News Clips

Debate about safety of synthetic turf and ‘forever chemicals’ raises concerns for some

by ABC News | March 27, 2024
The grass may be greener if it’s made of synthetic turf, but some communities are raising concerns about “forever chemicals” that may be found in many of the faux fields. “Think about the wisdom of putting down acres of plastic in the year 2024… and then ...

EPA to scrutinize ‘forever chemicals’ in wastewater, sewage

by E&E News | March 26, 2024
EPA is collecting data on “forever chemicals” in wastewater that eventually make their way to rivers and streams across the nation, a move that could inform future limits on the substances. While the data collection is a welcome step, EPA should have begun gathering the information “ ...

National Park Service Sued Over Eagle Killing At Valles Caldera National Preserve

by National Parks Traveler | March 25, 2024
The National Park Service has been sued over Director Chuck Sams’ decision to allow the Jemez Pueblo to kill an eagle in Valles Caldera National Preserve by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is asking to see the decision documents Sams relied on to authorize ...

5th Circuit curbs EPA authority under chemical safety law

by E&E News | March 22, 2024
EPA used the wrong process when it ordered a plastics company, Inhance, to stop unintentionally creating “forever chemicals,” the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a Thursday opinion. It’s a major blow to environmental and health advocates like Kyla Bennett, ...

Study links ‘forever chemicals’ to synthetic turf playing fields

by NBC 7 San Diego | March 21, 2024
If you have a child that plays football or soccer, chances are that they’ve probably played on synthetic turf. A recent study with the Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility (PEER) — an independent watchdog group — took a closer look at what’s actually in ...

Ban turf fields in Philadelphia parks

by Philadelphia Inquirer | March 21, 2024
It’s never a good sign when a former Environmental Protection Agency official says the city was “bamboozled.” But that was how Kyla Bennett reacted when she learned Philadelphia officials were told that an artificial turf playing surface — the centerpiece of a $7.5 million ...

Earlier Springs Have Cascading Effects on Animals, Plants and Pastimes

by Inside Climate News | March 19, 2024
At a crowded town square in western Pennsylvania on Feb. 2, the world’s most famous groundhog—Punxsutawney Phil—did not cast a shadow, which legends say indicated that spring should arrive early this year. Meanwhile, recent research suggests that athletes playing on artificial turf ...

Watchdog questions BLM’s attempts at ‘culture change’

by E&E News | March 18, 2024
A watchdog group released a report Monday highly critical of the Bureau of Land Management and its attempts to improve its culture over the past three years. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, released the results of a 2023 federal survey that it says was never ...

Playing on Artificial Turf Could Cover Athletes in PFAS, Study Says

by EcoWatch | March 18, 2024
A new study warns that athletes playing sports on artificial turf could become covered in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, present in the turf. Researchers from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) conducted a small-scale study of young athletes, as well as ...

Climate advocates hope to clean up Maryland’s renewable energy by taking out the trash

by Baltimore Sun | March 16, 2024
Maryland law subsidizes burning trash to create energy as renewable, placing it on par with wind and solar, despite the carbon emissions and air pollution it releases. The WIN Waste incinerator in Baltimore has been categorized as Baltimore’s biggest single source of air pollution. WIN ...

Janet Mills proposes rolling back dune protections to build offshore wind port

by Bangor Daily News | March 15, 2024
Gov. Janet Mills wants to roll back protections for the sand dunes that partially make up the state’s preferred site for a landmark offshore wind terminal. The Mills bill shows that the state is “making the mistake of designating a preferred location, and then trying to find the ...

Athletes likely to have higher levels of PFAS after play on artificial turf – study

by The Guardian | March 15, 2024
Athletes who play on artificial turf are likely to be coated with higher levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” than before playing on the field, new research suggests, raising more questions about the controversial material’s safety. The results from the small study, which looked ...

Rock climbers, feds tangle over wilderness rules

by E&E News | March 15, 2024
Federal land managers have sparked a heated debate about recreation in some of this country’s most wild places with a proposed overhaul of rules governing rock climbing on public lands, angering both wilderness advocates and climbers alike. Murdock said the divide between climbing and ...

OPINION: In debate about Washoe County lands bill, truth matters

by Nevada Independent | March 14, 2024
The Washoe County lands bill has something for everyone to love, and something for everyone to loathe. In a recent op-ed in The Nevada Independent, Eli Turner of the Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition, who falls on the side of loathing the bill, made a number of false statements about ...

Federal PFAS regs to saddle cities with unwieldy costs

by E&E News | March 13, 2024
Known as the gateway to Glacier National Park, Kalispell, Montana, has long taken pride in its pristine water supply. So when “forever chemicals” were detected in the groundwater in 2021, city officials were stumped. “You can’t look at the levels in your well and say, ‘This PFAS ...

CRD under pressure to make a plan for biosolid waste by June

by Capital Daily | March 13, 2024
The CRD has been punting its management problem down Hartland Ave. for years. Pressure to resolve the region’s biosolids and other solid waste management plan has resurfaced as construction plans to increase capacity at the landfill are underway. The CRD board faces pressure from the ...

OLA to review DNR’s use of federal wildlife funds

by The Timberjay | March 13, 2024
The Office of the Legislative Auditor, or OLA, has announced it will undertake what’s known as a “special review” to examine the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ alleged misuse of federal grant funds designed to benefit wildlife and their habitat. The OLA informed DNR ...

Eight takeaways from The Inquirer’s yearlong investigation into ‘forever chemicals’

by Philadelphia Inquirer | March 12, 2024
Sprinturf, the turf’s manufacturer, had assured the city that the field was PFAS-free, and shared a lab report to support its claim. The newspaper asked three PFAS experts to independently review the report. Each said the results were misleading and inadequate, and that the field likely ...

Turf fields may have ‘forever chemicals.’ Should kids be playing on them?

by The Washington Post | March 12, 2024
Test results from the San Diego soccer kids experiment found that two of the three players came off the turf field with higher amounts of PFAS on their hands than at the beginning of the practice.  When the players practiced on natural grass, the results were mixed. The San Diego ...

Maryland Lawmakers Remain Uncommitted to Ending Subsidies for Trash Incineration, Prompting Advocate Concern

by Inside Climate News | March 12, 2024
Maryland is poised to dole out more than $300 million to trash incinerators between 2012 and 2030, according to the latest analysis by the nonprofits Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Clean Water Action and Progressive Maryland. Timothy Whitehouse, executive ...
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