LATEST INSIGHTS

View of world from 40000 feet, clouds and blue sea.
EPA
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The Good, the Bad, the Ozone

Pop quiz: What is the naturally occurring gas that forms a life-sustaining, protective barrier when in the Earth’s stratosphere (15-30km above the surface), blocking harmful ultra-violet radiation reaching the planet from the sun?

Ozone!

Round two: What is the noxious gas that can cause wheezing, shortness of breath, and even permanent lung damage when produced by low-to-the ground industrial pollution?

Also, Ozone!

Yes, that same gas that we were all motivated and mobilized to restore into the sky back in the 80’s and 90’s has …

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People are holding banner signs while they are going to a demonstration against climate change
Emerging Issues / Montana
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Montana Ruling May Preface Nationwide Increase in Judicial Environmental Mandates

In what could be the start of a national trend, a state court judge recently ruled that Montana’s government must do more to protect the state and its residents from climate change. 

State District Judge Kathy Seeley, citing a state constitutional right to a clean environment, ruled in favor of a group of youth plaintiffs and invalidated a pair of laws prohibiting state agencies from considering the effects of greenhouse-gas emissions. According to Judge Seeley, “[t]he degradation to Montana’s environment, and the resulting harm to Plaintiffs, …

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Massive California Wild Fire forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes, wildfires spreading rapidly, escaping to save their lives, destroyed silhouette, natural calamity
Wildfires
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The Un-wilding of Wildfires: How We Have Added Fuel to the Flames

In their purest form, natural wildfires, most commonly caused by lightning strikes or volcanic activity, are a necessary part of the lifecycle in most ecosystems. They provide a number of important ecological benefits, such as reducing dead vegetation, stimulating new growth, and improving wildlife habitat. Indeed, a variety of plant and animal species depend on wildfires for their very survival.

However, in recent years, numerous countries, including the United States, have experienced significant wildfires that have moved far beyond these ecological benefits, leaving entire communities …

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Close up side shot of microplastics lay on people hand.Concept of water pollution and global warming.
Microplastics
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Latest Microplastics Finding: Human Heart Tissue

Microplastics have been detected in human lungs and placentas, stool and blood, and the latest finding: heart tissue. In a pilot study published in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers studied 15 patients, ranging in age from 41 to 75, who underwent heart surgery at the Beijing Anzhen Hospital in China. Through the use of laser-direct infrared chemical imaging, researchers discovered nine types of microplastics were found across five types of tissue, with the largest measuring 469 micrometers in diameter. These included polypropylene (used in food …

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EPA Offices, Washington DC
Emerging Issues / EPA
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FDA to EPA: Pump the Brakes on New EtO Rules During Supply Chain Shortage

With COVID diagnoses spiking across the United States this summer, we cannot yet claim that the pandemic is behind us. In fact, we are still experiencing residual medical device and equipment shortages, which has caused medical providers to spend billions on alternative sterile medical products and even implementing rations in some cases. Complicating the issue is the fact that, typically, only a handful of manufacturers and suppliers distribute these life-saving products, so alternatives can be difficult to procure. Shortages appear to be endangering other …

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Three hydro- fracking derricks drilling natural gas on a plain
California
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California Supreme Court Holds Local Ordinance Banning Oil and Gas Drilling Preempted by State Law

Last week, the California Supreme Court, in a rare unanimous ruling, struck down a Monterey County voter-approved local initiative that would have banned oil and gas drilling and imposed severe restrictions on oil and gas development in the county. In the court’s view, the local ordinance is preempted by state law and was struck down. The decision came in the case of Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. County of Monterey, S271869.

By way of background, back in 2016, Project Monterey Club, a local environmental …

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Gas pipeline construction in Greece.
Pipeline
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Congress Streamlined the Pipeline Construction by Limiting Court’s Jurisdiction

On July 27, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a three sentence order that vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s orders staying the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The pipeline is being built through Virginia and West Virginia and is being constructed to provide additional natural gas for winter in the South and Mid-Atlantic. Several environmental groups oppose this pipeline because they allege that endangered fish species would be harmed by the construction.   

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, Pub.L.No. 118-5, 137 …

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Filling glass of water from the tap
PFAS
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U.S. Geological Survey Study Warns 45 Percent of Tap Water in United States Could Contain PFAS

Motivated by “the quality and sustainability of drinking-water” due to rising water demand concerns in the United States, as well as “increasing contamination of drinking-water resources, and a growing understanding of potential human-health consequences associated with exposures to contaminants,” the U.S. Geological Survey recently conducted a study on the prevalence of PFAS in tap water.  

To better understand human exposure to PFAS at the point-of-use, the authors conducted a standardized analytical survey of PFAS nationally.

“The overall objectives of the study were to (1) directly …

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greenhouse-gas-emissions
Emissions / EPA
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Environmental Protection Agency Proposes New Air Emissions Reporting Requirements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced July 25 proposed updates to its Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR), including a proposal to require the reporting of hazardous air pollutants, or “air toxics” (substances known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects). This update seeks to provide the EPA with accessible data allowing it to identify locations in need of solutions for people exposed to harmful air pollution, which communities can use to understand sources of air pollution that may be affecting them ­– …

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Train Arriving at New York Subway Station
Emerging Issues / New Jersey
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New Jersey Trying to Throttle NY Congestion Pricing

No one can dispute that the New York subway system, operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was a marvel of 20th century engineering. With a total of about 850 miles of track, more than 450 stations in operation, and moving around 6 million people per day, it is no wonder it remains the busiest mass-transit system in the western world. Then again, no one would confuse the MTA for its worldly counterparts in, say, London or Japan, where state-of-the-art train cars are run on …

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