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.
Chicago metro area, home to 9.4 million people people, suffered through 84 days of elevated air pollution in 2020, according to a new report from Environment Illinois Research & Education Center, Frontier Group and Illinois PIRG Education Fund. Metro East, the state’s second largest population area, experienced 75 days of elevated air pollution. Air pollution increases the risk of premature death, asthma attacks, cancer and other adverse health impacts.
“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.”
Both Illinois and the nation have the capacity to build an energy system around clean, renewable resources, according to a new report released on Thursday by Environment Illinois Research & Education Center. The study, We Have the Power: Reaching America's potential for clean, renewable energy, comes as an energy bill to continue funding Illinois’ renewable energy programs is expected to pass the Illinois legislature in the coming weeks.
Environment Illinois Research & Education 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.
