The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a new plan on Monday to deal with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances that are linked to serious health risks, including liver damage, birth defects and cancer.
Nearly 30,000 people are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to end the dumping of PFAS chemicals, and thousands more are telling the agency to dramatically reduce pollution from slaughterhouses. Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund submitted comments from these individuals to the EPA Thursday as the agency considers updating pollution control standards, which is required by the Clean Water Act. The groups are also calling on the EPA to strengthen standards for other industrial sources -- including power plants and refineries.
Every year, the average American throws out nearly 1,800 pounds of trash. On Thursday, PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research & Policy Center, Frontier Group and Community Action Works released a new report, Trash in America: Moving from destructive consumption towards a zero-waste system. The report examines America’s waste problem and recommends 10 steps the United States should take to build a “zero waste” economy.
“For too long a labyrinth of roads, fences and sprawl has penned animals into smaller and smaller habitats,” said Wendy Wendlandt, president of Environment America Research & Policy Center. “The key now is to connect these small habitat ‘islands’ through corridors. Doing so can give wildlife the space they need to hunt, mate and migrate.”
With millions of Americans returning to the beach this summer, a new report warns that more work is needed to ensure that all waters are safe for swimming.
Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.
