Must-read recap: The New Lede’s top stories
The latest news affecting the planet and your health
Happy Monday, and here’s the second weekly newsletter of The New Lede (TNL) to start your day with some of our must-read stories from the last few days. As returning readers will know – and welcome to those new subscribers – TNL is a journalism initiative of the Environmental Working Group aiming to redefine reporting on the planet and public health.
Among our recent stories:
A grand fight over a Grand Forks corn mill
Freelance reporter Caitlin Looby has the scoop on an escalating fight in Grand Forks, North Dakota, between proponents of a planned Chinese-owned corn mill and residents who oppose the facility in part due to fears about the environmental harm it may cause.
One resident interviewed says the corn mill’s massive water and land usage, along with air and water pollution from various aspects of its operation, is a “nightmare.”
From the article: “The plant would be the first U.S.-based manufacturing facility for Fufeng, a Hong Kong-based holding company engaged in a range of agricultural, chemical and other businesses. The project is slated to be constructed on a 370-acre site, using corn to make food additives, animal feed and other products.
“State and city leaders have cheered the plans and say the project will bring a much-needed boost to the workforce and economy.
“But opponents, including Matejcek, whose farm is less than two miles from the proposed plant site, say they have many concerns about the plant, including large tax breaks given to its Chinese ownership, and how the plant will impact the environment, including water demands and increased natural gas use.”
Experienced freelance environmental reporters who are interested in pitching stories for TNL can do so by emailing carey.gillam@ewg.org
Concerns over chromium-6 in California
Millions of people across the United States have to rely on drinking water that’s unsafe because it’s spiked with the chemical hexavalent chromium, widely known as chromium-6. It’s a toxic form of the metal chromium used in many manufacturing processes, including electroplating and stainless steel production. Chromium-6 contaminates drinking water via industrial discharges and leaching from waste sites.
TNL Managing Editor Carey Gillam has an in-depth look at the state of play in California, a state that’s in the lead on developing a water contamination limit for chromium-6. In March, the California State Water Resources Control Board floated a draft report including a 10 parts per billion limit for the substance in drinking water.
Industry groups such as the American Chemistry Council argue that the proposed limit is too stringent, while EWG and other advocacy groups say it needs to be stricter.
Until California makes a final decision, residents such as Bertha Magana are left to wonder whether their water is safe. The 61-year-old has lived in rural Monterey County since 1987 where she and her husband raised their four children, and enjoy visits from their 11 grandchildren. But recent testing showed their drinking water is laced with the cancer-causing chemical.
Refineries to blame for benzene blight
A new report and data map from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and other clean air advocacy groups show that people living near refineries are being exposed at dangerous levels to harmful emissions of air pollutants such as benzene. The report found that 55 out of 118 refineries across the United States reported benzene levels above the threshold known to cause long-term health harms, including increased risk of leukemia.
“EPA and the oil refining industry really need to do more to crack down on these benzene emissions, because the fenceline concentrations at too many refineries are high enough to pose a potential threat to neighborhoods that are close by,” Eric Schaeffer, EIP’s executive director, said in a statement.
Environmentalists say the findings show persistently high benzene levels from refineries that justify more EPA enforcement actions and monitoring at the facilities.
Guest column: Wind energy or whales?
As well as welcoming freelance reporters’ contributions, TNL is also keen to share the views of environmental experts – state officials, industry or advocacy representatives, federal regulators and others - through our guest columns.
The latest guest column is from Lisa Linowes, a member of the Save Right Whales Coalition. Linowes writes about potential conflicts that some environmental advocacy groups have by talking about the need to protect endangered right whales, while taking financial contributions from wind energy interests whose projects pose a risk to the whales.
“Offshore wind will result in the massive industrialization of our ocean waters. Arrays of turbines will create land-use conflicts within the already crowded waters used for commercial and recreational marine activity and further displace the right whale from its natural habitat. We can’t save whales and other species by destroying their habitats, even in the name of fighting climate change,” Linowes writes.
Guest columns represent the views of the author(s) and not TNL, and we’re open to submissions – email carey.gillam@ewg.org to make your pitch.