Report: U.S. plants release a toxic herbicide into the air that more than 70 countries have banned

Waynesboro, Mississippi, in Wayne County is home to a 
 paraquat processing facility. (Photo by D. Nolan, The Lens)

Despite being banned in more than 70 countries, the toxic herbicide paraquat, which has been linked to Parkinson's disease, is regularly released into the air from facilities in the southern U.S., reports Delaney Nolan of The Lens. Currently, Parkinson's is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the world.

The number of Parkinson's disease deaths in rural Wayne County, Mississippi, serves as an example. The county is home to the largest paraquat-emitting facility in the U.S., and was ranked in the top 7% for national Parkinson's deaths between 2018 and 2024, Nolan writes.

Although a significant body of research has linked the herbicide to Parkinson's disease deaths among residents living near paraquat plants, farms or golf courses that use it, the herbicide's popularity is growing. Nolan explains, "About 35% of large commercial farms in the U.S. now use paraquat to kill weeds and dry up crops for harvest, often soybean, corn and cotton."

American factories don't directly produce paraquat; they import paraquat concentrate. Oftentimes, the imported concentrate is "trucked up along the Mississippi River, reformulated and packaged at a [U.S.] facility," Nolan explains. And while paraquat is considered a toxic chemical in the U.S., it is not "a federally regulated air pollutant – states have the authority to regulate it but generally do not set maximum emissions standards."

A "mass of research, including a rigorous 2024 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, has repeatedly affirmed the dangers of paraquat," Nolan adds. "When a person inhales paraquat, it travels into the brain, killing the neurons which produce dopamine, which in some people can lead to Parkinson’s. . . . Even people who live near fields where paraquat is sprayed have increased risks of Parkinson’s and thyroid cancer."

Iowa's water is polluted with farming nitrates and pesticides, but a potential solution challenges the 'status quo'

Crop and animal farm runoff has polluted at least
four Iowa rivers. (Adobe Stock photo)

In agriculturally dominated Iowa, what's good for corn producers gets top billing while residents face a deluge of polluted water. "In Iowa, which by some measures has the most polluted water in the U.S., people who advocate for the environment are widely scorned as enemies of farming," reports Peter Waldman of Bloomberg.

In a state where farmers spread copious amounts of pesticides, nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen-rich manure, towns like Remsen, which is surrounded by Iowa corn country, are "saturated with pollution," Waldman writes. "Researchers have linked trace exposures to nitrate in drinking water to cancers, birth defects and thyroid disease. Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the U.S., after Kentucky."

Although concerned citizens, including many farmers, have pushed for fewer pesticides and nitrates, most efforts failed. "The state government has crushed almost every effort to hold farmers and agribusinesses accountable for their increasingly dirty footprint," Waldman explains. Last year, the EPA ordered Iowa to "add parts of four rivers to the state’s list of impaired waters needing cleanup, including the drinking supply for about a fifth of Iowa’s population."

Even with some of the state's drinking water in question, the state complained about the EPA's sanction, which the Trump administration lifted. Waldman reports, "Now even the feds defer to Big Ag, led in Iowa by the industry’s undisputed champion in the state, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation."

Remsen is located in eastern Plymouth County, 
in the heart of Iowa's corn belt. (Adobe Stock photo)

Without support, Remsen's water continued to be polluted. Despite investigations, area wells were allowed to fill with possibly toxic nitrates. "From 2016 to 2020, Remsen’s five-year rate of colorectal cancer, one of the cancers associated with nitrate exposure, was 19% higher than Iowa’s," Waldman adds. "By 2017, the shallow wells that supplied Remsen’s drinking water were so loaded with nitrates they had to be shut down."

Farming without so many nitrates and pesticides is possible. Matt Liebman, a retired agronomy professor at Iowa State, told Waldman, "What it takes to grow food with less pollution isn’t a mystery. . . .But the solution threatens the status quo. You can’t sell as much fertilizer, hybrid seeds or animal feed. For those companies, the solution is the problem.”

Researchers are modifying the DNA of corn seeds to reduce pollution and dependence on fertilizer .

Pivot Bio's microbes help nourish corn seeds in the ground and reduce their need for
chemical fertilizers. The process has a lot of unanswered questions. (Privot Bio graphic)

In a novel approach to stemming agriculture's contribution to climate change, researchers are altering bacterial DNA, so that corn seeds require less chemical fertilizer to thrive, reports Eric Lipton of The New York Times. "Globally, the manufacture, transportation, and use of chemical fertilizer is responsible for pollution with the equivalent planet-warming power of about 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. That’s more than the combined releases from all the coal-burning power plants in the U.S."

Research on genetically modified bacteria that is sprayed on corn seeds and then planted in the U.S. corn belt is ongoing. If successful, it could revolutionize how plantings are nourished throughout their growth cycle while helping reduce carbon emissions. Lipton writes, "Just five years after they were introduced, the seeds are being used on 5% of American corn crops."

The sprayed seeds are produced by Pivot Bio, a California-based company, which "estimates that last year, its treated seeds prevented the release of an estimated 706,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent — comparable to the greenhouse gasses from burning 1.5 million barrels of oil," Lipton reports. "But it’s also producing intense pushback."

The alteration of bacteria and its application to corn seeds has some organic farming groups up in arms and "manufacturers of chemical fertilizer are also raising doubts about the new industry player," Lipton adds. "Pivot’s own advisers concede there are unanswered questions." David Kanter, a Pivot adviser who teaches environmental studies at New York University, told Lipton, "We have rarely created a solution to an environmental problem that doesn’t create other unforeseen consequences down the line."

Meanwhile, other companies are creating their own hubs of fertilizer-replacement research. "The goal is to supplant as much as half the fertilizer used today," Lipton reports. "Companies, including Ginkgo Bioworks and BioConsortia, are developing their own versions. Academics at M.I.T. and other universities are trying to make further advances. . . . At this point, scientists don’t believe they can completely eliminate the need for chemical fertilizer."

Companies aren't the only ones that spread the use of 'forever chemicals;' the U.S. military is also responsible

Firefighting foam was created in the 1960s.
(Adobe Stock photo)

Commercial product companies aren't the only ones to blame for PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," making their way into U.S. soil and drinking water. Through its extensive use of firefighting foam, the U.S. military has also contributed to the slowly degrading and noxious chemicals spreading across the country, reports Sachi Kitajima Mulkey of Grist. "The Department of Defense is among the nation's biggest users of firefighting foam and says 80% of active and decommissioned bases require cleanup."

The Environmental Protection Agency doesn't consider any exposure to PFOA and PFOS, two of the most toxic PFAS, safe. In mid-April, the agency also "designated these two compounds' hazardous substances' under the federal Superfund law, making it easier to force polluters to shoulder the costs of cleaning them up," Mulkey explains. "Meeting these regulations means that almost all of the 715 military sites and surrounding communities under Defense Department investigation for contamination will likely require remediation."

The history of PFAS chemicals dates back to a 1930s lab accident, but their extensive commercial use in products began in the 1950s and 60s. Mulkey reports, "In the 1960s, the Defense Department worked with 3M, one of the largest manufacturers of PFAS chemicals, to develop a foam called AFFF that can extinguish high-temperature fires. The PFAS act as a surfactant, helping the material spread more quickly. By the 1970s, every military base, Navy ship, civilian airport, and fire station regularly used AFFF."

From that point, PFAS chemicals were used in everything from cookware to raincoats to carpets. It would take decades for government agencies and communities to realize that these human-made, fluorine-based chemicals were harmful to animals and humans. Once their harmfulness came to light, another set of problems evolved — how to remove the chemicals from the environment, which research has proven is both expensive and difficult to accomplish.

Today, military sites have some of the most extensive cleanup work. "Congress ordered the department to publish the findings of drinking and groundwater tests on and around bases," Mulkey reports. "Results showed nearly 50 sites with extremely high levels of contamination and hundreds more with levels above what was then the EPA's health advisory. Following further congressional pressure, the military announced plans to implement interim cleanup measures at three dozen locations."

"Nationwide, the Environmental Working Group found unsafe water in wells near 63 military bases in 29 states."

Friday's quick hits: This bot cleans up; sculpture park honors enslaved people; trying weird veggies; camping trip plan

(The Searial Cleaners photo via Route Fifty)

Almost everyone knows what a litterbug is, but what about a litterbot? In Detroit, a litterbot named BeBot "will sift through the sand and suck out trash like cigarette butts, bottles, food wrappers and other small pieces of plastic to help prevent trash from making its way from the Detroit River, which flows between the U.S. and Canada, into Lake Erie," reports Kaitlyn Levinson of Route Fifty. "The robot is roughly the size of a riding lawn mower and weighs more than 1,300 pounds. It uses a metal grate to sift through the sand and pick up trash as it rolls along beachfronts at about two miles per hour. "

Bernie Sanders of Vermont isn't the only one investigating 4-day work weeks. Educators in Pennsylvania now have the option of a 4-day school week. "Legislation signed into law in December amended the Pennsylvania School Code to eliminate the requirement for a minimum 180 school days, providing 900 or more instruction hours each academic year," reports Valerie Myers of The Erie Times. "Districts now can choose between 180 school days and hourly instruction requirements: 900 for elementary students and 990 for secondary students." Despite the option, a lot of school administrators don't feel ready to sign up.

The Legacy Sites photo

How can Americans confront slavery's part in our national history? A park in Alabama is memorializing this past with art. "Montgomery, Alabama -- once a major trafficking port for enslaved people – opened its new Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, which features bronze sculptures and historical artifacts that highlight what life was like for enslaved people," reports Mackenzie McCarty of The Christian Science Monitor. "The park culminates in the four-story National Monument to Freedom, inscribed with 122,000 last names that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves after being emancipated."

Guess who's hitting their Earth-loving metrics? U.S. farmers. Daniel Munch of the American Farm Bureau Federation reported on a new study from the Environmental Protection Agency that showed "'U.S. agriculture represents just under 10% of total U.S. emissions when compared to other economic sectors. Overall, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased from 2021 to 2022 by 1.3%, though agricultural emissions dropped 1.8% – the largest decrease of any economic sector.' . . . 2022 marks the lowest U.S. agricultural greenhouse gas emissions since 2012."

With googly eyes, most veggies look more approachable.
(Adobe Stock photo)

Some vegetables get a bad rap: Okra is slimy. Eggplants look more like purple slugs than food. Rutabagas don't even sound like a food. But what if there was a way to make those strange foods approachable? Even edible. "It's hard to be intimidated by celeriac — or rutabaga, radicchio, eggplant or okra — when it's wiggling googly eyes at you," reports Rebekah Denn of The Washington Post. Chef and food educator Becky Selengut "began pasting eyes on produce while teaching a 'Misunderstood Vegetables' cooking class and writing a related new cookbook."

Don't let raccoons, bugs, lumpy ground or lackluster meals ruin your summer camping trip. A great camping trip starts with solid planning, "so you'll return home with great memories," writes Alex Temblador for National Geographic. "We’ve created a list of all the items you’ll need. . . . From clothes to kitchen supplies and gear to help you sleep." Find the checklist here.

Geologic naming body rejects Anthropocene proposal

Sediment history from Crawford Lake, Ontario, is part of 
the Anrthropocene epoch proposal. (Wikipedia photo)

"Monday night, the group of scholars responsible for delineating the past 2.6 million years of geologic history rejected a proposal that would mark the start of the Anthropocene epoch in the mid-20th century, when global trade, nuclear weapons tests and rampant fossil-fuel consumption radically altered the Earth," reports Sarah Kaplan of The Washington Post.

"But Anthropocene advocates — including two leading members of the panel that just voted — say the decision by the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy violated the rules for naming new geologic time spans. Subcommission chair Jan Zalasiewicz and vice-chair Martin Head on Wednesday called for an investigation into the voting process that could lead to the decision being overturned.

"The contested vote, which was first reported by The New York Times, has exposed a deepening rift in the hidebound world of stratigraphy — the science of measuring geologic time. Researchers overwhelmingly agree that people have transformed the climate and put ecosystems in peril. But most members of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy felt this 'Age of Humans' should not be rigidly defined as an epoch — a stretch of geologic time that typically spans thousands or even millions of years."

The International Commission on Stratigraphy could overturn the decision, sending it to the International Geological Congress. But they could also define the Anthropocene "as a geologic event — a looser term that can describe phenomena that unfold in multiple places at different times," Kaplan notes.

A year after the East Palestine derailment, some residents have not returned home, and others report health problems

The site of the East Palestine train derailment.
(Photo by Cara Owsley, The Enquirer via USA Today)

More than a year has passed since the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, left the unsuspecting community of 5,000 living in the aftermath of a hazardous chemical explosion and its mitigating "controlled chemical burn." Many residents believe their lives are forever changed because of toxic exposure during and after the disaster.

Five days after the accident, Ohio officials announced that it was safe for residents to return home. "But five families who spoke to The Cincinnati Enquirer . . . just before the one-year anniversary say they're still dealing with health problems," reports Elizabeth B. Kim of The USA Today Network. Despite the lack of scientific studies tying the derailment's toxic spill to long-term health problems, "relocated families are still experiencing symptoms and foot many of their medical bills without help from the railroad or the government. They don't consider their East Palestine homes to be safe, and they're worried that moving back will worsen their symptoms."

Financial help from Norfolk Southern ends on Feb. 9 for families who relocated to other areas. "Some of the symptoms families say they face are chronic, and others are acute, appearing suddenly after a short period of time spent in one's home," Kim writes. "Christa Graves, 49, has had migraines before, but they increased in frequency from weekly to daily starting last February. . . . While Norfolk Southern offered to relocate people living within a mile of the derailment site, Graves lives 1.2 miles away. The railroad denied her request for relocation assistance, and her family has been unable to move out ever since."

Despite residents' reported health problems, the town's air and water have repeatedly passed quality testing. Anne Vogel, director of the Ohio EPA, said, "The agency is not planning to offer more residential air testing following those initial results," Kim reports. Ohio EPA "has also continued weekly sampling of the municipal water system since February 2023 and reported that no contaminants from the derailment have been detected."

Beyond ongoing health issues and expenses, families who have been unable to go home "described the crushing blow of losing their homes, sometimes passed down for generations," Kim reports. "Candy Kiehl still feels a strong connection to her East Palestine house despite feeling unconvinced that it's free of contamination." Kiehl told her: "That was my grandparents' house. That's where my mom passed away. That's where my dad passed away. But is it safe? I don't know."

Two years after passage of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, billions of dollars remain available for projects

Brookings Institution graph

Roughly two years ago, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was signed into law. The bill included $550 billion in new spending through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This month, the IIJA is about 40% complete, and the time is ripe to take "stock" of what the bill has achieved so far, reports Adie Tomer for the Brookings Institution. "Based on our analysis of published White House data, IIJA implementation is now hitting its stride. Formula and direct federal spending continue to move at a steady pace, already pumping $306 billion into state coffers and direct investment projects."

Grantmaking is a large chunk of the act, which is "steadily increasing, with 80% of all competitive funding still left to be awarded," Tomer explains. "Overall, state and local stakeholders should feel motivated to keep pursuing federally funded projects. . . . Eligible entities of all sizes can find programs that fit their needs and capacities. Yet, with high inflation and interest rates, infrastructure builders must be careful to prioritize projects that can deliver the most value in the long run. There's more money than usual, but it's far from infinite."

The need for construction and skilled labor is expected to increase as grant money materializes into projects. "Construction of IIJA-funded projects will last well beyond 2026, when the legislation expires, and Inflation Reduction Act tax credits will support energy-related projects for another nine years. America needs to get serious about growing and diversifying the infrastructure talent pipeline because time is running out," Tomer reports.

Over the next two years, federal awards will continue, and "federal agency staff will continue to accelerate their administration of competitively awarded programs," Tomer adds. "And there will be plenty of more awards to build passenger rail corridors, make streets safer, address sewer overflow, manage orphaned oil wells, and grow digital equity. The sheer volume of opportunities will test applicants' capacities to win federal awards."

Where will all the coal ash go? Billions of dollars are at stake as Alabama waits for the EPA to make its decision

A coal ash lagoon at one of Alabama Power's electrical
plants. (Alabama Power courtesy photo via AL.com)

Alabama's dynamic waterways support an array of animal life, including a whopping 433 bird species. The state boasts 15 rivers and ranks fifth in the country – and first among states east of the Mississippi – for biodiversity. But alongside its teeming rivers is a giant problem -- approximately 100 million tons of coal ash abandoned by utility companies in "unlined ditches along the rivers across the state," reports Dennis Pillion of AL.com. "The concerns are huge: Will coal ash continue to seep into and contaminate the groundwater? Will the holding areas one day give way and plug the river with the discarded waste of powerplants as once happened in Tennessee?"

The state is in a "showdown" with the Environmental Protection Agency over how the coal ash will be contained, removed or restored. Pillion asks: "Can Alabama leave its coal ash where the utilities dumped it? Or do they have to dig it up and haul it away to be buried in lined landfills, as is happening in many other states? Or maybe dig it out, line the ponds, and dump it all back in?"

The state's cheapest option, "cover in place," is not cheap and does not include "digging out the ash out and putting a liner underneath it," Pillion reports. "Alabama Power estimated [that] would cost $3.3 billion. . . . The estimate also does not include ash ponds managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority and PowerSouth."

"Alabama state officials, utilities, and environmental groups can only wait now as the EPA decides Alabama's fate," Pillion explains. "Utilities were once allowed to choose between covering the ash in place or moving it to a lined landfill. But they could only leave it in place if the federal rules were met. . . .The rules may vary by presidential administration." The Biden administration has a stricter interpretation of the rules and rejected Alabama's cover-in-place plans.

"At a public hearing on EPA's decision on Sept. 20, Alabama Power Vice President of Environmental Affairs Susan Comensky argued that removal of coal ash presents challenges aside from cost." Comensky said that not only would the removal take decades to complete, but "there is not enough available landfill capacity to accept the approximately 100 million cubic yards of ash in our ponds."

"Not everyone buys that argument," Pillion writes. John Kinney, a staff scientist at Black Warrior Riverkeeper, "argued that the power companies could create landfills on-site to hold the ash waste without having to truck it across the state. . . . Utilities in other states have built lined landfills on site."

Two companies aim to reduce emissions: One splits molecules and the other heads into the wind

Prototype of Electric Hydrogen’s humble electrolyzer, a.k.a. the
'unicorn' (Photo by Cassandra Klos, The Wall Street Journal)

One company is diving all-in to lessen greenhouse emissions with science-savvy and financial moxie. Another company, with a similar goal, revived an ancient transportation practice to change sea frieght pollution. What do they have in common? Both companies use water as a solution.

"Hundreds of companies have promised to produce large amounts of green hydrogen, but none have succeeded. Electric Hydrogen believes the secret to success is finding a better way to split a molecule, reports Amrith Ramkumar of The Wall Street Journal. "Investors believe it too. The company is the green hydrogen industry's first unicorn. It recently raised $380 million from backers including BP, United Airlines, Microsoft and iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals. That pushed it over the magical $1 billion mark."

The secret to splitting a water molecule with less greenhouse emissions is a better electrolyzer, Ramkumar writes. However, previous electrolyzers used too much energy and were costly. "Electric Hydrogen's secret sauce is new materials and designs," Ramkumar reports. "The company's engineers made all of the critical electrolyzer components in-house, following Tesla's model. By boosting performance, they drove down costs. . . . Electric Hydrogen plans to sell cheaper electrolyzers to hydrogen producers just like solar panel manufacturers sell panels to clean-energy developers."

The company will open its first electrolyzer factory in 2024, but the technology's "success or failure won't be known for years," Ramkumar reports. "As it ramps up supply and customers install the machines, get permits and connect the electrolyzers to green power. Gregory Constantine, chief executive of startup Air Company, which hopes to use hydrogen to make clean jet fuel, told him: "It's kind of like Netflix waiting for high-speed broadband and internet to get there. . . . When it does, it unlocks all of these other areas."

Photo by David Hurn via The Atlantic

Meanwhile, transportation is a polluter that needs better options. It's "responsible for nearly one-fifth of all the carbon emissions in the food system, and between 75% and 80% of all goods are transported via sea freight, which typically relies on container ships powered by dirty bunker fuel," reports Whitney Bauck of Ambrook Research. "Despite international agreements forged this summer to slash global shipping emissions by at least 20% by 2030, the past 10 years have shown 'no progress in terms of actual emission reductions' from the industry. . . . What's the solution? Bring back sailboats."

Sailing per-ton cost is far more than trade with traditional container ships; however, it is being successfully used for smaller, high-end niche sea trade. That still leaves huge commodity sea freight and all its polluting emissions, but the industry is working on other solutions. "Agricultural giant Cargill announced a collaboration with BAR Technologies, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Yara Marine Technologies to pilot WindWings, another form of wing sails that can be added to existing fuel-based cargo ships," Bauck writes. Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill ocean transport, told Bauck: "A retrofit solution that is capable of decarbonizing existing vessels through wind technology is a great place to start, given that 55% of the world's bulker fleet are up to nine years in age and most remain in service for decades. That's not just good for the planet — it's also good for the bottom line."

Free webinar on 'Covering Contaminated Sites' from Society of Environmental Journalists 1-2 p.m. ET Wednesday

Jordan Gass-Pooré, creator/host, "Hazard NJ"
podcast from NJ Spotlight News/NJ PBS

Journalists can play a pivotal role in keeping their communities healthy by reporting on contaminated sites, but investigative reporting is often intimidating and resources for it often scant. A free webinar Wednesday, Aug. 2, is desigend to help.

"Covering Contaminated Sites in Your Community," from 1 to 2 p.m. ET, will feature investigative journalist and podcaster Jordan Gass-Pooré, who will provide tips on reporting on contaminated sites by incorporating local voices who have been affected by the pollution. The session presents expert views on how future extreme weather events fueled by climate change may threaten to further spread a pollution site if clean-up is not done.

This webinar, sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists, is free, and all journalists are welcome to attend. Registration includes name and email address only, here.

World's largest hard-rock lithium deposit lies unmined in Maine; geologists think New England may have many more

Mary Freeman holds a spodumene crystal, which contains lithium.
(Photo by Garrick Hoffman, The Maine Monitor)

Gem hunters Mary and Gary Freeman found the world's largest lithium deposit in Newry, Maine, "at a time when the material is desperately needed for the clean energy transition," but it will remain unmined for now because of state law, report Alana Semuels of Time magazine and Kate Cough of The Maine Monitor. The deposit sits in the Plumbago North reserves; it is spodumene, crystals rich in lithium. "This is one of the few lithium deposits in the U.S. currently found in hard rock, which means it is higher-quality and faster to process than lithium mined from brine. . . . Geologists say there's also likely a lot more lithium in spodumene deposits across New England. Communities that haven't had working mines in years may soon find themselves a key source for lithium and other minerals needed for car batteries, solar panels, and many of the objects people will need more of to transition themselves off fossil fuels."

In Silver Peak, Nev., lithium is extracted with brine evaporation
pools. (Photo by David Calvert, The Nevada Independent)

For the U.S. to exit a fossil-fuel economy, massive amounts of lithium are needed, and yet, "There is only one operational lithium mine in the U.S., in Nevada, and one operational rare-0earth element mine, in Mountain Pass, Calif., meaning that the U.S. is dependent on other countries for the materials essential for clean energy technologies like batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels," Semuels and Cough write. "Even after they're mined, those materials currently have to be shipped to China for processing since the U.S. does not have any processing facilities." Corby Anderson, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines, told Time: "If we're talking about critical metals and materials, we're so far behind that it's crazy. . . . The only one we mine and refine in this country is copper."

Newry (Wikipedia map)

The Freemans would like to mine their lithium. "Though it is five miles from the nearest town, Maine is going through an extensive review process to decide whether to let the couple keep digging," Semuels and Cough report. "Many geologists agree that the Freemans’ proposal would not be as disruptive as other proposed mines across the country. Other metals (like nickel, silver, and zinc) typically occur in bands of rock deep below the surface that contain iron sulfides, which create sulfuric acid when exposed to air and water, polluting waterways for decades, a phenomenon known as acid mine drainage. . . . But like just about everywhere in the U.S. where new mines have been proposed, there is strong opposition. Maine has some of the strictest mining and water quality standards in the country and prohibits digging for metals in open pits larger than three acres. There have not been any active metal mines in the state for decades, and no company has applied for a permit since a particularly strict law passed in 2017. As more companies begin prospecting in Maine and searching for sizable nickel, copper, and silver deposits, towns are beginning to pass their own bans on industrial mining."

Little lake in Canada is the key marker of a proposed geological epoch: Anthropocene, named for human beings

UPDATE, July 12: The Anthropocene Working Group says it chose Crawford Lake as its representational site because it has "the clearest and most pronounced evidence of humankind’s influence on the global geologic record," The New York Times reports. "Three more committees of geologists will vote on it, a process that could start this fall; 60% of each committee will need to approve the proposal for it to advance to the next one. Ratification by any is far from guaranteed."

An aerial view of Crawford Lake, where sediments hold over
a thousand years of geologic history. (Washington Post photo)

Once considered "bottomless" by locals, a small lake near Milton, Ontario, has a floor of finely detailed sediment layers that show the dramatic change humans have wrought on Earth, so much that it may mark the beginning of a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, report Sarah Kaplan, Simon Ducroquet, Bonnie Jo Mount, Frank Hulley-Jones and Emily Wright of The Washington Post: in a richly illustrated presentation: "Researchers will determine whether Crawford Lake should be named the official starting point for this geologic chapter, [breaking] from the dependable environment of the past to the uncertain new reality humans have created. . . . In just seven decades, the scientists say, humans have brought about greater changes than they did in more than seven millennia. Never in Earth's history has the world changed this much, this fast. Never has a single species had the capacity to wreak so much damage — or the chance to prevent so much harm."

Scientists begin each epoch, a segment of  geologic time, "with a 'golden spike' — a spot in the geologic record where proof of a global transformation is perfectly preserved," the Post reports. "These spikes are like exclamation points in the story of the planet, punctuating a tale of shifting continents, evolving species and temperatures that rose and fell as carbon levels fluctuated in the atmosphere." Scientists think the golden spike for the Anthropocene Epoch may be Crawford Lake, because of its rare substrate: "No other water body is known to possess this particular combination of attributes, making Crawford Lake a unique bellwether of global change." Two keys: The water at the bottom of the lake doesn't mix with the water above, and the local environment produces a thin layer of calcite that marks every year, going back a millennium.

Radioactive plutonium began to spike in the 1940s with testing
of nuclear explosives. (Research photo, Washington Post graph)

Francine McCarthy, a professor of Earth sciences at Brock University in Ontario, has led the study of sediment layers that show how life has changed on Earth. "Fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal and oil, drifted into the lake from rapidly industrializing cities. Heavy metals like copper and lead increased in the mud," the Post reports. "And then, around 1950, the world reached a tipping point," Head told the Post: "This is when humans essentially overwhelmed the Earth as a functioning system."

From pollution to radioactive remains of nuclear-bomb tests, "The same evidence appears all over the planet, in every potential golden spike site the Anthropocene Working Group has examined," the Post reports. "Peat bogs, ocean basins, the skeletons of coral reefs — even the ice of Antarctica has been permanently tainted by human pollution."

Washington Post map from OpenStreetMap base

"What we have measured, in a very objective and quantitative way, is we are living in a world with conditions that are no longer within the last 11,000 years of natural variability," McCarthy told the Post. "The Earth is, in fact, fundamentally different." The Post reports, "As much as the Anthropocene is a recognition of humanity's culpability, it is also a declaration of human agency, McCarthy believes. Alongside geologic evidence of environmental destruction, Crawford Lake holds proof of people's capacity for repair. She told the Post: "It's not just a doomsday story. It is a 'wake up and smell the coffee' story. It shows we can make meaningful change."

Environmental groups sue EPA over seeds coated with neonicotinoids, which are highly toxic to many insects

A pollen-loving honey bee (Shutterstock photo)

To curb neonicotinoids' harmful impact on pollinators, soil and water, "Environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over pesticide-coated seeds they say have 'devastating environmental impacts' and are spread largely without regulatory oversight," reports Tom Perkins for The Guardian. "The suit alleges the neonicotinoid seeds are now spread on about 150 million acres of U.S. farmland and up to 95% of the pesticide on the seed sheds, polluting nearby soil, water and air. The first "neonic," imidacloprid, was found to make seeds so dangerous to wildlife that just one could kill a bird.

"Neonicotinoids are a controversial class of chemicals used in insecticides widely spread on cropland to treat for pests, but which a growing body of science has found harms pollinators and other insects not targeted by the chemical," Smith explains. "Neonicotinoids work by destroying an insect's nerve synapse, causing uncontrollable shaking, paralysis and death." Amy von Saun, an attorney with the Center for Food Safety, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit," told Smith, "They [neonicotinoids ] are highly toxic to pollinators, insects, birds, aquatic organisms that build the base of our food chain. Because the seeds represent so much neonicotinoid use, this is where all the devastation is coming from."

The plaintiffs seek more rules and oversight to address "the seeds' minimal and unenforceable labeling. The suit asks a judge to compel the agency to require stronger and enforceable labeling" and "challenges the EPA's exemption of the seeds from registration as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act," Smith writes. "Registration would trigger closer scrutiny of their environmental and health impacts and force the EPA to weigh the seeds' benefits against their costs. The agency would have to show the seeds do not cause unreasonable or adverse effects to the environment, as is the standard under FIFRA."

Smith reports, "The chemicals are water-soluble and easily leach into soils and streams, and clouds of neonicotinoid-laced dust released during seed plantings have caused mass bee die-offs, the groups say. Neonicotinoids from three major producers affect about 75% of all endangered species, the EPA recently found, and the United Nations reported cropland is now about 50 times more toxic than just a quarter of a century ago, contributing to an 'insect apocalypse.' The chemicals are so destructive that the European Union banned their outdoor use while Canada has also imposed restrictions."

Despite its own findings, EPA has "claimed it has already thoroughly studied neonicotinoids and does not need to conduct reviews of the seed," Smith adds. "The CFS in 2017 petitioned the Trump EPA to re-examine its exemption for the seeds and ban them. The EPA ignored the petition until CFS sued in 2021 to force a response, and months later, the Biden EPA denied the petition. The new case challenges that denial as unlawful."

As fertilizer industry enjoys 'eye-popping' profits, farmers pay more and make less; corporate consolidation blamed

Price of Plenty graph by Rebecca Bauer, from Bloomberg data

While fertilizer companies post record profits, American farmers make less money, and corporate consolidations may explain part of  the equation, reports Noah Zahn in "The Price of Plenty," a five-part package about fertilizer from the journalism schools at the University of Florida and the University of Missouri, with its Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. Other stories report on fertilizer-caused pollution and other topics.

"Farmers and others who rely on fertilizer have no choice but to spend more," Zahn writes. "Although fertilizer prices have fallen from their all-time high in March 2022, when they spiked up to 3.5 times higher than two years before, the commodity is likely to remain costly for some time, continuing to squeeze the food production system."

The industry's earning increases are "eye-popping," Zahn writes. "Canada-based Nutrien Ltd., the world's leading producer of potash fertilizer, saw profits increase 1,575% between 2020 and 2022 to $7.7 billion. Tampa-based The Mosaic Co., one of the largest U.S. producers of potash and phosphate fertilizer, made $3.6 billion in net earnings in 2022, a 438% increase from 2020. CF Industries, an Illinois-based fertilizer company, made $3.2 billion in 2022, a 955% increase from 2020. . . . When asked for comment, Mosaic said in an email that the fertilizer business is cyclical and thus has volatility in prices." The others didn't reply before publication.

Causes of the price spike include the pandemic-hampered supply chain, labor disruptions, natural disasters that upsett production, fewer phosphate imports from China, and the war in Ukraine, Zahn explains. Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University, told him: "It was literally a whole menu of things that were seemingly going in the wrong direction if you were looking to obtain fertilizer." Zahn reports, "Several of these factors are referenced in a study Hart co-authored that was hailed by The Fertilizer Institute for providing 'the best analysis data will allow to date.'. . . The study omits a large factor of the price increase: market power as a result of consolidation."

Are fertilizer giants able to fix the market? Joe Maxwell, co-founder of Farm Action, a Missouri-based nonprofit that advocates for competitive food and agriculture systems, "believes consolidation in the fertilizer industry has led to market manipulation," Zahn reports. "Since 1980, the number of fertilizer firms in the United States has fallen from 46 to 13. In 2019, just four corporations represented 75% of total domestic fertilizer production: CF Industries, Nutrien, Koch, and Yara-USA, Farm Action says. And just two companies supply 85% of the North American potash market: Nutrien and Mosaic, says the Federal Trade Commission. Maxwell told Zahn: "These companies took advantage of their dominant position in a marketplace and increased commodity price to the farmers in an effort to price gouge and extract all the wealth that they could from that supply chain at the very roots: fertilizer."

Increased fertilizer prices can hurt local and global communities, and a solution seems elusive. "While record fertilizer prices have translated to record profits for the fertilizer industry, small farmers, business owners and rural communities struggle to pay bills," Zahn writes. Higher costs also affect global food supplies. "Global experts also worry about how the high cost of fertilizer affects rising food prices and growing global food insecurity. . . . John Baffes, a senior agriculture economist for the World Bank, said that fertilizer is an important input to food commodity production, especially in less-developed countries. . . . It will be hard to lessen dependence on fertilizer anytime soon." Baffes told Zahn: "It's essential for supporting the world's population. If we did not have fertilizers, the earth's population would not be 8 billion; it would be 4 billion."

International group of scientists says Earth is in danger zone for 7 of 8 ecological measures, almost there on air pollution

"Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into “the danger zone,” not just for an overheating planet that’s losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of people living on it, according to a new study," reports Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press.

The study was done by by the Sweden-based international scientist group Earth Commission and published in Wednesday’s peer-reviewed journal Nature. "It looks at climate, air pollution, phosphorus and nitrogen contamination of water from fertilizer overuse, groundwater supplies, fresh surface water, the unbuilt natural environment and the overall natural and human-built environment," AP reports. "Only air pollution wasn’t quite at the danger point globally."

The study concluded that climate was beyond harmful levels for humans in certain groups, "but not quite past the safety guideline for the planet as a system," Borenstein reports. "The planet can recover if it changes, including its use of coal, oil and natural gas and the way it treats the land and water, the scientists said.

If the globe got an annual checkup, similar to a physical examination, “Our doctor would say that the Earth is really quite sick right now and it is sick in terms of many different areas or systems and this sickness is also affecting the people living on Earth,” Earth Commission co-chair Joyeeta Gupta, a University of Amsterdam environment professor, said at a press conference.

Indy Burke, dean of Yale University's School of the Environment, waan't involved in the study, but endorsed it: “This is a compelling and provocative paper – scientifically sound in methodology and important for identifying the dimensions in which the planet is nearing the edge of boundaries that would launch us into irreversible states,” she told AP.

In landmark 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court says Environmental Protection Agency can't protect wetlands not tied to streams

Signs posted by the Idaho couple whose building project EPA
blocked, prompting them to file suit. (Associated Press photo)

The U.S. Supreme Court ended one of the longest battles over the Clean Water Act Thursday, ruling 5-4 that the Environmental Protection Agency's power to protect wetlands does not extend as far as the high court said it did in another narrow decision 17 years ago. The decision has "broad ramifications for the environment, agriculture, energy and mining," The Associated Press reports.

At issue was the act's phrase "waters of the United States," or WOTUS, which the court said in 2006 could be regulated if they had a "significant nexus" to nearby waterways. Thursday, in an opinion written by highly conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the court said WOTUS "extends to only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are 'waters of the United States' in their own right so that they are 'indistinguishable' from those waters." Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett joined the opinion.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented, saying the Army Corps of Engineers “has always included in the definition of ‘adjacent wetlands’ not only wetlands adjoining covered waters but also those wetlands that are separated from covered waters by a manmade dike or barrier, natural river berm, beach dune, or the like. . . . We should not create ambiguity where none exists. And we may not rewrite ‘adjacent’ to mean the same thing as ‘adjoining,’ as the Court does today.”

Richard J. Lazarus, a professor of law at Harvard Law School, went back even farther in an op-ed for The Washington Post, citing a unanimous 1985 decision of the court that allowed EPA to protect wetlands. The latest decision "could lead to the removal of millions of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands from the law's direct protection," Lazarus writes. Connor Griffin of the Louisville Courier Journal explains, "Generally, wetlands are areas of land covered with water or saturated for some or all of the year. Marshes are an example of this habitat. Boasting biodiversity on par with rainforests and coral reefs, wetlands provide critical habitat for animals like waterfowl, and are a hotbed for plant life."

The case was filed by an Idaho couple who got a local permit 15 years ago build about 300 feet from Priest Lake and filled in part of a wetland with sand and gravel, Reuters reports. The EPA blocked them, they sued, and the high court ruled 9-0 Thursday that EPA overstepped. As the case moved through the courts, Republican and Democratic administrations redefined WOTUS in various ways, some going beyond the wetlands question and generating more court action. "In 2015 the Obama administration widened the scope of the law to cover even ephemeral streams and ponds," Robert Barnes reports for the Post. "The Trump-era EPA repealed the rule and in 2019 created a new, weaker one. The Biden administration has tried to strike a balance by undoing the Trump-era rule and redefining EPA oversight as covering 'traditional navigable waters,' including interstate waterways and upstream water sources that influence the health and quality of those waterways."

Many Western wildfires can be traced to carbon emissions and attributed to energy companies, new study concludes

The Mosquito fire in El Dorado County, Califonia, was the state's
largest wildfire in 2022. (Photo by Noah Berger, The Associated Press)

Fire needs heat, a fuel source, and plenty of oxygen. It's the same recipe for all fires, but climate change has made the Western U.S. hotter and drier--resulting in an over-abundance of two of those elements. "Almost 40% of forest area burned by wildfire in the western United States and southwestern Canada in the last 40 years can be attributed to carbon emissions associated with the world's 88 largest fossil-fuel producers and cement manufacturers, according to new research that seeks to hold oil-and-gas companies accountable for their role in climate change," reports Alex Wigglesworth of the Los Angeles Times. "In findings published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the authors concluded that the emissions generated in the extraction of fossil fuels and the burning of those fuels have increased the amount of land burned by wildfire by raising global temperatures and amplifying dry conditions across the West. . . . This growing dryness, or aridification, has caused the atmosphere to become 'thirstier' for water, draining moisture from trees and brush and causing them to become more vulnerable to fire."

Study author Kristina Dahl told Wigglesworth, "We hope that people who are in communities that have been affected by wildfires will see this work and think about whether they want to hold these companies accountable." Wigglesworth explains. "To quantify the impact of the fossil fuel industry on wildfires, Dahl and her colleagues built on previous research that has shown that carbon emissions traced to the top 88 fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers — including Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron and Shell — have contributed significantly to the average temperature by which the Earth has warmed."

Wigglesworth reports, "The researchers found that changes in global mean temperature are positively linked with changes in the Western North American vapor-pressure deficit, a measure of how effectively the air can dry out plants and vegetation that ultimately become fuel for wildfires, Dahl said . . . . The researchers then estimated that emissions from the major carbon producers contributed to 48% of the increase in the vapor-pressure deficit observed over the last 120 years. Previous research has shown that this rise is strongly associated with increased burned forest lands in the Western U.S. and southwestern Canada."

The research is another landmark in the evolving study of climate change. "Up until relatively recently, the public posture of the climate-science community was that no individual extreme event could be attributed to global warming, said Noah Diffenbaugh, climate scientist at Stanford University, who was not involved in the study," Wigglesworth explains. "That changed in the early 2000s, and extreme-event attribution has since become a robust sub-field of climate science, he said. . . . Although the sub-field does not exist to provide data for legal actions, it in some ways arose from questions of law, he said. . . . Since then, attribution research has served as a foundation for liability lawsuits filed against fossil-fuel companies. . . . Asked to comment on the findings, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association said that 'demonization' of the fossil fuel industry would not bring solutions."

Wigglesworth adds, "Last month, in what was seen as a major victory for plaintiffs, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from oil and gas companies that were seeking to have lawsuits over climate change filed by state and local governments moved to federal courts. The decision cleared a path for dozens of similar lawsuits to be heard in state courts, where communities that are suing are believed to have better chances of winning sizable damages." Diffenbaugh told Wigglesworth, "What this study shows is that using existing peer-reviewed methods, it is possible to rigorously trace the contributions from the source of emissions to the impacts."

Farmers wonder about sequestering carbon. It will take time to measure the soil's capacity, and the results may vary.

Photo via Successful Farming

It's no wonder farmers feel stress. They have to feed the planet, fuel cars, make sure their livestock is healthy, and now they have to decide whether to sequester carbon. "Much fanfare accompanies programs that pay farmers to sequester greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in their soils. Yet, questions linger as research casts doubt on whether the promise equals reality," reports Laurie Bedord of Successful Farming. Gregg Sanford, senior scientist, Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin, told Bedord, "I worry that we are selling ourselves a pie-in-the-sky dream we might not realize, and that it could come back to bite farmers and ultimately not get us any further down the road toward reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."

Bedord explains, "About two decades ago, Sanford began reading scientific literature that suggested certain farming systems could help combat climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil." Sanford told her, "We love to support farmers and incentivize them to do things that benefit society, but we also put a ridiculous amount of pressure on farmers to save us from every-thing. I don't feel the science is there to say that if you do these practices (e.g., cover crops, no-till, etc.), you will sequester carbon across the board. In some cases, we will, but in many cases, we won't." Bedord adds, "One of the caveats with soil carbon sequestration, Sanford says, is there are places in the United States where certain types of farming management will be able to build soil carbon resources, but results may vary."

"Sanford believes that to make a big impact on soil carbon and use it as a tactic to mitigate climate change, a transformational change must occur in agriculture," Bedord writes. "If the prairies built these soils, should we consider emulating what they can do in our production systems?" Sanford told her, "To get soils in the Midwest back as close as we can to those tallgrass prairies to stabilize or accrue carbon, we need to switch from farming systems dominated by annual crops to systems dominated by or exclusively built around perennials. . . . That is our best hope for building carbon in this region, but it's a big change and a hard pitch to make."

For now, soil, not carbon credits, is farmers' focus. "Initially, Kevin Bahr was among the carbon program skeptics. As he learned more about the Truterra carbon program, Bahr says it seemed like something worth exploring and joined the program in 2021," Bedord reports. "Like most central Kansas farms, Bahr's land is diversified. . . His soils range from good black dirt to sandy loam." Bahr told her, "While we may be talking about carbon, this program is more about soil health, which is a journey that doesn't happen overnight. . . I'm employing certain practices like no-till and cover crops because they are best for my soil; the carbon credit money is like gravy on top of my mashed potatoes. It's a reward for taking care of the land the way I should."

What will it cost local water systems to remove 'forever chemicals'? It depends, and many haven't been tested yet

Florence, Ala., water superintendent Ryan Wallace
(Photo by Dan Busey, Florence Times Daily)

When the Environmental Protection Agency proposed last week that it start regulating "forever chemicals," which are long-lasting and ubiquitous, the first question for many Americans may have been, "What are forever chemicals?" Wired magazine answers: "It’s a foreboding and informal name for human-made chemicals that coat nonstick pans, food packaging, and waterproof clothes before ending up in the water you drink. . . . High levels of exposure can cause fertility issues, developmental delays in children, and reduced immune responses, according to the EPA. They can also elevate the risk of several cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancer."

The first question for many local officials in the 40 states that have no limits for the chemicals may have been, "How much will this cost our taxpayers and ratepayers?" As often in such cases, it depends, but Amanda Hoover of Wired magazine suggests it's coming to a water system near you: the chemicals "have been detected in more than 2,800 locations in all 50 states and two territories, according to data from the Environmental Working Group." And many areas have not been tested.

Arizona has tested 450 of its 1,200 public water systems for the chemicals and found them in 72, Clara Migoya reports for The Arizona Republic. "Many utilities have shut down contaminated wells to limit exposure. Until now, only Tucson and Marana have put a treatment system in place." The state is "working with public water systems to identify funding," including a state priority fund and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In South Carolina, with 200 tests to go, "Updated statistics released Thursday show a disturbing trend," reports Sammy Fretwell of The State newspaper. "All told, regulators say 78 drinking water sources are polluted with forever chemicals at levels that exceed the recently announced federal standard of 4 parts per trillion for the two most well-studied types of the chemicals," perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFOA and PFOS. Collectively, the chemicals are called PFAS.

"A CBS News Colorado analysis of state testing records shows in 2020, 40 public water utilities in Colorado had levels of both PFOA and PFOS at or above 4 parts per trillion," Kati Weis reports. That is "the lowest limit at which the compounds can be detected with today's technology," The Arizona Republic notes. "If the chemical shows up, public water systems would have to clean it. For PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and [non-biodegradable] GenX compounds, the limit is relative. The combined limit of one or more of the chemicals would be calculated through an EPA-established hazard index."

"It's going to impact every water company in the country that gets surface water," Mike Doyle, chief utility manager in Florence, Ala., told Russ Corey of the Times Daily. Corey reports, "He said Florence is considering a reverse osmosis system to remove the contaminants, but that system is expensive to operate because of the amount of power it requires."

The rule won't affedct every water system, "but it's going to be a lot," Christopher Higgins, a Colorado School of Mines civil and environmental engineering professor who has studied PFAS for years, told Weis of CBS, who reports: "Higgins says while you wait for your water system to evaluate its PFAS levels, if you're concerned about it, you can use carbon filters or a reverse osmosis system to filter your drinking water at home. If you go with a carbon filter, Higgins advises changing the filter frequently. Higgins also says these proposed regulation changes will not affect private wells, and advises it's important if to get your water tested if your drinking water is supplied by a private well, especially if there have been fires in your community over the years where firefighting foam containing PFAS may have been used."

Overall costs of the proposed regulation are uncertain. EPA estimated annual costs at $772 million, "but Tom Dobbins, chief executive of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, which represents some of the largest public water utilities in the country, said the estimated cost for a single entity to filter out PFAS, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in North Carolina, was $43 million," Lisa Friedman of The New York Times reports. EPA’s top water official, Radhika Fox, "emphasized that the economic benefits of the regulation are seen as far greater by EPA, with an estimated $1.2 billion per year in human health benefits — or over $100 billion in the lifetime of a child born today" reports E.A. Crunden of Environment & Energy News.