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Keeping It Green

Atmospheric CO2 Levels

(Monthly Averages)

Feb. 5, 2026: 427.76 ppm
10 years ago: 396 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350 ppm

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Page Updated:
Feb. 18, 2026

• The 2024 Clean 15 (Safe Foods)
• Get the Lead Out Toolkit
• Oil Spill History
• World Air Quality Report
• Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act

• US Emissions by Sector Chart

  
  

  Where is all that CO2 coming from? This graph breaks it down by economic sector.

• Greenest U.S. Cities
• Safe Water in Pictures
• U.S. WEA Grassroots Accelerator
• Safer Habitats

• • Climate Change Could Make This
  Horrific New Jersey Wildlife Disease Worse

  The Garden State is Home to Ranavirus, a Pathogen Capable of Killing Amphibians En Masse

  
  

  Feb. 17, 2026 -It was May 2011 when herpetologist Robert Zappalorti called scientists about the tadpoles.

  Researchers at Montclair State University went to see for themselves. At the site in Ocean County, New Jersey, they found green frog tadpoles that looked like something out of a medical drama or a frog horror film—lethargic and swollen, with red lesions on their skin.

• • Magnitude 6 Earthquake Strikes Kuril Islands Region

  Magnitude 6 Earthquake, That Struck Kuril Islands Region, Occurred at a Depth of 10 km (6.21 miles)
  
  {mint}
  
  

  Feb. 15, 2026 -A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kuril Islands on Sunday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), the agency said.

  Earlier in the day, an earthquake of magnitude 3.4 had struck Changlang of Arunachal Pradesh, the National Centre for Seismology said in a statement. The Changlang earthquake struck at 08:50 am.

• • California Pays Farms to Make Biogas
  from Hog Waste in North Carolina

  Where Locals Say It’s Fueling Pollution

  
  

  Feb. 15, 2026 -The Align RNG biogas processing facility here is so small, you would miss it if you weren’t looking for it. Just four small silver mounds beside a massive 100-foot grain silo under which trucks drive day-in, day-out loading up with hog feed.

  In a landscape dominated by the infrastructure of hog and poultry farming—slaughterhouses, barns, slat manufacturers and truck washers—the mounds could be mistaken for backup generators or small storage tanks from a distance. But they’re actually part of a boom in turning hog waste into renewable natural gas (RNG) that’s building out hundreds of miles of underground pipelines, catching locals off guard and raising concerns across eastern North Carolina about the technology’s potential to increase pollution that isn’t carried away in the pipes.

• • States Miss a Big Deadline, Ending
  Chance for a Colorado River Water Deal

  After Two Years of Negotiations, Seven States Failed to Agree On Reduced Water Use

  
  

  Feb. 13, 2026 -The seven Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have run out of time for compromise to share its dwindling supplies, just as new projections show reservoir levels could sink to a critical low by the end of this year.

  Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Saturday that the states had missed a Valentine’s Day deadline to reach consensus on a plan to guide use of the river over the coming decades. He said the federal Bureau of Reclamation would instead soon impose its own plan.

• • Unsafe Lead Levels Found in Half of New Orleans Playgrounds

  Even Trace Amounts of the Toxic Metal Can Cause Learning Problems and Behavioral Issues in Children

  
  

  Feb. 13, 2026 -Sarah Hess started taking her toddler, Josie, to New Orleans’ Mickey Markey Playground in 2010 because she thought it would be a safe place to play after Josie had been diagnosed with lead poisoning.

  Hess had traced the problem to the crumbling paint in her family’s century-old home. While it underwent lead remediation, the family stayed in a newer, lead-free house in the Bywater neighborhood near Markey, where Josie regularly played on the swings and slides.

• • The Sound of a Successful Rainforest Recovery Program

  Nearly a Million Minutes of Recorded Sound Suggest That Paying People to Protect Forests Can Restore the Complex Acoustic Signatures of Biodiversity

  
  

  Feb. 11, 2026 -Programs around the world have tried to harness the power of money to save habitat, by paying people to protect or restore their land.

  When ecologist Giacomo Delgado wanted to test whether one of the oldest and most established programs was translating into biodiversity gains, he chose to listen for it.

  Using more than 100 weatherproofed microphones and powerful computer programs, the Ph.D. student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zürich) collected nearly a million minutes of audio recordings from land scattered across Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.

• • For Months, Tear Gas Has Entered Their Homes

  Now They’re Suing ICE

  
  

  Feb. 11, 2026 -Federal agents have fired so much tear gas near Mindy King’s apartment in Portland, Ore., that she and her 13-year-old son bought gas masks to wear inside. Her neighbor, Diane Moreno, has gone to urgent care, twice, with tightness in her chest, and bloody discharge from her nose.

  The problem, they say, is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office less than 100 feet away from their homes.

• • N.C. Judge Upholds the State’s Limits
  on 1,4-Dioxane Pollution in Utilities’ Wastewater

  The Chemical, Used in Solvents, Degreasers and Some Consumer Products, is a Likely Carcinogen That Can Harm the Liver and Kidneys

  
  

  Feb. 11, 2026 -A Wake County Superior Court judge has ruled against the cities of Asheboro, Greensboro and Reidsville, concluding that state environmental regulators can legally limit the amount of 1,4-dioxane, a likely carcinogen, that they discharge into the drinking water supply.

  Judge Graham Shirley, a Republican, wrote in his opinion that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality followed state and federal protocols in creating the limits in the cities’ wastewater, and did so “for the purpose of protecting the health and well-being of North Carolinians.“

• • Lawmakers Push Canada to Adopt Carbon Removal Goals

  It Would Be the First Time a Country Attaches Carbon Reduction Numbers to Technologies That Can Pull Climate Pollution From the Sky and Seas
  
  {CLIMATEWIRE}
  
  

  Feb. 11, 2026 -A parliamentary panel is calling on Canadian officials to establish national goals for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the end of the year — a move no other country has taken.

  The recommendation was included in a carbon removal report released last week by Canada's Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. The panel began working on the report in 2024 and spoke to dozens of scientists, industry representatives and Indigenous officials.

• • Whistleblower Says Radioactive Fracking Waste Site
  Melted His Jaw. Now There’s an Elementary School There

  Between 20 and 60 Million Tons of Hazardous Waste Have Been Dumped In And Around Dallas-Fort Worth.
  
  {THE BARBED WIRE}
  
  

  Feb. 11, 2026 -Sure, Lee Oldham told me, he had spread radioactive fracking waste on Texas farmland. But in his defense, he never in a million years thought anyone would put a school there.

  We were standing in the frigid wind on a field in Johnson County. It was January, and 52-year-old Oldham wore a heavy flannel sweatshirt pulled tight over his belly.

  In the early 2010s, when the region was ground zero for the biggest fossil fuel production boom in human history, Oldham worked in waste disposal for a company that helped get rid of the millions of pounds of solid waste that came out of tens of thousands of natural gas wells about two miles underground.

• • This New Wildfire Risk Model Has No Secrets

  CarbonPlan Has a New Tool to Measure Climate Risk That Comes With Full Transparency
  
  {HEATMAO}
  
  

  Feb. 10, 2026 -On a warming planet, knowing whether the home you’re about to invest your life savings in is at risk of being wiped out by a wildfire or drowned in a flood becomes paramount. And yet public data is almost nonexistent. While private companies offer property-level climate risk assessments — usually for a fee — it’s hard to know which to trust or how they should be used.

  Companies feed different datasets into their models and make different assumptions, and often don’t share all the details. The models have been shown to predict disparate outcomes for the same locations.

• • Chevron Buys West Texas Ranch in ‘Zombie’ Oil Well Settlement

  Chevron Purchased a 22K-acre West Texas Ranch at the Center of a Yearslong “Zombie Wells” Legal Battle
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Feb. 10, 2026 -Ranch owner Ashley Watt spent years arguing that Chevron negligently allowed decades-old oil Permian Basin wells to leak toxic water and crude oil onto her land. In December, Chevron and Watt reached a confidential settlement just a month before the case was scheduled for trial.

  Big picture: The culprit of these leaky wells that now pepper properties across America’s biggest oil field? Oil companies like Chevron over-injecting fracking wastewater underground. With this case settled and the property in Chevron’s hands, the oil major avoided a potentially precedent-setting court ruling that could have forced the entire industry to own up to the negative impacts of fracking tech.

• • Coffee Makers Can Save Money, Reduce Waste, Brew Better

  After Water, Coffee is America’s Most Popular Beverage. For Good Reason.

  
  

  Feb. 10, 2026 -Coffee elevates our mood and motivation, while blocking the chemical signals that make us feel tired. It’s associated with a lower risk of head and neck cancer, Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Caffeinated brew even forges community: Kings feared the politics fomenting in coffeehouses.

  What’s less wonderful is what’s left behind: more than 10 billion paper and plastic cups each year, mountains of broken equipment, and tons of other waste. That new $50 drip coffee maker on your counter? Destined for the landfill after a few years of dispensing mediocre coffee.

• • Data Centers Are Scrambling to Power the AI Boom With Natural Gas

  As Tech Giants Find Creative Ways to Generate Electricity, They’re Building a Glut Of New Fossil Fuel Proje

  
  

  Feb. 10, 2026 -Boom Supersonic wants to build the world’s first commercial supersonic airliner. Founded in 2014, the company set out to make air travel dramatically faster — up to twice the speed of today’s passenger jets — while also aiming for a smaller environmental footprint. For years, Boom has focused on developing the high-performance engine technology needed to sustain supersonic fli

  Though the company has not yet debuted its revolutionary jet, last year it identified a new and potentially lucrative application for its novel technology: generating electricity for the data centers powering the artificial intelligence bo

• • UK’s First Climate Evacuees Can Cast Off Their Homes and Trauma

  ‘To Live a Normal Life Again, It’s a Dream Come True’

  
  

  Feb. 9, 2026 -When Storm Dennis hit the UK in 2020, a wall of dirty, frigid water from a tributary of the Taff threw Paul Thomas against the front of his house in the south Wales village of Ynysybwl. He managed to swim back into his home before the storm surge changed direction, almost carrying him out of the smashed-in front door.

  “I was holding on to downpipes to stop myself being dragged out again. It was unbelievably strong, the water,” he said.

• • Anger and Despair in Sicilian Town Collapsing After Landslide

  People in Niscemi Struggle to Comprehend Loss of Homes and Businesses and Feel Disaster Could Have Been Avoided

  
  

  Feb. 9, 2026 -For days, the 25,000 residents of the Sicilian town of Niscemi have been living on the edge of a 25-metre abyss. On 25 January, after torrential rain brought by Cyclone Harry, a devastating landslide ripped away an entire slope of the town, creating a 4km-long chasm. Roads collapsed, cars were swallowed, and whole sections of the urban fabric plunged into the valley below.

  Dozens of houses hang precariously over the edge of the landslide, while vehicles and fragments of roadway continue to give way, hour by hour, under the strain of unstable ground.

• • US Natural Gas Exporters Brace For Global Glut

  A Surge of Liquefied Natural Gas Around the Globe Could Hurt American Exporters Who Continue to Build New Projects
  
  {E&E NEWS}
  
  

  Feb. 9, 2026 -The liquefied natural gas export industry in the United States could be riding a wave of growth into choppy waters.

  A big LNG plant is about to open in Texas, another is set to start a new production line in the state and one of the largest export facilities in North America is set to deliver a full year of production outside New Orleans.

  On top of that, companies approved plans for a record-breaking six more LNG projects in 2025, indicating the growth isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

• • How the Fracking Boom Put an Oil
  Field in the Guadalupe River Floodplain

  ‘A Disaster Waiting to Happen’

  
  

  Feb. 9, 2026 -More than 500 enormous oil tanks dot the floodplains of the Guadalupe River and its tributaries where they cross one of Texas’ leading oilfields, an Inside Climate News investigation has found, posing risk of an environmental disaster.

  Longtime residents of these historic ranchlands still remember the last time these plains filled up with water in a biblical inundation in 1998. That was before the fracking boom hit this region and the oil-rich geological formation that lies beneath it, known as the Eagle Ford Shale.

  Today, a repeat of the historic flood could wreak havoc, locals worry.

• • Economic Growth Is Still Heating the Planet. Is There Any Way Out?

  Rising GDP Continues to Mean More Carbon Emissions and Wider Planetary Damage. Can the Two Be Decoupled?

  
  

  Feb. 9, 2026 -During Cop30 negotiations in Brazil last year, delegates heard a familiar argument: rising emissions are unavoidable for countries pursuing growth.

  Since the first Cop in the 1990s, developing nations have had looser reduction targets to reflect the economic gap between them and richer countries, which emitted millions of tonnes of CO2 as they pulled ahead. The concession comes from the idea that an inevitable cost of prosperity is environmental harm.

• • US Chemical Giant to Stop Producing
  Herbicide Called ‘Toxic Cocktail’ By Critics

  Corteva Will Discontinue a Mixture of Agent Orange and Glyphosate, But...

  
  

  Feb. 9, 2026 -The chemical giant Corteva will stop producing Enlist Duo, a herbicide considered to be among the most dangerous still used in the US by environmentalists because it contains a mix of Agent Orange and glyphosate, which have both been linked to cancer and widespread ecological damage.

  The US military deployed Agent Orange, a chemical weapon, to destroy vegetation during the Vietnam war, causing serious health problems among soldiers and Vietnamese residents.

• • Outrage After US Congress Votes to Slash
  $125m in Funding to Replace Toxic Lead Pipes

  Move Will Hit Michigan, Illinois, New York and Other States With Highest Levels of Lead Drinking Water Pipes the Hardest

  
  

  Feb. 7, 2026 -There is outrage among some politicians and activists after the US Congress voted to slash $125m for replacing toxic lead drinking water pipes that are particularly a threat to children.The move will hit Michigan, Illinois, Texas, New York and other states with the highest levels of lead pipes the hardest. The cut was part of a broader government funding bill and particularly controversial in the context of the fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding.

• • Georgia Power Gas Expansion Would
  Drive Significant Climate-Damaging Pollution

  It Could Add Millions of Tons of Carbon Pollution Annually While Polluting the Air Near Vulnerable Communities and Ecosystems.

  
  

  Feb. 7, 2026 -Georgia regulators have approved a massive expansion of natural gas power plants that could dramatically increase the state’s climate pollution, largely to support the rapid growth of data centers.

  The projects approved by Georgia’s Public Service Commission in December include additions to nine natural gas facilities owned or backed by Georgia Power. Since the plan was first announced, environmental groups have criticized it as an unnecessary fossil fuel expansion that could lock the state into decades of emissions.

• • Trump Opens Marine National Monument
  in Atlantic to Commercial Fishing

  Off the Coast of Cape Cod, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is a Unique Stretch of Ocean That Had Been Protected For a Decade

  
  

  Feb. 6, 2026 -President Trump moved on Friday to allow commercial fishing in the only marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, an area the size of Connecticut that is home to dolphins, endangered whales, sea turtles and ancient deep-sea corals.

  Mr. Trump signed a proclamation opening up the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which lies 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. President Barack Obama created the monument in 2016, and Mr. Trump tried to lift the ban on commercial fishing there during his first term, but President Joseph R. Biden Jr. reinstated the restrictions.

• • Paris Dramatically Improved Its Air Quality After Car Taxes

  Now, New York City Is Starting To Do the Same

  
  

  Feb. 6, 2026 -For decades, we’ve treated urban pollution as an unavoidable price of doing business. But what if that doesn’t have to be the case?

  Good news, it doesn’t. Science has been steadily suggesting there are better ways to run our cities; and, in some cities, policy is starting to follow.

  Starting in the early 2000s, Paris City Hall began focusing on making the city more livable. They did this in multiple ways: systematically narrowing streets, widening bike lanes, and rolling out the “Crit’Air” sticker system to ban the dirtiest vehicles. Over the past few years, they’ve accelerated these efforts, and the data shows the approach worked.

• • MethaneSAT Releases First Global
  Assessment of Oil and Gas Climate Pollution

  Data From the Spacecraft Reveal Higher-Than-Expected Methane Emissions From the Oil and Gas Industry

  
  

  Feb. 6, 2026 -MethaneSAT, the world’s most advanced methane-detecting satellite and first spacecraft owned by an environmental nonprofit, promised to usher in a new era of climate accountability when the device entered Earth’s orbit in 2024.

  One year later, researchers with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) lost contact with the $88 million satellite, but not before downloading a trove of data collected over the prior year. Now, an initial assessment of data shows that methane emissions from oil and gas basins worldwide far exceed what is reported in official emissions inventories and fall short of targets set by major companies.

• • Contentious Weedkiller Gets a Green
  Light, in a Blow to the MAHA Agenda

  The Chemical, Dicamba, is Used to Control Weeds on Genetically Engineered Crops

  
  

  Feb. 6, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Agency has re-approved weedkillers containing a contentious chemical for use on genetically engineered cotton and soybeans.

  The decision, announced late Friday, faced immediate backlash from environmental groups as well as “Make America Healthy Again” activists who are aligned with President Trump and have called for tighter regulation of chemicals in the nation’s air and water and its food supply. Their criticisms of Trump administration policies are a sign of growing tensions among the president’s base of supporters.

• • Energy Poverty Is Forcing Millions of Families
  to Burn Toxic Plastic Waste Just to Cook Their Meals

  A survey of 26 Countries Found That 16% of Respondents Admit to Burning Plastic Inside Their Own Homes to Manage Waste Or Heat Food

  
  

  Feb. 5, 2026 -Burning plastic waste for household fuel, or to manage household waste, may be far more prevalent in poor urban areas in developing countries than previously thought, raising serious environmental pollution and public health concerns for individuals, families and communities.

  That’s according to a new global study that surveyed more than 1,000 “key informants,” including researchers, government workers and community leaders, in 26 countries across the Global South. The researchers found that one-third of respondents are aware of households that are burning plastic, while 16% stated they’ve burned plastic in their own household.

• • Trash of the Week, Tech of the Future

  Researchers Turn Cigarette Butts Into Clean Energy-Storing Materials

  
  

  Feb. 5, 2026 -Stub, toss, out of sight. Cigarette butts are things people don’t give a second thought, but they are the most common plastic litter around the world. But researchers in China and England have now turned this ubiquitous waste into a key component of battery-like energy storage devices.

  People consume over 5.8 trillion cigarettes globally every year, generating about 8 million tons of waste cigarette butts. Their outer packaging is made of cellulose, a plant-derived material, and the filter tip is made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic. Cigarette butts also contain harmful substances such as lead and heavy metals. The plastic filters can take up to 10 years to completely degrade, but the chemicals they release can linger in the environment.

• • ConocoPhillips Outlines Plans to Expand Arctic Drilling

  Company Officials Said the Willow Project is Nearly 50 Percent Complete
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}
  
  

  Feb 5, 2026 -ConocoPhillips touted its growing footprint in Alaska on Thursday, less than two weeks after an oil rig ultimately destined for the company’s Willow project crashed in the remote reaches of the state's North Slope.

  In an earnings call, company officials emphasized that the oil rig crash had not delayed plans for the $9 billion Willow Project, which they said was on schedule to produce oil in 2029. They also emphasized that further developing the company's Alaska assets is a top priority this year.

• • Ultra Processed Foods Use the Same Addictive Tactics As Cigarettes

  We Should Treat Them Similarly, Researchers Say

  
  

  Feb. 5, 2026 -For decades, public health officials treated cigarettes as a dangerous consumer product. We taxed them, reduced or banned advertising, and forced them to admit the harm they’re causing. It wasn’t easy, and the tobacco industry deployed an infamously effective lobbying effort, but it seems to be working.

  Researchers are now arguing we need to do the same with many ultra-processed foods, not necessarily because of what they contain, but because of how they are designed to be consumed.

• • Energy Poverty Is Forcing Millions of Families to
  Burn Toxic Plastic Waste Just to Cook Their Meals

  A Survey of 26 Countries Found That 16% of Respondents Admit to Burning Plastic Inside Their Own Homes to Manage Waste Or Heat Food

  
  

  Feb. 5, 2026 -Burning plastic waste for household fuel, or to manage household waste, may be far more prevalent in poor urban areas in developing countries than previously thought, raising serious environmental pollution and public health concerns for individuals, families and communities.

  That’s according to a new global study that surveyed more than 1,000 “key informants,” including researchers, government workers and community leaders, in 26 countries across the Global South. The researchers found that one-third of respondents are aware of households that are burning plastic, while 16% stated they’ve burned plastic in their own household.

• • Mapping Unequal Climate Risks in a Northern California County

  The UK Wants to Align More Closely With Regulations Issued By the EU

  
  

  Feb. 5, 2026 -The Bay Area Air District kicked off the new year with a warning for residents of the nine counties around San Francisco: if they lit a fireplace, wood stove or outdoor fire pit, they would have to either take a course on the health effects of wood smoke or pay a fine.

  By mid-January, the district had issued an extended spare-the-air alert to cope with a perennial Bay Area problem. The region’s air quality often plummets during the winter when dry, windless conditions concentrate tiny but harmful particles from residential wood fires, traffic and industrial sources into a thick, choking haze near the ground.

• • Live Near a Refinery for Venezuelan Oil?

  U.S. Residents Say: Please Buy Our Homes

  
  

  Feb. 4, 2026 -When American forces grabbed Venezuela’s president last month and laid claim to the country’s vast oil reserves, it quickly reverberated in the coastal city of Pascagoula, Miss.

  Pascagoula is home to a Chevron refinery that’s one of a handful in the United States that has been processing Venezuela’s heavy crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

• • Study Ties Particle Pollution From
  Wildfire Smoke to 24,100 US Deaths Per Year

  Other Scientists Who've Studied the death Toll Were Not Surprised By the Findings

  
  

  Feb. 17, 2026 -Chronic exposure to pollution from wildfires has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually in the United States, according to a new study.

  The paper, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, found that from 2006 to 2020, long-term exposure to tiny particulates from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states.

• • Malaysia Bans E-Waste Imports, Vows To End Illegal Dumping

  Malaysia Has Announced a Full Ban On Importing Electronic Waste
  
  {abc NEWS}
  
  

  Feb. 4, 2026 - Malaysia has announced an immediate and full ban on the importation of electronic waste, as the government vowed the country would not be a “dumping ground” for the world's waste.

  The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a statement late Wednesday that all electronic waste, commonly known as e-waste, would be reclassified under the “absolute prohibition” category effective immediately. This removes the discretionary power previously given to the Department of Environment to grant exemptions for importation of certain e-waste.

• • A Mysterious Bat Virus in Bangladesh Is Deadlier Than We Thought

  And Now Infecting Humans

  
  

  Feb. 3, 2026 -Between late 2022 and early 2023, five patients arrived at hospitals in Bangladesh with symptoms that screamed “Nipah virus.” They were feverish, struggling to breathe, and slipping into dangerous brain inflammation. Nipah (NiV) is a notorious killer. It’s a bat-borne, zoonotic virus with a mortality rate that can hit a staggering 70%.

  But the PCR tests came back negative.

  Now, a new study has identified the real culprit: Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV). While we once thought this virus only caused mild colds, these new cases prove it can be much more devastating.

• • Biodegradable Plastics Are Not a Climate Solution On Their Own

  If Not Properly Disposed Of, Biodegradable Plastics Could Increase Methane Emissions and Plastic Accumulation

  
  

  Feb. 3, 2026 -There are no great solutions to the problem of throwaway plastics. They can clog up landfills for centuries, or get dumped into rivers and break down into toxic microplastics. Incineration produces greenhouse gases and air pollution, and recycling often results in less valuable, “downcycled” forms of plastic.

  Biodegradable plastics, which can be composted in industrial facilities or broken down into biogas and nutrient-rich fertilizer through anaerobic digestion, have been seen as a way out of this conundrum. But the truth is more nuanced, according to a new analysis.

• • Your Ancestors Were Breathing in Two Pounds
  of Lead a Year and Their Hair Proves It

  After Lead Gas Ban, Lead Levels Dropped 100 Times

  
  

  Feb. 3, 2026 -For generations, lead was ubiquitous in modern life, lurking in the paint on living room walls, coursing through municipal water pipes, and billowing from the tailpipes of millions of cars. The heavy metal has highly useful chemical and physical properties that made it valuable across various industries. But it’s also a very potent neurotoxin, and it wasn’t until roughly 50 years ago that peopled wised up and stopped using it.

  A new study, utilizing human hair as a sort of biological archive demonstrates just how dramatically our environment has changed for the better after we stopped using lead.

• • NYC Congestion Pricing Is Improving Air Quality, But...

  Trump Pushback Threatens Its Future

  
  

  Feb. 3, 2026 -Just over a year ago, New York City implemented a first-in-the-nation “congestion pricing” program to reduce traffic, fund public transit work and improve air quality by raising tolls for drivers coming into Manhattan’s major hubs.

  Now some of the early results are in—and experts are giving it top marks. Research shows that air quality has improved across the city and parts of New Jersey. Traffic levels and fatal car accidents are down while subway and bus ridership is up.

• • U.S. Wholesale Day-Ahead Electricity Prices
  Rose in 2025 With Higher Natural Gas Prices

  High Gas Prices Pushed the Grid Back to Coal in 2025
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Feb. 2, 2026 - Wholesale electricity prices climbed across most of the Lower 48 in 2025, driven by a 56% spike in natural gas spot prices (averaging $3.52/MMBtu). In New England, this translated to a $29/MWh jump in power costs.

  With gas becoming expensive, generators flipped the script. Natural gas-fired generation fell 3%, while cheaper coal-fired generation rose 11% to fill the gap. Solar also boomed, jumping 32% YoY.

  Where matters: In PJM and MISO, coal largely replaced expensive gas. In Texas, however, soaring demand (+5%) was met almost entirely by a massive influx of new solar (+20 BkWh), pushing gas output down even as the state consumed more power

• • UK Launches Plan to Tackle 'Forever
  Chemicals' Amid Growing Concerns

  The UK Wants to Align More Closely With Regulations Issued By the EU

  
  

  Feb. 2, 2026 -The UK is to increase testing for so-called "forever chemicals" in the environment as part of a national plan to tackle the substances, which have prompted environmental and health concerns.

  The group of chemicals, also known as PFAS, are used in many everyday products because of their oil resistant and waterproof properties.

  But scientists are concerned because their chemical structures mean they accumulate and remain in the environment, with a small number of PFAS known to be toxic.ted included Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia and Alabama.

• • Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Facilities in Texas Emitted 1.6
  Million Pounds of Regulated Pollutants During Last Week’s Icy Weather

  A Former EPA Scientist Who Will Lead the Initiative, Said It Will Target Financial Conflicts of Interest And Scientific Bias

  
  

  Jan. 31, 2026 -As freezing temperatures swept over West Texas last week, leaky pipeline systems in the Permian Basin of West Texas began to suck in air, spoiling their products, risking an explosion and leading operators to release or burn off vast volumes of gas.

  Chevron, for example, reported 11 large gas releases as it sought to purge oxygen from its tanks, according to filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Chevron estimated that it released more than 125,000 pounds of regulated pollutants in incidents during the storm. In some cases, Chevron’s tank hatches “remained frozen open,” allowing gas to vent freely for days at a time.

• • How Effective Would a European Meat Tax Be For the Environment?

  By Removing Meat Subsidies Or Taxing Carbon Across All Foods, Researchers Uncovered How Small Changes In Price Could Unlock Outsized Environmental Benefits

  
  

  Jan. 30, 2026 -Adding the environmental cost to the price of food in European diets could cut food-related impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, by almost 6%.

  These findings come from a recent Nature Food study that looked at how to incorporate the environmental externalities of food into European grocery store products.

  Looking at 27 European countries, the researchers gathered data on household food consumption in each one, as well as the dietary footprint of those consumption patterns. Taking this data, they then simulated what would happen if they took one of two approaches. The first was to remove the tax reductions—effectively subsidies—that are widely applied to European meat products, so that they reflect their true price. The second was to apply a greenhouse gas emissions price of about €52 per ton of CO2 equivalent on all food products, which would cause changes in the price of foods based on their carbon-intensity.

• • EPA Set to Reapprove Dicamba, an
  Herbicide Previously Banned By Courts

  Officials Have Delayed Finalizing the Repeal of the Agency’s “Endangerment Finding” Over Concerns the Proposal Is Too Weak to Withstand a Court Challenge

  
  

  Jan. 30, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Agency is slated to reapprove an herbicide for genetically modified soybean and cotton crops, even while acknowledging continued concerns from some growers about spillover effects, according to two EPA staffers and a draft statement obtained by The Washington Post.

  The EPA has approved dicamba twice before, and both times federal courts vacated those approvals, saying there was too much risk for the herbicide to drift and harm neighboring farms and gardens.

• • New Battery Recycling Method Comes With a Side of CO2 Capture

  Three-in-One Strategy Uses Only Carbon Dioxide and Water to Recover 95% of Lithium and Reuses Leftover Metals, Capturing CO2 in the Process

  
  

  Jan. 29, 2026 -Researchers have developed a battery recycling technique that recovers 95% of the battery’s lithium using only carbon dioxide and water. The process also captures CO2 and converts the leftover metals into useful catalysts for other green energy technologies.

  The team, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology, published their three-in-one strategy in Nature Communications.

• • Wright Uses Deep Freeze to Unleash Data Center Generators

  A DOE Emergency Order Prioritizes Grid Reliability Over Air Pollution Rules, Potentially Exposing Communities to Dangerous Emissions
  
  {E&E NEWS}
  
  

  Jan 29, 2026 -As the eastern U.S. experiences severe cold in the wake of Winter Storm Fern, the Trump administration is taking a novel approach to prevent blackouts: Issuing orders that could force data centers to use backup diesel generators for power.

  The orders, which were sent Monday to PJM Interconnection and Duke Energy, stem from an idea Energy Secretary Chris Wright first floated publicly in December when he lamented that backup generators at data centers nationwide were sitting dormant as utilities struggle to keep up with power demand. The requirement affected about a dozen states.

  “We have 35 gigawatts of backup generators that are just sitting there today, and you can’t turn them on, that’s just nuts,” Wright said at the time, dismissing federal regulations for air pollution. “Emissions rules or whatever … people, come on.”

• • Stanford to Launch Toxics Research Program Eyeing Trump Policies

  A Former EPA Scientist Who Will Lead the Initiative, Said It Will Target Financial Conflicts of Interest And Scientific Bias

  
  

  Jan. 29, 2026 -A prominent ex-EPA scientist will be kick-starting a new program at Stanford University focused on environmental chemical research and policies under the Trump administration.

  "With the unprecedented attacks on science and the environment, I look forward to launching a new initiative to advance science, defend scientific integrity and protect health,” said Tracey Woodruff, who currently directs the University of California, San Francisco, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.

• • US Leads Record Global Surge In
  Gas-Fired Power Driven By AI Demands

  With Big Costs For the Climate

  
  

  Jan. 29, 2026, -The US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast.

  This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with projects in development expected to grow existing global gas capacity by nearly 50%, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found.

• • ‘Pesticide Cocktails’ Polluting Apples Across Europe

  Pan Europe Found Several Pesticide Residues in 85% of Apples, With Some Showing Traces of Up to Seven Chemicals

  
  

  Jan. 29, 2026, -Environmental groups have raised the alarm after finding toxic “pesticide cocktails” in apples sold across Europe. Pan Europe found several pesticide residues in 85% of apples, with some showing traces of up to seven chemicals.

  Pan Europe, a coalition of NGOs campaigning against pesticide use, had about 60 apples bought in 13 European countries – including France, Spain, Italy and Poland – analysed for chemical residues.

  Eighty-five percent of the samples contained several pesticide residues, the organisations said, with some apples showing traces of up to seven different chemicals.

• • One-Third of Pacific Island Fish Contaminated With Microplastics

  New Data Reveals the Contamination Rate of Fijian Fish Far Exceeds Worldwide Averages

  
  

  Jan. 29, 2026, -From the coral-covered coastlines of Tonga to the remote sandy atolls of Tuvalu, microscopic synthetic fibers are infiltrating the region’s species and food systems. One-third of fish living in Pacific island waters—like Fiji’s thumbprint emperor or Vanuatu’s dash-and-dot goatfish—are contaminated with microplastics, according to data published Wednesday by researchers at the University of the South Pacific.

  Commonly misperceived to be a remote wilderness insulated from global waste, this study establishes the first regional baseline of Pacific marine microplastic ingestion. Such pollution threatens delicate ecosystems and the coastal populations who rely on fish as a primary source of protein.

• • Search For 32 Missing in Indonesia Landslide Hampered By Rain

  Death Toll Rises to 34

  
  

  Jan. 28, 2026, - Rain is hampering the search for 32 people still missing five days after a landslide hit Indonesia's West Java province, the disaster mitigation agency said on Wednesday, as it raised the death toll to 34.

  The landslide struck Pasir Langu village in Bandung Barat region early on Saturday, triggered by heavy rains that started a day earlier.

• • Europe’s Supermarket Shelves Packed With
  ‘Misleading’ Claims About Recycled Plastic Packaging

  Manufacturers Use Method That Labels Plastic as ‘Circular’ and Climate-Friendly, Despite Being Mostly Fossil-Based

  
  

  Jan. 27, 2026, -Europe’s supermarket shelves are packed with brands billing their plastic packaging as sustainable, but often only a fraction of the materials are truly recovered from waste, with the rest made from petroleum.

  Brands using plastic packaging – from Kraft’s Heinz Beans to Mondel?z’s Philadelphia – use materials made by the plastic manufacturing arm of the oil company Saudi Aramco.

• • Why Freezing Rain Can Be So Much More Dangerous Than Snow

  It Can Cause Ice to Accumulate On Tree Branches and Power Lines

  
  

  Jan. 26, 2026 -This past weekend’s winter storm blanketed huge swaths of the country in snow, with up to two feet falling in some areas. But the widespread power outages that came with the storm—an estimated one million people from Texas to Kentucky had lost power by Sunday afternoon—had less to do with the snow and much more to do with the 0.5 to one inch of ice that built up as a result of freezing rain.

  Here’s why freezing rain can end up being so much more damaging to infrastructure than snow.

• • How Bad is Your Stove For Your Health?

  Look It Up

  
  

  Jan. 25, 2026, by Daniel Wolfe -I know my stove is killing me. The Post has covered the harmful effects of nitrogen dioxide, NO2, the toxic by-product of burning gas. My old place’s 1950s Wedgewood stove, with a pilot light strong enough to lift a hot-air balloon, contributed to a data analysis on the subject. And yet on New Year’s Eve, I reverse-seared a prime rib for six hours in our cramped apartment with our two kids and my wife — a public health professional — present.

  For home cooks, the love of cooking with gas is real. In the face of what we know about gas and health, it defies logic. Stanford University researchers recently made the most comprehensive model of indoor air pollution attributable to gas stoves. The results are — well, let’s look for ourselves.

• • 1 Million Customers Without Power

  More Ice Expected to Accumulate into Monday

  
  

  Jan. 25, 2026 -Dangerous icing across the Southeastern U.S. has left about 1 million customers without power as of Sunday evening — a problem that emergency agencies warned won’t go away just because the storm passes, with heavy ice expected to strain power lines in coming days. At least six people across the country have died since the storm began, The Washington Post has confirmed, all because of suspected hypothermia. And as the storm continued to trek through into the Northeast, many areas across the East Coast had received 6 to 16 inches of snow and sleet by early Sunday evening, as more powder and destructive amounts of ice are expected to accumulate into Monday. A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is set to lash the Mid-Atlantic, including the D.C. area, into Monday.

• • US Storm Leaves 1 Million Without Power

  Forces 10,000 Flight Cancellations

  
  

  Jan. 25, 2026 - More than 1 million customers in the U.S. as far west as New Mexico were without electricity and over 10,000 flights were canceled on Sunday during a monster winter storm that paralyzed eastern and southern states with heavy snow and ice.

  As snow, sleet, freezing rain and dangerously frigid temperatures swept into the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday, the number of power outages continued to rise. As of 2:16 p.m. EST (1916 GMT) on Sunday, more than 1 million U.S. customers were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us, with at least 330,000 in Tennessee and over 100,000 each in Mississippi and Louisiana. Other states affected included Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia and Alabama.

• • Natural Gas Prices Spike as Winter Storm Approaches

  Putting Grid Reliability to the Test
  
  {E&E NEWS}
  
  

  Jan 22, 2026 -Days before below-freezing temperatures and icy rain were expected to begin bearing down on East Texas, Kountze City Administrator Tim Drake had already heard from his natural gas supplier.

  If the city’s tiny municipal gas utility uses more gas than its typical daily allotment starting on Thursday, Drake said, it will be charged “an exponentially higher rate” for natural gas on the spot market.

  The city is only a couple of years into a 15-year plan to pay off its natural gas bill from 2021, when gas sellers told Drake the cost of 1,000 cubic feet of gas had jumped from $3 to $200.

• • Top Business Leaders Issue an Expletive-
  Laced Message On the Green Backlash

  Top Business Leaders At Davos Aren’t Holding Back In Their Defense of Green Energy
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Jan. 21, 2026 -CEO of mega-insurer Allianz Oliver Bäte called criticism of net-zero goals in Europe "bullsh*t," while founder of mining giant Fortescue Andrew Forrest called for “real zero,” a goal his company has to “simply stopping the burning of fossil fuel” by the end of the decade.

  Between the lines: The comments were a direct rebuttal to the mood at the World Economic Forum, where many businesses are retreating from climate action to avoid being labeled "woke,” as Forrest put it. See also: President Trump’s speech mocking wind energy and dismissing climate change as a hoax.

• • E.P.A. Promises a Ban on Animal Testing by 2035

  The E.P.A. Administrator, Revived a Plan Created During the First Trump Administration to End the Testing of Chemicals On Mammals

  
  

  Jan. 22, 2026 - The Environmental Protection Agency will stop using rabbits, mice, rats and other mammals to test the toxicity of chemicals by 2035, the agency said Thursday.

  Animal rights groups praised the move, while some environmental organizations said they worried that understanding the link between chemical exposure and cancer, or developmental or reproductive issues, would be harder to ascertain without animal testing.

• • Scientists Just Calculated How Many
  Microplastics Are In Our Atmosphere

  The Number Is Absolutely Shocking

  
  

  Jan. 22, 2026 -Microplastics are pervasive, found everywhere on Earth, from the Sahara Desert to patches of Arctic sea ice. Yet despite these plastic particles’ ubiquity, scientists have struggled to determine exactly how many of them are in our atmosphere.

  Now a new estimate published in Nature suggests that land sources release about 600 quadrillion (600,000,000,000,000,000) microplastic particles into the atmosphere every year, about 20 times more than the number of particles contributed by oceans (about 26 quadrillion).

• • Natural Gas Prices Soar As Cold Snap Blasts Across the U.S.

  Natural Gas Prices Skyrocket As an Arctic Blast Freezes the US
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Jan. 21, 2026 -Prices jumped 26% to $3.91 per million BTUs on Tuesday, driven by fears that a massive winter storm moving from the Rockies to the East Coast will spike heating demand and trigger production freeze-offs.

  EBW Analytics warns of “severe market dislocation,” noting that the sudden freeze caught speculators with short positions at a 14-month high, forcing a scramble to buy back gas that could drive prices even higher.

• • Looming Water Supply 'Bankruptcy' Puts Billions At Risk

  UN Report Warning
  
  
  

  Jan. 20, 2026 -The world is facing irreversible water "bankruptcy", with billions of people struggling to cope with the consequences of decades of overuse as well as shrinking supplies from lakes, rivers, glaciers and wetlands, U.N. researchers said on Tuesday.

  Nearly three-quarters of the global population live in countries classified as "water insecure" or "critically water insecure", and 4 billion people face severe water scarcity at least one month per year, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warned in a report, opens new tab.

• • How Clean Energy Can Meet Rising Electricity Demand

  And Deliver Climate and Health Benefits
  
  {Union of Concerned Scientists}
  
  

  Jan. 21, 2026 -The US electricity sector is at an inflection point. After nearly two decades of flat demand, US electricity use is projected to surge over the next decade and beyond due primarily to the growth of data centers for artificial intelligence (AI).

  The emergence of large language models and other forms of generative AI has led to proposals for larger and larger "hyperscale" data centers, with some consuming more electricity than mid-sized cities (Marshall 2025). Over the longer term, greater electrification of transportation, buildings, and industry will drive up demand for electricity even further.

• • Half of Fossil Fuel Carbon Emissions in 2024 Came From 32 Companies

  Latest Carbon Majors Analysis Finds Global CO2 Emissions Are Traceable to an Increasingly Concentrated Set of Producers

  
  

  Jan. 21, 2026 -As fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise to record levels, a new analysis shows that a majority of these emissions can be traced back to a shrinking number of large corporate entities.

  Just 32 companies accounted for over half of global fossil carbon emissions in 2024, according to a report published Wednesday by the U.K.-based think tank InfluenceMap. That is down from 36 companies responsible for half the global CO2 emissions in 2023, and 38 companies five years ago.

• • Judi Dench Backs Campaign to Protect
  London’s Green Spaces From Developers

  Actor Says It's ‘More Important Than Ever’ to Safeguard City’s Parks As Report Finds More Than 50 Are At Risk

  
  

  Jan. 21, 2026 -Dame Judi Dench has called for greater protections for London’s parks and green spaces, as research finds more than 50 of the city’s parks are at risk from development.

  The Oscar-winning actor has long loved trees, and in 2017 fronted a BBC documentary about her love for them. She plants a tree every time a close friend or relative dies, including for her late husband, Michael Williams, who died in 2001, and the actor Natasha Richardson, who was killed in a skiing accident in 2009, and one for her brother Jeffery Dench, who died in 2014.

• • A Big Reason to Ditch Those Plastic Coffee Cups

  Those "Paper" Cups Actually Have Much Plastic That Doesn't Play Well With Heat
  
  
  

  Jan. 20, 2026 -To most of us, that cup feels harmless – just a convenient tool for caffeine delivery. However, if that cup is made of plastic, or has a thin plastic lining, there is a high chance it’s shedding thousands of tiny plastic fragments directly into your drink.

  In Australia alone, we use a staggering 1.45 billion single-use hot beverage cups every year, along with roughly 890 million plastic lids. Globally, that number swells to an estimated 500 billion cups annually.

• • Water Rule Rollback Stokes Affordability Concerns

  Trump Says the Regulation Will Ease Permitting Expenses. Utilities Say Costs Could Shift to Them and Their Customers
  
  {E&E NEWS}
  
  

  Jan. 20, 2026 -As President Donald Trump pledges to help lower costs for Americans, his administration’s plan to reduce protections under the Clean Water Act is fueling new concerns about water affordability.

  The administration is racing to finalize a rule that will chip away at federal oversight for millions of acres of streams and wetlands. Those resources play an important role in filtering pollutants out of drinking supplies and absorbing rainwater during floods — at no direct cost to consumers.

  Trump administration officials say their proposal will provide clarity for farmers and landowners and ease costs for businesses. Yet local officials who oversee sewer systems and water treatment plants say the changes could shift costs to them, putting pressure on water bills at a time when millions of Americans struggle to pay them.

• • Projected Electricity Usage Expected to Strain
  Kansas Grid Unless Transmission, Generation Added

  Kansas Regulators Are Warning of “Unbelievable” Load Growth and Blackout Risks
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Jan. 21, 2026 -Projections show electricity load growth in the state surging as high as 99% by 2035. Without massive intervention, SPP estimates the region could face 114 days of load shedding annually by 2034—far exceeding the standard of 1 day per decade.

  A key part of the immediate solution—a 133-mile transmission line through 4 counties—is meeting heavy resistance from landowners, who argue the project will "carve a scar" across the state and imperil lucrative wind leases.

  Beyond transmission: Regulators warn that without generation to match the soaring demand, SPP's reserve margin will plummet from 20.7% today to -1.6% by 2030.

• • In Bangladesh, Thousands of Volunteers
  Battle Climate-Fueled Disease At Its Source

  As Mosquitoes Spread Dengue and Chikungunya, Bangladeshi Cleanup Crews Are Taking Public Health into Their Own Hands
  
  
  

  Jan. 20, 2026 - It is a cloudy, humid September morning near the end of monsoon season in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Streets normally bustling are quiet as residents of the Uttara neighborhood prepare for the weekly prayer.

  Suddenly, dozens of young volunteers emerge from the silence, gathering before heading to the shores of a small nearby lake. There, the stench of rotting waste hangs heavily in the air, burning the inside of their nostrils and stifling breaths. The volunteers begin to organize into different teams. Some pick litter off the ground. Others take a canoe and nets into the stagnant water. They collect plastic containers, banana peels, and anything else that has pooled in or near the lake over months and years. Some volunteers even dive into the murky water searching for waste.

• • Angeleno Group Buys Into Grid Tech Firm

  Century City-based Angeleno Group Invests in Australian Company IND Technology
  
  {Los Angeles Business Journal}
  
  

  Jan. 19, 2026 -Beverly Hills-based venture capital and growth equity firm Angeleno Groupand global energy investor Energy Impact Partners committed $50 million in Australian dollars to IND Technology, a leading provider of systems that detect grid failures.

  The pledge, worth roughly over $33 million U.S. dollars and announced Dec. 15, is an extension of the firm’s clean-energy and climate-focused investment strategy and will support product deployment and machine learning engineering development at IND.

• • The Science Behind the Winter Threat Hidden in Plain Sight

  It's Labeled as 'Black Ice'
  
  
  

  Jan. 19, 2026 - When the weather is calling for winter storms, drivers know to prepare for roads with slippery sleet and snow. But there is an invisible hazard that can appear even when skies are clear—black ice.

  "It can be present when there is no precipitation so it can sneak up on you,” says Michael Muccilli, a meteorologist with NOAA’s National Weather Service.

  Black ice creates a dangerously slippery surface where tires can no longer grip the pavement.

• • Chile Fires Kill At Least 18 As Firefighters Battle Extreme Heat, Winds

  And It’s Good News for Climate Change
  
  
  

  Jan. 19, 2026 - Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in two regions in the south of the country on Sunday as raging wildfires forced at least 20,000 people to evacuate and left at least 18 people dead.

  According to Chile's CONAF forestry agency, firefighters were battling 24 active fires across the country as of Sunday morning, with the largest being in the regions of Ñuble and Bío Bío, where the government declared the emergency. The regions are about 500 km south of the capital, Santiago.