Communities Near Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Have Higher Cancer Rates

People living near concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in California, Texas and Iowa suffer from higher rates of cancer, suggesting that the air and water pollution from the massive farms may be playing a role, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, comes just weeks after a years-long report in Iowa found the state’s agricultural…
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Safe Drinking Water Is a Basic Human Right That Texas Prisons Fail to Respect

A recent report from the Texas Civil Rights Project reveals widespread and longstanding failures in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) provision of safe drinking water to those incarcerated in state prisons. People are forced to drink and bathe with water they describe as over-chlorinated, slimy, and foul-smelling. The only source of water within most of their cells is a small sink…
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EPA Proposal Threatens Ability to Block Pipelines, Other Infrastructure Projects

The Trump Administration on Tuesday proposed a new rule aimed at speeding up and streamlining the permitting process for large energy and infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines and facilities tied to artificial intelligence. The rule, which does not require action by Congress, includes a suite of procedural changes to section 401 of the Clean Water Act — a law enacted in the…
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Millions Across Michigan May Be Exposed to PFAS in Private Water Wells

Seeking peace and quiet amid hectic careers, Sandy Wynn-Stelt and her husband Joel moved to Kent County, Michigan, in 1992. They picked out a home surrounded by woods and across from a Christmas tree farm, which Wynn-Stelt said was “about as Michigan as you can get.” She was working in the mental health field. He was a social worker investigating child abuse. Their peace in the idylls of…
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