Tag Archives: pollution

The New York Times reports: The attorney general of California, Rob Bonta, sued Exxon Mobil on Monday alleging that the oil giant carried out a “decades-long campaign of deception” that overhyped the promise of recycling and spawned a plastic pollution crisis. The suit, filed in superior court in San Francisco, argued that people were more likely to buy single-use plastics …

Courthouse News reports: Fossil fuel industry groups and over two dozen Republican-led states on Friday asked the Supreme Court to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions regulations for power plants. In hopes of ushering in climate-friendly energy alternatives, the Biden administration’s rule would force fossil fuel power plants into retirement, West Virginia said. Joined by 24 other states, the Mountain …

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court temporarily put on hold on Thursday an Environmental Protection Agency plan to curtail air pollution that drifts across state lines, dealing another blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to protect the environment. The ruling followed recent decisions chipping away at the agency’s authority to address climate change and water pollution. The ruling …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: Two teens are facing felony charges after a viral video showing boaters dumping trash in the ocean off Boca Raton sparked outrage, officials said Friday. The teens — 15 and 16 years old — turned themselves in to police Friday, FWC officials said. The viral video, which was posted on the Instagram account Wavy Boats, shows …

CBS News reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate certain wetlands that qualify as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, curbing what has long been seen as a key tool to protect waterways from pollution. The high court ruled against the agency in a long-running dispute with Idaho landowners …

The Sacramento Bee reports: California and 22 other states sued the Trump administration Friday over the federal government’s revocation of California’s authority to impose stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars. The suit came a day after federal officials formally revoked California’s powers under the federal Clean Air Act. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and other state …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration is barring California from setting its own auto emissions standards, setting up a fresh struggle over the president’s push to unravel restrictions on businesses. In tweets announcing the move, the president said the White House “is revoking” a federal waiver that allowed the state to craft its own rules …

The Washington Post reports: Weakening the Obama-era water rule had been a central campaign pledge for Mr. Trump, who characterized it as a federal land-grab that impinged on the rights of farmers, rural landowners and real estate developers to use their property as they see fit. Environmentalists say Mr. Trump’s push to loosen rules on clean water regulations represents an …

Bloomberg reports: The Trump administration is preparing a plan to strip California’s authority to set tougher auto efficiency regulations than the federal government, even while agencies continue finalizing a rollback of national standards, according to a person familiar with the matter. The matter is still under consideration and no final decision to proceed has been made but is expected in …

The Associated Press reports: It could be lights out for tiny toiletries. Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, said Wednesday it will eliminate small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel from its hotel rooms worldwide by December 2020. They’ll be replaced with larger bottles or wall-mounted dispensers, depending on the hotel. The move follows a similar announcement …

The Associated Press reports: The fight to save the seas from plastic waste may mean the end for mini bottles of shampoo and other toiletries that hotel guests love to stuff into their luggage. The owner of Holiday Inn and InterContinental Hotels says Tuesday that its nearly 843,000 guest rooms are switching to bulk-size bathroom amenities as part of an …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration on Wednesday finalized a package of new rules to replace the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama’s signature effort to reduce planet-warming emissions from coal plants. The new measure, known as the Affordable Clean Energy rule, will very likely prompt a flurry of legal challenges from environmental groups that could have …

Agence France-Presse reports: Canada will ban single-use plastics from 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, declaring it a “global challenge” to phase out the bottles, straws and plastic bags clogging the world’s oceans. “I am very pleased to announce that as early as 2021 Canada will ban harmful, single-use plastics from coast to coast,” Trudeau said, arguing Canada has …

The Associated Press reports: Almost every country in the world has agreed on a legally binding framework for reducing polluting plastic waste, with the United States a notable exception, United Nations environmental officials said Friday. An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged at the end of a two-week meeting of U.N.-backed conventions on plastic waste and …

USA Today reports: New York appears poised to ban single-use plastic shopping bags and mandate a small fee for paper bags, with a final deal expected to be part of a $175 billion state budget due Sunday. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, told reporters Wednesday he expects a ban on plastic bags to be part of the final budget. But …

The Associated Press reports: The Environmental Protection Agency hit a 30-year low in 2018 in the number of pollution cases it referred for criminal prosecution, Justice Department data show. EPA said in a statement that it is directing “its resources to the most significant and impactful cases.” But the 166 cases referred for prosecution in the last fiscal year is …

Some of the headlines today are saying “Nonstick Frying Pans Are Shrinking Your Penis.” Not exactly, as you’ll see below. Men’s Health reports: According to new research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the common class of chemicals Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs), typically used in coating of nonstick cookware, can affect the size of your penis and the …

Axios reports: The Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce Thursday it is weakening an Obama-era rule that had required costly technology capturing carbon dioxide emissions on new coal plants, according to multiple people familiar with the news. This is the latest regulatory rollback effort by President Trump in his attempt to revive America’s coal industry that’s declining in the …

Reuters reports: A federal appeals court on Monday upheld Volkswagen’s $10.03 billion settlement with the owners of nearly 500,000 polluting diesel vehicles announced in 2016. The three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said, in dismissing a number of objections to the settlement, that it “delivered tangible, substantial benefits to class members, seemingly the equivalent of — …

Reuters reports: Paris authorities plan to banish all petrol and diesel-fueled cars from the world’s most visited city by 2030, Paris City Hall said on Thursday. The move marks an acceleration in plans to wean the country off gas-guzzlers and switch to electric vehicles in a city often obliged to impose temporary bans due to surges in particle pollution in …