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Every pre-COVID school day, approximately 480,000 school buses carry more than 25 million children to school across the United States. Most of them run on diesel fuel and spew pollution that causes cancer, triggers asthma attacks and makes climate change worse. Indeed, of the over 40,000 school buses registered in the U.S. in 2019, only …

EDF Statement from Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

Recently, there has been a great deal of interest and even excitement about how seaweed might be able to help save us from climate change. I appreciate the newfound exuberance for seaweed, and wholeheartedly agree that seaweeds do a lot for society and the planet. A similar awakening to the wonders of seaweed occurred in …

By proactively investing in natural infrastructure and conservation priorities, Congress can begin to build protections for the coastal ecosystems that help protect communities, while creating jobs and reducing the costs of future disasters. The post 3 actions Congress can take now to build more resilient coasts first appeared on Growing Returns.

EDF Statement from Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

More than 50 advocacy organizations today called on leaders in Congress to make significant investments to accelerate the transition to a just 100% clean economy as part of an economic recovery

The godmother of the environmental justice movement speaks out

Earlier this month, McDonald’s became the latest major food company to announce a commitment to remove all added fluorinated chemicals from its food packaging that is served to customers. As the world’s largest fast food restaurant chain, McDonald’s new global commitment is a vital step towards improving food safety and protecting consumer health. McDonald’s announcement …

The unlikely leader of IKEA's EV revolution

A National Geographic photographer captures the emotional impacts of climate change

As stakeholder demand for climate leadership surges and as the business benefits of climate action become clear, executives are increasingly embracing net zero by 2050 as the new business imperative. This means setting net zero by 2050 goals, and turning these pledges into progress. As the Transform to Net Zero initiative stated in its position …

The urgency for companies to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles is underscored as demand for e-commerce, and with it last-mile deliveries, soars. The result: more fossil-fuel based trucks on the road that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions worsening air pollution. Companies are setting ambitious climate goals, and zero-emissions shipping will be critical for hitting …

A trip from Houston to Washington, D.C., was the exclamation point at the end of the first year of EDF’s Environmental Youth Council program. Through the program, students attending Pasadena Memorial High School, Galena Park High School and Raul Yzaguirre School for Success — all located on the east side of Houston near the heavy …

Evelyn Garcia has had asthma for as long as she can remember. And she has always been aware of the effect the problematic air quality near her Pasadena, Texas, home has on her and others who have grown up in the area. The March 2019 fires at Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) in Deer Park caused …

Ananya Roy, Senior Health Scientist; Rachel Fullmer, Senior Attorney; Jeremy Proville, Director; Grace Tee Lewis, Health Scientist The Trump administration’s disregard for science has been clear in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s not the only health threat they’re making worse by ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence. For three years the administration has systematically …

Three groundwater bills Arizona lawmakers should pass to ensure a secure future for rural communities. The post How to advance water security for Arizona? These 3 bills are a good start. first appeared on Growing Returns.

Today we celebrate World Food Day — the annual event that promotes global awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure healthy diets for all. But unique to this year is the coronavirus pandemic, which has created new and extraordinary challenges for the food and nutrition security of …

In response to growing alarm regarding the effects of climate change on fisheries, the government of Canada demonstrated valuable global leadership recently. In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans hosted an international expert workshop to document practices that can be taken to help fisheries …

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. In recent weeks EPA has issued for public comment significant modifications to its draft risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act for two chemicals:  Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) and 1,4-dioxane.  Because EPA initially provided relatively brief comment periods on the modifications, both were subject to requests for …

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Yesterday EDF submitted comments on a supplement to EPA’s 1,4-dioxane risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which the agency issued a scant three weeks ago. This solvent is a likely human carcinogen that contaminates drinking water nationwide and is present in millions of consumer products.

Tom Neltner, J.D., is Chemicals Policy Director. In January 2017, the outgoing Obama Administration undertook a criminal investigation of Home Depot for alleged violations of the Lead-Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a proposed civil consent decree with Home Depot committing the company to establishing a comprehensive …

Tom Neltner, J.D. is the Chemicals Policy Director. In October 2019, we reported finding canned foods had a surprising number of samples with lead based on the Food and Drug Administration’s testing results. Almost half of the 242 samples had detectable lead, including a staggering 98% of 70 canned fruit samples. We suspect that the …

Tom Neltner, J.D. is the Chemicals Policy Director. Many people may not be aware that lead is still added to brass and bronze used to make drinking water faucets and food equipment like coffee brewers and more. This is problematic because lead can leach into the water and beverages from the equipment – putting consumers …

Tom Neltner, J.D. is the Chemicals Policy Director This is the first in a series of blogs evaluating various aspects of EPA’s December 2020 revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) and what they may mean for accelerating lead service line (LSL) replacements. The blogs cover: 1) the new service line inventory; 2) three …

Decision epitomizes administration’s disdain for public health protection (Washington, DC – January 14, 2021) Tomorrow, the Trump EPA will announce the formal withdrawal of proposed bans on high-risk uses of the dangerous chemicals methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and N-methylpyrrolidone. By taking this action, the Trump EPA seeks to prevent the new administration from finalizing any of these bans without …