Latest news with #EnvironmentAmerica
New York Post
08-07-2025
- Health
- New York Post
More than half of East Coast beaches tested positive for fecal contamination, shocking new study reveals — how did your vacation spot do?
Hold your nose — and maybe hold off on that beach day. More than 60% of U.S. beaches tested in 2024 had at least one day where the water was so full of fecal bacteria that it failed federal safety standards, according to a new report by Environment America's Research & Policy Center. That's 1,930 beaches out of 3,187 that were dirtier than your dog after a mud run. Advertisement The top offenders? The Gulf Coast, where a whopping 84% of beaches had at least one 'poo-lution' problem day, followed by the West Coast (79%) and the Great Lakes (71%). The East Coast didn't exactly sparkle — 54% were flagged for contamination. Only Alaska and Hawaii offered a relatively clean sweep, with just 10% of beaches testing unsafe. Advertisement 3 So much for West Coast beaches being cleaner than the East Coast. Christopher Sadowski How bad is it? Nearly 1 in 7 beaches showed potentially dangerous levels of fecal contamination on a quarter of all testing days, the report found. And the fun doesn't stop at dirty data. Swimming in these murky waters could bring a not-so-sunny side of summer — think gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory issues, ear infections, and skin rashes. The report estimates 57 million related cases hit Americans each year, most of which go unreported — or unremembered once the vacation tan fades. 'Enjoying the fresh sea breeze and splash of waves at the beach is a highlight of the summer for many Americans,' said John Rumpler, clean water director for Environment America Research & Policy Center. 'But pollution still plagues too many of the places where we swim.' Advertisement As previously reported by The Post, New York's own Windmill Beach in Sag Harbor made national headlines for being one of the top 10 most bacteria-ridden beaches in the country — with a stomach-churning 43% contamination rate. It's not the Hamptons souvenir you want to bring home. 3 Nearly 1 in 7 beaches tested dirty on at least 25% of the days sampled — meaning swimmers had a 1-in-4 shot of wading into a bacterial brew. Christopher Sadowski In fact, over half of New York's beaches were found to be contaminated with poop or sewage last year, according to a previous Environment America report. Déjà poo, anyone? Advertisement Adding insult to injury? Federal funding to fix this mess is circling the drain. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps communities upgrade aging sewer and stormwater systems, needs $630 billion over the next two decades, per the EPA. But the White House's 2026 budget proposal would slash it. 'Now is not the time to slash the water infrastructure funding that communities sorely need to stop the flow of nasty bacteria and pollution to our beaches,' Rumpler warned. And it's not just the infrastructure getting flushed — beachgoers themselves aren't helping. 3 Beachgoers aren't helping this gross situation by peeing in the ocean. NurPhoto via Getty Images As The Post previously dished, a staggering 70% of Americans admit to peeing in the ocean, and 1 in 4 admit to littering, even though 82% say it's the most annoying beach behavior. So before you cannonball into your local shoreline this summer, maybe check if it's a splash zone — or a crap trap.
The Hill
08-07-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Nearly two-thirds of US beaches saw fecal contamination last year: Report
As Americans flock to the country's coasts — and to the lakes and rivers in between — in the heat of summer, they may be doing so despite the presence of fecal matter. A stark 1,930 out of 3,187 beaches sampled across the nation in 2024 experienced at least one day on which indicators of fecal contamination exceeded federal safety levels, a new report has revealed. Those beaches, about 61 percent of those tested, surpassed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) most protective 'Beach Action Value,' a precautionary tool states can utilize to make closure decisions. One in seven beaches — 453 of those sampled — showed potentially unsafe fecal contamination on at least 25 percent of the days on which testing occurred, according to the report, related by Environment America's Research & Policy Center. The Gulf Coast had the biggest share of beaches with at least on unsafe day in 2024, reaching 84 percent, followed by the West Coast, with 79 percent, and the Great Lakes, with 71 percent. The East Coast fared a bit better, with 54 percent, while just 10 percent of Alaska and Hawaii's beaches had an unsafe day. Swimming in contaminated water, the report authors warned, can cause gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory diseases, ear and eye infections and skin rashes. Each year, they noted, there are about 57 million cases of related illnesses nationwide, although the vast majority go unreported. Last year, there were more than 7,563 health warnings or closures at U.S. coastal and Great Lakes beaches alone — impacting one out of every 15 swimming days, federal data showed. The data presented in the report, which came from the National Water Quality Monitoring Council's Water Quality Portal, included samples for spots deemed 'historical' under the October 2000 Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act). The authors considered beach sites 'potentially unsafe' if test results exceeded an EPA illness rate threshold of 32 per 1,000 swimmers As American beachgoers continue to face potentially widespread contamination, the researchers noted that Congress is reconsidering funding for the main federal program focused on stopping sewage overflows. The EPA last year reported that this program, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, will need at least $630 billion over the next two decades to provide sufficient treatment to the country's wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. But that same fund could face steep cuts under the White House's 2026 budget proposal. 'Enjoying the fresh sea breeze and splash of waves at the beach is a highlight of the summer for many Americans, but pollution still plagues too many of the places where we swim,' report co-author John Rumpler, clean water director for Environment America Research & Policy Center, said in a statement. 'Now is not the time to slash the water infrastructure funding that communities sorely need to stop the flow of nasty bacteria and pollution to our beaches,' he added.
Miami Herald
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Wind power isn't about politics. Don't repeal clean energy tax credits
If you take a journey to the literal center of the United States, you'll end up either 20 miles north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota (if you're including Alaska and Hawaii), or near Lebanon, Kansas (if you just count the contiguous 48 states). Either way, you might be surprised to learn, you'll also be smack dab in the heart of America's clean energy transition. The fact that solar and wind power is booming in many Great Plains as well as Southern U.S. states has the potential to scramble the unhelpful political polarization we often see around clean energy, especially at the federal level. Americans in rural states are no strangers to harnessing clean energy such as wind power. For more than 100 years, farmers and ranchers have used the Aermotor Windmill to pump water. This crucial machinery has become a defining feature of the landscape. In 2025, abundant wind power in the Great Plains states, along with solar power, provides electricity to millions of homes and businesses. It makes sense to harness wind energy in these states, where air builds speed and rolls across the open land after funneling through mountains, canyons and passes. As the South Dakota-based poet John Banasiak wrote: 'Free flight over the flatlands / the wind played the canyons of the Badlands and / the old abandoned cabins like harmonicas.' When Environment America looked at the latest renewable energy data for all 50 states, we found that the top states for renewables, as a share of retail electricity sales, were South Dakota (92%), Iowa (83%) and Kansas (74%) — all windy places. Oklahoma joined Iowa and Kansas in the Top 5 for how much renewable energy each state harnesses. Texas was on top. In our polarized discourse, misleading stereotypes often gain traction. Some would expect California to be the only bastion of renewable energy. Others wouldn't bother looking to the Great Plains for renewable energy leadership. Yet, as our State of Renewables report shows, in 2025, renewable energy usage is a 50-state phenomenon. The states leading the way cut across supposed geographical, political and cultural divides. Increasing numbers of Americans are realizing the simple, irrefutable truth that renewable energy has unique qualities that benefit everyone, no matter their political allegiance. In the face of extreme weather, which has wreaked havoc across the nation in the last few years, clean energy improves our ability to keep ourselves and our families safe. When rooftop solar is hooked up to battery storage, it's possible for homes and businesses to keep the lights on in those critical hours or days when the grid is down. States producing abundant renewable energy can also help other parts of the United States in times of need. After Winter Storm Elliott caused power outages in southeastern states a few years ago, Midwestern renewables came to their aid. When the power went down in Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, the Midwestern grid operator was able to direct energy their way in part because wind energy production remained high during the storm. Another positive for wind and solar is they benefit everyone, even those who don't get power from them, in the form of cleaner air. According to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report, about 46% of Americans live in areas with unsafe levels of ozone or particulate pollution. That would be even worse without the solar and wind power we've already installed in the U.S., which cut health-threatening sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution from power plants by nearly 1 million metric tons between 2019 and 2022 — enough to prevent an estimated 1,400 premature deaths in 2022. Given this, it's tragic that the U.S. House of Representatives just voted to throw out tax credits that make it easier for Americans to choose to power their lives with renewable energy. As the U.S. Senate takes up the budget reconciliation bill, public input is crucial. Americans can add their voices by contacting their senators to urge them to keep the incentives. I hope our national conversation about renewable energy will soon be as much about Kansas, South Dakota, Texas and Iowa as it is about California or Massachusetts. And wind turbines and solar panels will be seen as the latest products of the same smart, efficient engineering that gave us the Aermotor Windmill. Whether it's wind power in the Midwest or solar power in the Northeast, renewable energy is already abundant and available wherever in America you call home.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Even in red America, clean energy is booming. But now, huge renewable projects are dead.
Published by The Guardian, Renewable Energy World, Mississippi Today, The Invading Sea. Renewable energy in the United States has surged to unprecedented levels, with the combined power generated by solar, wind and geothermal more than tripling over the past decade, according to a new report by a network of state environmental groups. The growth has slashed harmful greenhouse gas emissions, made the nation's energy system more resilient and prevented thousands of premature deaths from power plant pollution, according to the report by Environment America. But this progress faces increasing resistance as President Donald Trump in his first 15 weeks in office has begun to dismantle federal policies and spending aimed at slowing climate change. It's all happening at a time of heightened concern among environmentalists. Despite an international accord to lower greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere now contains record levels of heat-trapping gasses. All 50 states have warmed since the first Earth Day in 1970, according to a new analysis by Climate Central, an independent nonprofit group that researches and disseminates information about climate change and its effects. Among the highlights of the Environment America report: The amount of solar energy produced in 2024 — enough to power 28 million homes — was nearly eight times higher than a decade earlier. Solar power production increased 27% from 2023 to 2024. Wind produced even more energy — enough to power 42 million homes in 2024. The amount of power from wind has more than doubled over the past decade. Wind, solar and geothermal energy accounted for 19% of all retail sales of electricity last year, according to the federal data used to produce the report. The amount of utility-scale battery storage in the United States grew 63% from 2023 to 2024 — and a more than 80-fold increase over the past decade. Nearly 3.3 million electric vehicles were on U.S. roads at the end of 2023 – a 25-fold increase from 2014. The number of electric vehicle charging ports, meanwhile, grew to more than 218,000 at the end of 2024 – six times more than 2015 and a 24% increase from just the year before. More than 1.5 million plug-in electric vehicles were sold in 2024, an increase of more than 7% over the previous year, according to Argonne National Laboratory. Nearly 300,000 new electric vehicles were sold in the United States during the first quarter of 2025 — an 11% increase over the same period last year, Kelley Blue Book data shows. 'The growth of these clean energy technologies is now clearly benefiting people in all 50 states, and they're really providing the building blocks of a clean energy system free from dirty and inefficient fuels,' said Johanna Neumann, senior director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, which is led by Environment America. 'And the more that we can accelerate the progress that we've seen, the better it'll be for our health and for our environment.' Most of the states that have seen the biggest percentage increases in wind, solar and geothermal energy over the past decade are in the South — and most are Republican states, according to a Floodlight analysis of the federal data used in the Environment America report. Some of those states, including Mississippi and Alabama, still rank low in the total amount of renewable energy produced. But other right-leaning Southern states, including Florida and North Carolina, now rank above most others in terms of the total renewable energy generated. For those concerned about climate change, however, a new analysis points to a more worrisome sign: Almost $8 billion in investments — including 16 large-scale factories and other projects — were canceled, closed or downsized in the first three months of 2025, according to the report by E2, a nonpartisan group of business leaders who advocate for sound environmental policies. Likely contributing to the cancellations: market uncertainty and the debate in Congress over repealing tax credits and other incentives for clean energy projects. The $7.9 billion in investments withdrawn this year are more than three times the amount canceled over the previous two years, the E2 report notes. 'Clean energy companies still want to invest in America, but uncertainty over Trump administration policies and the future of critical clean energy tax credits are taking a clear toll,' E2 spokesman Michael Timberlake said in a statement. The Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden's massive climate law, extended renewable energy tax credits until at least 2032. Whether the Republican-controlled Congress will eliminate those tax credits is unclear. 'I think that market certainty has been stripped away for many of these technologies right now, and they're feeling uneasy,' Neumann said. 'And so it's not surprising to me that we're seeing a retraction in investment.' Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Governor signs ban on dangerous chemical used for decades in first responder jobs: 'Something has to change'
Oregon's governor, Tina Kotek, approved a ban on firefighting foam that contains forever chemicals. As Environment America reported, Kotek made Oregon the 16th state in the U.S. to ban perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in firefighting missions. She signed Senate Bill 91 into law at the request of the state Senate Interim Committee on Energy and Environment. This firefighting foam ban is good news because experts have linked PFAS to many health and environmental issues. The ban will protect firefighters from toxic chemical exposure as they risk their lives to save others. These substances are called forever chemicals because they don't break down in the human body or in natural environments. Even small amounts of exposure to them can lead to serious health conditions, including cancer, birth defects, organ damage, and developmental delays. Fortunately, many states have been working to pass laws to reduce exposure to forever chemicals. Because of the growing body of research connecting PFAS to health risks, lawmakers have proposed banning them from hospital equipment and common household products. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a ban on a commonly used, toxic solvent called N-Methylpyrrolidone because of its health risks. As new laws are gradually implemented to keep forever chemicals out of everyday life, you can protect yourself by reading product labels and avoiding plastic products. For example, you can choose plastic-free alternatives for the products you use and support brands that use plastic-free packaging. The Statesman Journal reported state Rep. Courtney Neron as saying: "When our first responders are getting sick from the very tools meant to keep us safe, something has to change. Safer alternatives are already being used by the military, at Oregon airports and fire stations in numerous states across the country." Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of Environment Oregon, thanked Kotek and the Oregon legislature for eliminating PFAS-laden firefighting foam to protect firefighters. "Together, we can keep working to eliminate PFAS from consumer products and help build a cleaner, greener, safer future in Oregon," she said, per Environment America. Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
