Please invest in Our Daily Planet today, by making a one time or monthly contribution.
We do not charge our readers a subscription fee for our content. We want to continue to grow our readership, particularly among millennials and public servants. Voluntary contributions from readers will help us employ interns and freelance journalists, expand our content, and reach a larger audience.
If you make a contribution of $150 or more, you will become an official “Friend of the Planet” and receive a Friend of the Planet T-shirt or water bottle.
by Amy Lupica, ODP Contributing Writer A new study released last week found that 80% of homes in the U.S. have lead in their tap water and that babies fed formula mixed with tap water were the most at risk for lead exposure. Additionally, researchers found that Black infants were more likely to be exposed […]
Continue Reading 622 words
Two new reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists explain in detail how this administration’s rollbacks of bedrock environmental, health and safety standards have exposed children to more poisons in the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air that they breathe and has actively suppressed the science that would give us a greater understanding of how children are uniquely affected by chemicals and toxins.
Why This Matters: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says no safe blood-lead level for lead has been found for children — they should not be exposed at all.
Continue Reading 521 words
The Trump administration — after years of promising and more than 9 years of work by EPA — finally issued a proposed rule on lead in drinking water that does not require the removal of the estimated 6 million or more lead service lines that remain underground throughout the nation, and in fact, it doubles the amount of time allotted to replace lead pipes in water systems that contain high levels of lead.
Why This Matters: They may try to put lipstick on this pig (sorry for the old pun), and it could have been worse, but when the Trump Administration brags that they put this rule in place, the question should be why did they not do more? This proposed rule is hardly sufficient to deal with the scope and the harm caused by lead in drinking water in this nation.
Continue Reading 438 words
We wrote the other week about Newark’s ongoing water crisis and the city’s plan to distribute bottled water to residents after water filters that were previously made available to the public lacked the ability to filter out lead. Now New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced a new $120 million plan yesterday to fast-track […]
Continue Reading 394 words
After it was determined that the 40,000 filters Newark city officials gave out to residents to address the ongoing water crisis weren’t actually filtering out lead, the city decided to begin distributing bottled water. In a startling echo of Flint, residents of Newark have been kept in the dark about the safety of their drinking […]
Continue Reading 595 words
The military is struggling to cope with a series of climate change related disasters and other environmental health and safety emergencies. Defense News reported yesterday that funding ran out yesterday for relief efforts at Tyndall Air Force Base related to Hurricane Michael, which prevents the start of all new work and puts more than 120 projects planned to begin after May 1 on hold indefinitely. Disaster funding is stuck in Congress because the President insists that it not include more funds for Puerto Rico’s hurricane damage.
Continue Reading 501 wordsSubscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.
