environmental-health
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California struggles to electrify trucks as Trump administration blocks state rules
California’s push to cut truck pollution and electrify freight fleets faces legal and political setbacks under President Trump, threatening public health in polluted regions like the San Joaquin Valley.
In short:
- California’s Advanced Clean Trucks and Clean Fleets rules aim to shift the state’s trucking industry to zero-emission vehicles, but under the Trump administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revoked key waivers that would allow the state to enforce its mandates on private fleets.
- The San Joaquin Valley, where nearly half of California’s truck traffic passes through, has some of the dirtiest air in the U.S., contributing to high asthma rates and other health problems.
- Despite setbacks, state regulators and industry advocates continue building infrastructure and pushing market incentives, though some businesses are pulling back on electric truck investments amid the regulatory uncertainty.
Key quote:
“There’s no question that the transition away from combustion trucks to zero-emission would save lives, prevent asthma attacks, and generate significant, significant public health benefits all around the state.”
— Will Barrett, senior director for nationwide clean air advocacy, American Lung Association
Why this matters:
The diesel trucks that keep America’s goods moving also pour nitrogen oxides and particulate matter into the air, especially in transportation corridors like California’s San Joaquin Valley. These emissions worsen asthma and lung disease and contribute to smog and climate change. While zero-emission trucks offer a path to cleaner air, the technology faces steep economic and political hurdles. Under Trump, the federal government has moved to block California’s authority to enforce clean truck rules — a blow to efforts that protect vulnerable communities from chronic exposure to toxic exhaust. Without federal support, state-led clean air efforts are harder to enforce, and public health gains become less certain.
Read more: California backs off electric truck mandate but offers incentives
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The hidden cost of powering your phone might be someone else’s cancer
As the world races to secure rare earth elements for tech and defense, residents of Baotou, China bear the brunt of toxic pollution and displacement.
In short:
- Baotou is China’s rare earth capital, fueling global tech and military industries while dealing with toxic waste and widespread health problems.
- Residents living near tailings ponds have faced cancer, birth defects, and neurological disorders linked to exposure from mining byproducts.
- While Beijing touts environmental cleanup and economic progress, local communities have been displaced, and evidence of illness and contamination persists.
Key quote:
"Large-scale extraction quite often proceeds at the expense of the health and well-being of surrounding communities, pretty much regardless of the context."
— Julie Klinger, associate professor at the University of Delaware
Why this matters:
China calls Baotou its “rare earth capital,” and it’s not exaggerating. More than 80% of the country’s known reserves are extracted and processed here. But what’s left behind after the magnets and metals are separated is an environmental nightmare — tailings ponds leaking toxics substances, and ghost towns where farms once fed generations. While Beijing talks up cleanup efforts and green growth, those living closest to the waste say the truth is much dirtier. Global tech giants and defense contractors rely on Baotou, but its people are paying with their health. The rest of the world rarely looks backRead more: In push to mine for minerals, clean energy advocates ask what going green really means
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Toxic mine runoff cleanup revives West Virginia waterways and extracts rare earth elements
Once-lifeless streams across West Virginia are being revived by community-led efforts to treat coal mine pollution, which is now also yielding valuable rare earth metals.
In short:
- Decades of coal mining left streams across West Virginia acidic and contaminated with heavy metals, turning waterways orange and killing aquatic life. Nonprofit groups have built low-tech treatment systems using limestone and wetlands to neutralize acidity and trap metals like iron and aluminum.
- A new state-operated facility at the abandoned Richard Mine uses higher-tech methods to clean up polluted water and recover rare earth elements, crucial for clean energy and military technologies. These elements dissolve naturally in acidic mine runoff, making them cheaper to extract than from raw ore.
- Rare earth recovery could help fund future cleanups, as prices remain high. The effort is also boosting local economies through outdoor recreation and tourism, which now support more jobs than coal mining in the state.
Key quote:
“If we look to the future, coal is a much smaller part of the overall energy picture in the country and it’s unlikely to ever regain the same level that it once had.”
— Dave Bassage, program coordinator at New River Conservancy
Why this matters:
Acid mine drainage is a persistent legacy of coal mining that continues to contaminate streams and groundwater across Appalachia. It forms when exposed pyrite reacts with air and water to create sulfuric acid, dissolving toxic metals into waterways. The result is not just ecological damage — it also threatens drinking water for rural communities and corrodes infrastructure. But the same pollution causing these problems is now a potential source of rare earth elements, essential for solar panels, electric vehicles, and national defense. With global supply chains under strain, tapping into this accidental resource could be economically and environmentally significant, especially for communities long burdened by extractive industries.
Read more: Coal mine pollution in Canada and the U.S. faces international review
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Texas expands funding for plugging oil and gas wells as costs and risks rise
Texas lawmakers approved $100 million in new funding to seal abandoned oil and gas wells, but advocates warn that weak policies will keep adding to the problem.
In short:
- Texas will spend an additional $100 million over two years to plug orphaned oil and gas wells, aiming to seal 1,700 wells annually, or about 20% of the state’s known total.
- The average cost of plugging each well rose over 50% from 2019 to 2023, driven by blowouts and complex emergencies, especially in the Permian Basin.
- A new law, SB 1150, requires plugging of wells inactive for 15 years, but loopholes and lenient extensions could limit its impact without further rule changes.
Key quote:
“We’re going to get another two years down the road in the next budget cycle and there are going to be more orphans. The Legislature has not really seen the picture of how extensive this problem is.”
— Schuyler Wight, Permian Basin landowner
Why this matters:
Orphaned and inactive oil and gas wells leak methane and can contaminate groundwater, posing a growing threat to public health and the environment. These wells often go unmonitored after companies abandon them, leaving taxpayers on the hook for cleanup. In Texas alone, nearly 9,000 orphan wells and over 150,000 inactive wells remain at risk of turning into long-term liabilities. Some have already blown out, shooting saltwater and gases into the air and soil. As plugging costs soar and aging infrastructure fails, the risk of environmental harm grows. Without stronger regulation and enforcement, the number of dangerous, abandoned wells will likely continue to outpace efforts to close them, even as federal policy pivots to increased fossil fuel production.
Read more: Orphan oil wells threaten U.S. aquifers with rising contamination risks
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Wildfires leave lasting scars on water supplies by spreading contaminants for years
Communities that rely on forested watersheds for drinking water face prolonged risks after wildfires, as new research shows pollutants can persist in rivers for nearly a decade.
In short:
- A large-scale study of 245 burned and 300 unburned watersheds in the western U.S. found that wildfires significantly degrade water quality, with contaminants spiking up to 286 times above normal levels.
- Key pollutants include sediment, organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, which can overwhelm treatment facilities and react with chlorine to form harmful disinfection byproducts.
- Elevated nitrogen and sediment levels lasted up to eight years, raising the risk of algal blooms and making some water sources unusable for extended periods.
Why this matters:
Wildfires are increasingly affecting how communities in the western United States access clean water. As flames strip away forest cover and bake the soil into a waxy, water-repellent layer, the first rains after a fire wash ash, chemicals, and debris into rivers and reservoirs. This runoff clogs filters, spurs algae growth, and mixes with disinfectants to produce carcinogenic byproducts — problems that don’t resolve quickly. Many cities depend on mountain watersheds for drinking water, yet the damage from fires can linger for years, complicating treatment and threatening supply reliability. With hotter, drier conditions fueling larger fires and more people moving into fire-prone areas, the link between forest health and water security is becoming increasingly important to understand.
Read more: Wildfires threaten drinking water with contamination risks
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Chile moves to hold clothing importers accountable for fast fashion waste
Chile has expanded its producer responsibility law to include textiles, aiming to clean up massive clothing dumps in the Atacama Desert and shift the country toward a circular economy.
In short:
- Chile’s environment ministry now requires importers to report the volume of clothing they bring into the country, as part of a new policy targeting textile waste under its extended producer responsibility law.
- Over 90% of textiles in Chile are imported, with an estimated 123,000 tons of second-hand clothing entering the country annually — much of it ending up in illegal dumps in the Atacama Desert.
- The government plans to introduce regulations encouraging repair, reuse, and recycling, and to eliminate unregulated clothing dumpsites that often burn waste and pollute nearby communities.
Key quote:
“The inclusion of textiles in the [producer responsibility law] will establish the obligations of producers, who will no longer be able to disregard the environmental impacts of unused textiles.”
— Maisa Rojas, Chile’s environment minister
Why this matters:
Textile waste is a growing global problem, with environmental and public health consequences that often go unseen. In Chile’s Atacama Desert, used clothing imports have overwhelmed local infrastructure, creating massive dumps that leach chemicals and microfibers into the soil and air. Some clothes are burned, releasing toxic chemicals that can harm respiratory health in nearby communities. The issue reflects the broader costs of fast fashion — an industry built on rapid turnover, fossil fuel- based synthetic fibers, and global supply chains that shift waste burdens onto poorer nations. As textile production increases worldwide, unmanaged waste will likely expand, threatening both ecosystems and the people living closest to discarded goods.
Related: Why shoppers should avoid fabric blends when buying clothes
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Oil companies divide Indigenous Amazon communities where the state fails to show up
In Ecuador’s Amazon, oil companies have taken over the roles of health providers, educators, and employers — fracturing Indigenous communities and undermining their autonomy in the process.
Emilia Paz y Miño and Isabela Ponce report for Mongabay and GK.
In short:
- For decades, oil companies operating in Block 10 have stepped in where Ecuador’s government hasn’t, offering healthcare, education, and jobs in exchange for access to Indigenous land.
- These services come at a cost: Companies pit communities against each other, deepen internal divisions, and offer only short-term benefits while polluting the land and water.
- Indigenous leaders like Rosa Aranda are pushing back, demanding accountability and trying to preserve community control and unity in the face of oil industry encroachment.
Key quote:
“They have provided jobs in certain areas, such as environmental outreach and health care, but not in others, due to a territorial dispute with the community of Villano, who took our places saying that the pipeline doesn’t pass through our land."
— Rosa Aranda, President of Moretecocha, Indigenous governing body formed of eight Kichwa communities
Why this matters:
When extractive industries replace the state, they create dependence and erode the social fabric. Communities once bound together by shared tradition and land are now split by uneven access to oil-funded benefits. In addition to polluting ecosystems, these corporate power grabs leave behind deeper inequality and worsen health outcomes in some of the most remote, vulnerable communities.
Read more: The planet’s largest ecosystems could collapse faster than we thought
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