The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is outlining steps it plans to take to address methane and smog-forming emissions from the oil and gas industry.
The agency on Wednesday announced the changes and claimed the tighter controls will “reduce methane pollution from new sources, reduce ozone-forming pollutants from existing sources in areas that do not meet federal ozone health standards, and build on work that states and industry are doing to address emissions from existing sources elsewhere.”…
News
This page features excerpts from news about environmental justice advocacy in the San Joaquin Valley and links to their original sources. Use the features on the right to sort by topic, news source, date, key word or author. You may also subscribe to receive the news by e-mail or through an rss reader. Please note that links to original sources may expire over time.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is limiting use of a popular fumigant in the state, saying tighter restrictions of chloropicrin are needed to protect the public…
Latino Americans suffer from disproportionately high rates of obesity—especially children, who are 51 percent more likely to be obese than their white counterparts. Unhealthy advertising from food companies, a lack of access to safe and adequate recreational areas, and poor snack and beverage options at schools have all been cited as major contributors to this early-life epidemic.
But there may be another, overlooked factor in the mix: A recent policy brief from U.C. Davis’ Center for Poverty Research shows how negative beliefs about the safety and quality of tap water, especially among Latinos, is linked to higher consumption of sugary beverages—key culprits in obesity…
California farmers must restrict their use of a tear gas-like pesticide applied to strawberries and other crops under new rules designed to protect farmworkers and people who live, work and go to school near agricultural fields.
The state Department of Pesticide Regulation on Wednesday announced the nation’s strictest limits on chloropicrin, a chemical that many farmers inject into the soil of strawberries, raspberries, almonds and other valuable crops. Hundreds of people have suffered respiratory ailments, skin irritation and headaches from the pesticide when it has leaked into the air in recent years, according to agency officials, who say use of the chemical has been increasing…
Today the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced new “recommended restrictions” on the use of chloropicrin, a cancer-causing pesticide used widely on California strawberries. Health, environmental and rural advocates say that DPR ignored its own scientists in developing today’s proposal, and that the recommended restrictions fall far short of protecting schoolchildren and rural residents from harmful exposures to the toxic pesticide…
Avenal was on the painful receiving end of water shortages last year, but under a new draft environmental impact statement released last November and given an extended public comment period this week by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the small Kings County city could receive more water during drought…
Late last year as drought-strained water supplies dwindled, the small city of Huron paid an eye-popping $57,000 for a small amount of river water that was gone in weeks.
The Latino-dominated city in southwest Fresno County was recently ranked the poorest in California, yet it paid more than 10 times the usual rate for the water.
Officials felt relieved to keep taps flowing for the 6,700 residents. Even better, they say, federal officials have committed to paying for the emergency supply…
Air monitors in the San Joaquin Valley show a spike in dangerous particle pollution — including Hanford readings three times the federal health threshold.
Monitors in Clovis, Fresno, Visalia, Porterville and Bakersfield are recording levels near twice the health standard for the pollution, called PM-2.5. The microscopic debris contains chemicals, soot, moisture and bits of dust…
Few cities in the nation this time of year can boast the sort of idyllic, spring-like daytime temperatures residents of the southern San Joaquin Valley have been enjoying over the past several days.
But in Bakersfield, delightful winter weather often equals horrible winter air…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sees a connection between cleaning up the air and water and helping the economy grow, says Gina McCarthy, who leads the federal government’s environmental guardian.
As technology makes engines and water systems more efficient, people will save money and help the economy grow, she said Tuesday during a visit to Fresno. But she added that public dollars are needed to bring the same benefits to low-income communities that can’t pay for new water facilities or cleaner-running vehicles.
“These are the communities hardest hit by polluted air and water,” she said in an editorial board meeting with The Fresno Bee…