Water
Nothing is more important to your health and quality of life than safe drinking water and clean streams and lakes. Across the country, pollution from farms is one of the primary reasons water is no longer clean or safe. Agriculture is the leading source of pollution of rivers and streams surveyed by U.S. government experts, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Thankfully, if we make simple changes in the way we farm, we can take a big step toward clean water.
The array of toxic pollutants in California drinking water could in combination cause more than 15,000 excess cases of cancer, according to a peer-reviewed study by scientists at Environmental Working Group – the first such study to assess the cumulative risk from carcinogenic drinking water contaminants.
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The array of toxic pollutants in California drinking water could cause more than 15,000 cases of cancer, according to a peer-reviewed EWG study that is the first ever to assess the cumulative risk from all contaminants in the state’s public water systems.
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A bipartisan bill introduced in the House today would require the Environmental Protection Agency to set a health-protective legal limit in drinking water for the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, which contaminate a rapidly growing roster of hundreds of public water systems nationwide.
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EWG News Roundup (4/26): Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
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The draft interim recommendations for cleanup of the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, announced today by Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler, are a woefully inadequate response to the growing nationwide crisis of drinking water contaminated with PFAS, said EWG Senior Scientist David Andrews.
Read MoreDes Moines Water Works has struggled for years to provide safe drinking water to its customers, battling nitrate contamination from upstream farms. But contamination from agricultural practices may be even worse for the estimated 230,000 to 290,000 Iowans whose drinking water comes from private wells, an investigation by Environmental Working Group and Iowa Environmental Council finds.
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Private wells across Iowa are contaminated with unsafe levels of two agricultural contaminants, according to an investigation by the Environmental Working Group and the Iowa Environmental Council.
Read MoreThe major role that rural voters played in recent elections has amped up the focus on farm country from politicians and candidates on both sides of the aisle. In the runup to 2020, presidential hopefuls are once again flocking to Iowa, home of the crucial first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Read MoreThe latest federal Census of Agriculture shows that more farms are adopting conservation practices that can help keep drinking water clean and slow climate change, but it also shows that much more ambitious action will be needed to actually address those challenges.
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EWG News Roundup (4/12): Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
Read MoreSens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) have reintroduced a bill to help veterans, service members and their families with health problems potentially triggered by exposure to the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS.
Read MoreAcross America, outbreaks of toxic algae, triggered by polluted farm runoff, are increasing in frequency and severity, fouling drinking water with dangerous toxins. In 2014, an algae outbreak in Lake Erie contaminated the tap water for 500,000 people in and around Toledo, Ohio, rendering it unsafe to drink for three days.
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Unregulated animal factory farms are funneling nutrient-rich pollution into Lake Erie, feeding an enormous toxic algae bloom each summer, according to a new investigation by the Environmental Working Group and the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
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The Maumee River, overloaded with fertilizer and manure, is the single largest source of the phosphorus that triggers blooms of toxic algae in Lake Erie. Over half of the manure in the Maumee River watershed comes from an exploding number of unregulated factory farms, a new EWG and Environmental Law & Policy Center investigation reveals.
Read MoreIn an unusual move, the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general issued an emergency alert today warning that the agency had failed to provide the public all the available data regarding toxic chemical releases into communities throughout the nation.
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Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler made the rounds of Capitol Hill this week, displaying twice his questionable commitment to protecting Americans’ public health.
Read MoreToday Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), with members of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, introduced the Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act. This legislation will ensure that veterans and their families exposed to toxic fluorinated compounds at military installations get the health care services and benefits they need through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Read MoreIn testimony today before a Senate appropriations committee, Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler refused to support banning asbestos, one of the deadliest known carcinogens, and dodged questions about the health risks of PFAS chemicals, which have contaminated drinking water nationwide.
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Outbreaks of toxic algae in U.S. waterways usually happen in warmer months. But in a sign that the problem is growing worse, algae blooms were reported in December in Michigan and Washington state, with another reported in Florida during the first days of spring.
Read MoreIn testimony before a House committee today, Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler defended President Trump’s proposed 31 percent budget cut to the agency.
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