environmental

The Supreme Court curbed the EPA’s ability to restrict emissions, so states are looking to enshrine rights to “healthful environments” in their constitutions. According to locals, two different types of odors emanate from the 366-acre High Acres Landfill, which sits just outside Rochester, New York. “There’s the gas odors, and then there’s the garbage odors coming from when they open the landfill and are actually dumping, or the trains unloading from New York City,” Gary McNeil told City, a local news site. “That gets a little worse in the summer, you’ll smell a much more pungent waste odor.” McNeil heads Fresh Air for the Eastside, a nonprofit that has been organizing against the landfill, which residents say emits foul, noxious odors. The organization has sued the town in which the la...

Through the southern reaches of Texas, communities are scattered across a flat landscape of dry brush lands, ranches and agricultural fields. This large rural region near the U.S.-Mexico border is known for its persistent poverty. Over 25% of the families here live in poverty, and many lack access to basic services like water, sewer and primary health care. This is also home to the Eagle Ford shale, where domestic oil and gas production has boomed. The Eagle Ford is widely considered the most profitable U.S. shale play, producing more than 1.2 million barrels of oil daily in 2019, up from fewer than 350,000 barrels per day just a decade earlier. The rapid production growth here has not led to substantial shared economic benefits at the local level, however. Low-income communities and co...

Tag: environmental

Can A ‘Green Amendment’ Deliver Environmental Justice?

The risk of preterm birth rises near gas flaring, reflecting deep-rooted environmental injustices in rural America