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POLITICS

Two ‘Forever Chemicals’ Proposed to be Labeled as Hazardous Substances

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced their proposal on August 26, 2022 to add two commonly-used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).  The proposed designation was first announced during its preliminary stage in late 2020. With the Biden-Harris Administration’s […]

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Recent Rise In Murders of Environmentalists Across The Globe

In September, the international NGO Global Witness released its annual report on investigations into the murders of land and environmental activists worldwide. The organization reported a record high of 227 activists who were killed for their battles against resource exploitation in 2020. Global Witness believes, however, that the number is significantly higher but unknown due […]

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Australian Government Returns Rainforests to Aboriginal People

On September 29, 2021, the Queensland State Government in Australia signed an agreement that returned a region of rainforests to the Aboriginal, or indigenous, tribal group that has inhabited the land for thousands of years. Included in the agreement were Daintree, Cedar Bay, Black Mountain, and the Hope Islands national parks; in total, 160,000 hectares […]

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The River Thames Has a Drug Problem

As London’s urban population continues to grow, improper wastewater management increases exponentially. Every major and growing city has experienced at one point or another an imminent need to update its sewer systems in order to accommodate the waste influx. In London, this issue is acutely prominent due to improper disposal of sanitary products and the […]

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A New Worry: Microplastics in Human Placenta

In a study released out of Italy on December 2, 2020, researchers found microplastics embedded in human placenta, exposing an entirely new concern surrounding improper plastic disposal.  About 320 million tons of plastic are produced annually around the world, 40% of which are single-use and thus cannot be recycled. Often, people improperly dispose of these […]