New research shows that artificial light at night lengthens the plant growing season in cities, overshadowing the effect of high urban temperatures.
pollution
Policy Success: Fees and Bans on Plastic Bags Reduce Beach Trash
Regardless of the patchwork of regulations aimed at limiting plastic bag use in the United States, new research indicates that such legislation does, indeed, limit the number of plastic bags found on beaches.
What’s Changed—and What Hasn’t—Since the EPA’s Endangerment Finding
A scientist-authored brief played a role in the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health. With the finding now up for reconsideration, the same scientists revisit their opinion.
EPA Proposes Removal of Carbon Dioxide Limits on Power Plants
On 11 June, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to repeal federal limits on power plant carbon emissions, including a Biden-era rule requiring power plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution and a 2015 standard limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new fossil fuel-fired power plants.
Bukit Mantri: a mine waste facility failure in Malaysia
On 17 May 2025, a failure occurred in a mine waste facility at the Tawau gold mine in Malaysia. Images suggest that this might have been an overtopping event in a contaminated water storage pond. On 17 May 2025, there was a failure of a mine waste storage facility at Bukit Mantri in Malaysia. The […]
Is Your Shampoo Washing Up in Antarctica?
Researchers have found chemicals from personal care products like shampoo, deodorant, and laundry soap in Antarctic snow.
Heat and Pollution Events Are Deadly, Especially in the Global South
Researchers found that the combination of heat waves and high PM2.5 pollution led to nearly 700,000 premature deaths in the past 30 years—most of which occurred in the Global South.
EPA to Cancel Nearly 800 Environmental Justice Grants
The EPA plans to cancel 781 grants, almost all focused on environmental justice, according to a court document filed last week.
In Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council v. Department of Agriculture, a coalition of nonprofits is challenging the Trump administration’s freezing of funding from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In the recent court document, Daniel Coogan, an administrator in the Office of Mission Support for the EPA, stated that the agency completed a grant-by-grant review of its awards to ensure that grants aligned with administration priorities. Those that were not aligned were targeted for termination.
Glaciers Offer Clues into the Path of Fossil Fuel Pollution
New research traces the origin of carbon deposited from the atmosphere onto glaciers.
Avalanches of Microplastics Carry Pollution into the Deep Sea
Scientists observed a once-theorized process ferrying microplastics into the deep ocean.