University, Transportation, Republican, White House Locations: United States

☆ Water Bills Are Rising. Here’s What to Do About It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Ann Carrns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many water districts serve growing populations, leading to higher costs for treatment and distribution. And some water districts are having to replace systems that date to the post-World War II era, said Veronica Blette, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, which helps consumers and businesses find ways to use less water. That helps, but households can use at least 20 percent less water by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances, the E.P.A. Bathrooms are a good place to start because they may account for more than half the water that families use indoors. The latest toilets use just over a gallon of water per flush, or even less, compared with several gallons for older models.

Persons: Veronica Blette, ” Ms, Blette, “

☆ E.P.A. Proposes Tighter Limits on Lead Dust in Homes and Child Care Facilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Coral Davenport | More About Coral Davenport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint in homes and child care facilities built before 1978 to try to eliminate exposure to lead, which can damage the brain and nervous system, particularly in children. If finalized, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the regulation would reduce exposure to lead for as many as 500,000 young children per year. “There is no safe level of lead,” said Michal Freedhoff, the Environmental Protection Agency’s assistant administrator for the office of Chemical Safety and Pollution. “Even low levels are detrimental to children’s health, and this proposal would bring us closer to eradicating lead-based paint hazards from homes and child care facilities across the U.S. once and for all.”The new limits could require millions of homeowners and hundreds of thousands of child care facilities to check for dust and pay for abatement. “It dramatically increases the number of facilities that could be required to inspect and remediate lead paint hazards,” Ms. Feedhoff said.

Persons: Biden, ”, Michal Freedhoff, Ms, Feedhoff Organizations: Environmental, Agency, Chemical Safety Locations: U.S

☆ Auto-Industry Group Assails Biden’s Plan to Electrify America’s Cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Coral Davenport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But last year, all-electric vehicles accounted for just 5.8 percent of new cars sold in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency published its proposed rule earlier this spring and it is in the process of soliciting public comments ahead of finalizing and implementing the rule by the first half of next year. But his administration took the auto industry by surprise this spring with the proposed rule that went considerably further. Biden administration regulators are expected to weigh public comments before revising and finalizing proposals. In a blog post, John Bozzella, the president of the group, suggested that the Biden administration include plug-in hybrid vehicles in its target, rather than pushing for such rapid adoption of all-electric vehicles.

Persons: Biden, Barack Obama, Donald J, Trump, John Bozzella Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, Obama, Biden, White Locations: United States, Michigan, Ohio, Washington

daily record (2003) 35: E.P.A.’s safe daily levels 377: Wednesday in New York City Source: New York City Community Air Survey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Data shows hourly concentrations of PM2.5 particles, measured in micrograms per cubic meter, for seven N.Y.C. The air in New York City on Wednesday wasn’t just bad by the city’s standards. It was historically bad, even compared with places around the world that generally experience much more air pollution. Wednesday’s daily average was the highest since recording in New York began in 1999. Wednesday’s pollution, of course, was not caused by a power plant or vehicles, but by major wildfires in Canada, mostly in Quebec.

Persons: San Francisco —, Eric James, James Organizations: New York City, New York City Community Air Survey, New York State Department of Environmental, Records, Protection Agency, state’s Department of Environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Colorado, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Administration Locations: New York, Portland ,, San Francisco, New York City, Canada, Northern California, Quebec, North America

☆ Opinion | A High Court Held in Low Esteem
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Who Can Rein In the Supreme Court?” (editorial, May 28):Of course there should be a meaningful and enforceable ethics code for Supreme Court justices, but this is not the route to establishing public legitimacy for the institution. Not when the court has been on a mission to eviscerate the Voting Rights Act, and with it democracy itself. The only way for the court to gain the public trust is for it to begin to consistently act in the public interest. Perhaps a mandatory retirement age of 70 for all federal judges, including the justices, would result in more significant turnover on the court. Turnover could also result if we limited justices to 12-year terms, with an additional 12 years allowable upon congressional approval.

Persons: Rein, Jonathan Markovitz Organizations: Supreme Locations: Jonathan Markovitz San Diego

☆ Opinion | Supremely Arrogant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Maureen Dowd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is still great. It’s the greatest gathering of grievances we’ve ever seen on the high court. The woe-is-me bloc of conservative male justices is obsessed with who has wronged them. It might be an opportune time to hire a Supreme shrink so these resentful men can get some much-needed therapy and stop working out their issues from the bench. that did not fit,” according to a classmate who talked to The New York Times.

☆ E.P.A. to Propose First Controls on Greenhouse Gases From Power Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Coral Davenport | Lisa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In releasing a climate rule for power plants, Mr. Biden hopes to succeed where his former boss, President Barack Obama, failed. had the authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants but in a limited way. Lastly, the new law provides tax credits to power plant operators that capture their carbon, making the technology more financially feasible. Instead of creating one limit that all power plants must comply with, the E.P.A. “We are eager to review the E.P.A.’s new proposed rule on power plants, and we’ll be ready once again to lead the charge in the fight against federal overreach,” he said in a statement.

☆ After Too Much Rain, Too Little Gas in South Florida’s Stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Christine Hauser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Government agencies have intervened to try to address a severe gasoline shortage in Florida, where last week’s torrential rain storms and floods damaged critical infrastructure and left gas stations in the state’s southeast without fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency has stepped in to help Florida increase gasoline supplies, while the state was delivering fuel directly to the areas where the shortage is most acute. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing on Thursday that the E.P.A. was “quickly processing” a request from Florida “to expand the available supply of gas in the region” and that it was ready to provide additional help if requested. “We are closely monitoring the situation in Florida right now,” she said, adding that the Biden administration had “been in touch with the state to offer assistance.”

☆ 2 companies were fined $325,000 after the EPA said they falsely marketed a pesticide as a weapon against COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zoono USA and Zoono Holdings were collectively fined $325,000. The EPA has reached settlements with the two companies: Zoono USA will pay a $205,000 civil penalty and Zoono Holdings will pay $120,000. Zoono USA and Zoono Holdings are owned by the New Zealand company Zoono Group. "Zoono Holdings takes regulatory responsibilities very seriously and as soon as Zoono Holdings received notification from the E.P.A. Zoono Group, Zoono USA, and United Airlines didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Wildfires Are Intensifying. Here’s How to Protect Your Health.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-01 | by ( Molly Peterson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Wildfire smoke is “like tobacco smoke without the nicotine,” one expert said. Here are some of the most common questions about the health risks of wildfire smoke, and how to guard against them. PurpleAir can also offer a more local picture of air quality, as can other products and apps, like IQAir and BreezoMeter. Show moreAdvertisement Continue reading the main storyWhat else can I do to limit smoke pollution inside my home? But making sure you’re prepared for the hazards of wildfire smoke before a fire occurs can help, Dr. Cooper said.

Persons: ”, Mary Prunicki, Sean, John Balmes, Christian Monterrosa, Keith Bein, Davis, you’re, Prunicki, That’s, Balmes, Robin Cooper, Dr, Cooper Organizations: Getty, Parker Center for Allergy, Asthma Research, Stanford University, University of California, The New York Times, Air Quality Research, Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control, American Lung Association Locations: campfires, Butte County, Calif, San Francisco, California, Bay

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