Economic forces – alongside a moral imperative – are driving cities, states and companies to make changes to forestall climate change, regardless of the whims of the White House.
Robin Lacassin, Institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP) and Raphael Grandin, Institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP)
Oklahoma is trying to limit the number of earthquakes caused by oil and gas extraction, but some existing faults there – which could be activated by wastewater injection – have never been mapped.
The EPA’s effort to remove lead from gasoline saved a lot of infant lives.
Kimberly White KW/DH via Reuters
Scientists are marching in 500 cities across the globe to protest US president Donald Trump’s anti-science policies and make their voices heard.
The Flint water crisis was one of the few cases of environment-related social injustices that reached national attention in recent years.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Addressing social and health inequalities from pollution is no longer a priority at the EPA. What did the Office of Environmental Justice do and what will happen if it’s shut down?
Activists, federal workers and union representatives rallied for environmental protection policies at the EPA.
American Federation of Government Employees
The EPA served as a conduit between the federal government and at-risk communities. Communications scholars look at how environmental justice issues could be set back in scaled-down EPA.
Three-quarters of Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables.
Cropped from jwajennalex/flickr
Reports about trace amounts of pesticides, like the EWG’s Dirty Dozen, can leave people afraid to buy fruits and vegetables. But the hype is often overblown.
The current EPA administrator says the agency should prioritize clean air and clean water, rather than deal with greenhouse gases.
billy_wilson/flickr
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has said the agency’s purview should not include climate change, but a look at its history under both Republican and Democratic presidents says otherwise.
Even Trump’s most destructive proposals pale in comparison. The president is merely throwing a match on a burning building.
The bad old days: Public and political support for the EPA was highest when environmental problems like air and water pollution were more obvious than current problems like climate change or endocrine disruptors.
U.S. National Archives
Africa needs to learn from the experiences of others who have negotiated free trade pacts. In particular it needs to ensure its process is inclusive and does not pander to a few special interests.
Uncertainty around government policy affects how businesses operate and whether they’ll invest in R&D.
Pixabay
While Trump’s more extreme campaign promises may not eventuate, substantive changes in how the US engages with the world on environmental, and many other, issues are likely.
Many changes in electricity generation are already en route, regardless of regulations.
pixabay.com
The ‘war on coal’ is not really a result of onerous regulations but a combination of market forces over which a Trump administration has limited control.
Do environmental regulations help or hurt the economy? Democrats and Republicans sharply disagree. Six of our experts consider whether we have too much or too little regulation.
Residents of Flint, Michigan wait at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on the water crisis.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Hillary Clinton has elevated environmental justice to a high level as a presidential nominee, but as the Flint water crisis demonstrates, the deeper problem lies in ineffective government agencies.
U.S. states need to put in place new ozone air quality standards, but how they are measured – based on peak ozone – doesn’t always best reflect a city’s overall air quality.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, in a meeting last year with Obama, called climate change ‘a new kind of threat we are facing.’
Gary Cameron/Reuters
Academics are studying whether talking about climate change as a health risk, rather than an environmental or economic issue, will dispel Americans’ general indifference to global warming.
The Hazelwood fire burned for 45 days in 2014.
AAP Image/Incident Control Centre Hazelwood
Two years after Morwell was blanketed in smoke from the Hazelwood fire, environmental charges have been laid against the mine’s operators. But the process should be more open and democratic - and quicker.
In addition to the Clean Power Act policy for climate change, the Supreme Court will be hearing cases on the extent of protections under the Clean Water Act.
ex_magician/flickr
A look at Scalia’s decidedly negative legacy on environment reveals how important the next Supreme Court will be on environmental questions, including the EPA Clean Power Plan.
Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, and Director of the Regulatory Studies Center, George Washington University