Environmental Health

"The White House has frozen or withdrawn hundreds of planned rules, a move aimed at bolstering the economy but that scraps proposed protections for workers and the environment."

"The White House’s Office of Management and Budget detailed Thursday how it would jettison hundreds of existing or planned regulations as part of its larger push to ease federal restrictions on the private sector, upending federal policies on labor, the environment and public health.

"The most obvious effect of global warming is not a doomsday scenario. Extreme heat is happening today, and wreaking havoc on vulnerable bodies."

"A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday denied a petition by environmental groups to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the agricultural pesticide chlorpyrifos, ending one of three parallel attempts to bring about the ban, court filings show."

"Scientists worry the next devastating disease could be born where animals and humans mix in a Third World slum – then cross the globe. Zika may have been a preview."

"The House on Tuesday passed, 229-199, a bill to delay the compliance date for Obama-era ground level ozone standards."

"House appropriators are quietly urging the Trump administration to abandon proposed U.S. EPA regulations that would ban certain uses of three dangerous chemicals and restrict the number of hazardous waste reviews done by the Department of Health and Human Services."

"Lead has been detected in more than half of the water fountains and sinks in 47 school districts tested in Bergen County, according to a new report by an environmental advocacy group."

"Michael Dourson, President Donald J. Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s office that oversees commercial chemicals and pesticides, is a board-certified toxicologist with decades of experience in risk assessment. Dourson’s close ties to the chemical industry, however, have some environmental groups raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest."

"When my editors asked me to report on forest bathing, I packed a swimsuit. I assumed it must involve a dip in the water. It turns out, my interpretation was too literal. ... The aim of forest bathing ... is to slow down and become immersed in the natural environment. She helped us tune in to the smells, textures, tastes and sights of the forest."

"The pending buyouts for U.S. EPA employees could mean an exodus from the agency's scientific research shop."