Consumer

"A small South Carolina law firm angling to be the lead litigator in the Camp Lejeune toxic water cases spent $1.9 million lobbying US lawmakers in the last two years, as Congress approved a multibillion-dollar payout to sickened veterans that dropped a provision to limit the fees their lawyers could charge."

"Millions of people in Mexico don't have access to clean water. Extreme heat and drought brought on by climate change are partly to blame, but so is the aging infrastructure and years of mismanaging water."

"At an industry conference, top executives lamented they had “lost the narrative” on natural gas, and outlined an effort to sell their product as the “cleanest energy in the world.”"

"Tom Brundy, an alfalfa grower in California's Imperial Valley, thinks farmers reliant on the shrinking Colorado River can do more to save water and use it more efficiently. That's why he's installed water sensors and monitors to prevent waste on nearly two-thirds of his 3,000 acres."

"The automobile has been a fixture of urban life for more than a century. Then came the coronavirus pandemic. Congested streets turned into pedestrian safe havens. Now many want to make those changes permanent — but it won’t happen without a fight."

"Mandatory water restrictions are being lifted for nearly 7 million people across Southern California following winter storms that have boosted reservoirs and eased the severe shortage that emerged during the state’s driest three-year period on record."

"Nike said it will stop using kangaroo skins for its shoes this year, weeks after a similar step from German rival Puma, which would end a highly controversial practice that has drawn ire from consumers and animal rights activists."

"EPA is taking aim at six notorious “forever chemicals” with aggressive standards likely to usher in a new hard-line approach to the compounds."

"In the face of melting permafrost, Iñupiat communities in Alaska find new solutions to keeping traditional ice cellars cold."

"Farmers like Marcella Warner Holman and the companies that deal in beef are experiencing a mix of defensiveness, anger and guarded optimism as they chart a course for survival in a world that’s often telling people to eat less meat or none at all. So far, they say, the messaging war hasn’t shaken Americans’ appetite for steak and burgers — but it’s frustrating nonetheless."