Air

"Warming of the surface of the Arctic is matched by a colder polar vortex high in the atmosphere, which is speeding the breakdown of the Earth’s shield against ultraviolet rays."

"It’s been a year and a half since California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed oil regulators to consider new health and safety measures to protect people living near oil and gas drilling sites. But those regulators missed another deadline Monday for releasing the rules, frustrating environmental advocates who say communities can’t wait any longer for change."

"Limetree Bay, a massive oil refinery in the Caribbean, announced Monday that it is ceasing operations following a number of catastrophic errors that rained oil droplets on St. Croix, sent residents to emergency rooms after noxious gas releases and raised fears among homeowners that their drinking water was laced with toxic chemicals."

"The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday he has fully reinstated one of two key advisory boards he dismantled earlier this year in a push for “scientific integrity” at the agency."

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday got a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time since 2017."

"A massive fire broke out at a suburban chemical plant on Monday morning, sending a towering plume of smoke into the air and forcing evacuations of residents who live near the plant."

"In Houston and Corpus Christi, the impacted communities are predominantly Black and Latino. Scientists say the dangers of benzene, a carcinogen, are not well understood."

"The Biden administration says it will consider tougher limits on a deadly air pollutant that disproportionately affects low-income and minority communities."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will eliminate asbestos reporting loopholes put in place by the Trump administration and collect more data on how much of the carcinogen is made, imported and put into U.S products under a settlement announced Monday."

"EPA might try to toughen hazardous air pollutant standards for coal-fired power plants in the course of revisiting one of the Trump administration's most incendiary environmental moves, according to the agency's acting air chief.