And We’re Launched!
An eye on the environment and your health
Welcome to the first weekly newsletter of The New Lede (TNL), a journalism initiative of the Environmental Working Group. The New Lede covers important and emerging stories affecting our environment and our health. As newsrooms shrink and fewer reporters are dedicated to this important beat, we aim to give underreported stories the attention they deserve.
Why ‘The New Lede’? It’s not a typo. “Lede” is a time-honored term used by journalists to refer to the opening paragraph of an article that engages readers and carries them to the information they need to know - exactly what we intend to do!
Although this initiative is in its infancy, we hope you’ll find us a must-read site for breaking news, long-form profiles, analysis, interviews and other takes on environmental topics.
The New Lede’s recent top stories
Toxic waste in Nebraska: Silent pollution plagues a community
Read this in-depth, on-the-ground reporting from TNL Managing Editor Carey Gillam. Gillam traveled to Mead, Nebraska, where she met with families, scientists and others about a manmade environmental contamination event that researchers fear may impact the area for generations to come.
An excerpt:
“The signs of a silent poisoning are everywhere: A farmhouse has been abandoned by its owners after their young children experienced health problems; a pond once filled with fish and frogs is now barren of all life; university researchers are collecting blood and urine from residents to analyze them for contaminants; and a local family now drinks water only from plastic bottles because tests show chemical contamination of their drinking well.”
Amid surge in solar adoption, several states see battles over consumer incentives
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s veto of a controversial rooftop solar proposal was the latest salvo in a coast-to-coast battle over measures that utilities say are needed to ensure equitable and affordable energy solutions, but which opponents say would ratchet back consumer incentives for adoption of rooftop solar.
The moves come as rooftop solar is surging in popularity with consumers who see “clean energy” as a way to help mitigate harmful climate change, and after the Biden administration set a goal for the United States of ensuring a “carbon-free electricity sector” by 2035.
Interview: ‘Forever chemicals’ lawyer on worldwide health threat of PFAS
Lawyer Robert Bilott is leading a class action lawsuit on behalf millions of Americans seeking accountability from manufacturers of the hazardous “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
Bilott spoke to TNL about what he aims to achieve with the litigation and his recent letter to President Biden:
“This is a worldwide public health threat. It’s very frustrating when you step back and you look at the science that has gotten even clearer over the years about how dangerous these chemicals are and how widespread their use is.
See the letter and more.
Analysis: On the road to "net zero," steel industry deserving of attention
Project Earth’s creators Tony Guo and Julian Picard look into the pros and cons of several different emission reduction measures:
“When discussing industry sectors critical to our clean energy transition, the steel industry is not typically top of mind, unless the conversation is about how we can use steel to build wind turbines, nuclear power plants, or solar roofs.
“But steel manufacturing - for everything from our cars to our laundry machines - is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The steel industry directly accounts for about 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, roughly 7% of global CO2 emissions or 6% of global GHG emissions.”
Other stories you’ll find on TNL:
PFAS waste: To designate or not to designate?
Whenever a federal agency is writing a regulation, it’s required to send the rule to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for review prior to publication. While a rule is under review, other agencies can weigh in on it – and outside stakeholders can too.
We took a deep dive look at weeks of meetings about an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that would create a federal hazardous waste definition for two of the notorious “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. Along with EWG, other groups that lobbied Biden administration officials on the rule were organizations representing many large industries.
Monsanto on trial, again, over Roundup and cancer claims
Former Monsanto Co. Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant is expected to testify in person at a trial currently underway in Kansas City, Missouri, over claims that the company’s Roundup herbicide causes cancer. Lawyers for Grant sought to quash the subpoena for his testimony, but an appeals court denied the request. The trial of Shelton v. Monsanto began May 2.
In other noteworthy developments related to Roundup, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment proposed changes to its messaging to consumers regarding the cancer risk associated with products made with the substance. The language shift is subtle, but is significant for multiple reasons, including the potential for it to impact Monsanto’s efforts to appeal trial losses to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read all about it, at The New Lede.