Consumer

"Gov. Wes Moore’s nominee to the Maryland Public Service Commission withdrew from consideration on Tuesday, after environmentalists criticized the appointment of someone who was an official in the fossil fuel industry."

"Critics are describing the Biden administration’s opening position in a United Nations effort to reach a global treaty or agreement to end plastic waste as vague and weak, despite its recognition of a need to end plastic pollution by 2040."

"Plastic use in G20 countries is on course to nearly double by the middle of the century unless a comprehensive and legally binding global treaty to curb consumption is drawn up, according to research published on Monday."

"New lawsuit aims to make the agency do what Congress ordered more than 25 years ago."

"In 1996, Congress ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test all pesticides used on food for endocrine disruption by 1999. The EPA still doesn’t do this today.

Nor does it appear close to doing so, argue the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the agency in December for its ongoing failure to implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

"The Inflation Reduction Act includes money to help develop subscription-based solar programs."

"On a farm field east of Faribault, Minnesota, a 1.3-megawatt solar array provides electricity to serve about 180 subscribers.

The project, which occupies about six acres, is an example of community solar—also called “shared solar” or “solar gardens”—a kind of development in which subscribers receive credits on their monthly utility bills for the solar electricity produced.

"American homes in flood zones are overvalued by hundreds of billions of dollars, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Nature Climate Change."

"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved new rules Thursday to help protect the electricity system during severe winter weather, but grid experts said more action is needed to prevent deadly power outages like those that occurred during Winter Storm Uri."

"Cotton farmers in Texas suffered record losses amid heat and drought last year, new data shows. It’s an example of how global warming is a “secret driver of inflation.”"

"Don’t look now, but the divided Congress could pass a major climate change bill."

"A visit to East Palestine from the head of the E.P.A. and a White House pledge to lend more support were met with skepticism in the community."