Feds Fire Every Contributor Working On National Climate Assessment; EPA To Set PFAS Limits On Companies
The climate review is required by Congress and was expected to be released in 2028. Plus: The EPA said Monday it will limit the amount of “forever chemicals” that can be discharged into water.
The New York Times:
National Climate Assessment Authors Are Dismissed By Trump Administration
The Trump administration has dismissed the hundreds of scientists and experts who had been compiling the federal government’s flagship report on how global warming is affecting the country. The move puts the future of the report, which is required by Congress and is known as the National Climate Assessment, into serious jeopardy, experts said. Since 2000, the federal government has published a comprehensive look every few years at how rising temperatures will affect human health, agriculture, fisheries, water supplies, transportation, energy production and other aspects of the U.S. economy. (Plumer, Dzombak, 4/28)
Bloomberg:
Climate Change May Worsen The Spread Of Drug Resistant Infections, Study Warns
Climate change may exacerbate the spread of infections that don’t respond to common antibiotics, with developing nations being most at risk, according to a new study in Nature Medicine. The study challenges the notion that the rise of antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is solely due to the overconsumption of antibiotics, putting a spotlight on factors such as healthcare spending, air pollution and raising temperatures. (Kan, 4/29)
Time:
Climate Anxiety Is Taking Its Toll On Young People
A recent flurry of papers has documented significant and growing levels of climate anxiety in the 25-and-under group, with even preschoolers sometimes showing symptoms. “You come across it in children as young as three,” says Elizabeth Haase, a founding member of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance and a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. “You find them on TikTok, sobbing about losing their teddy bears or sobbing that animals they loved got killed” in an extreme weather event. (Kluger, 4/29)
On 'forever chemicals' and the water supply —
The Hill:
Trump Administration Plans To Limit ‘Forever Chemical’ Discharges
The Trump administration will set limits on the amount of “forever chemicals” producers of the toxic substances can discharge into the water, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday. The administration said it will set discharge limits for a class of toxic chemicals known as PFAS. The limitations will apply to companies that make these substances, as well as metal finishers. (Frazin, 4/28)
The Washington Post:
Chemicals In Plastic Linked To Over 350,000 Deaths From Heart Disease
A set of chemicals found in food packaging, plastics, and lotions and shampoos has been linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths from heart disease, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal eBioMedicine. These chemicals, known as phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), were responsible for more than 350,000 deaths worldwide in 2018, researchers found. About 75 percent of the deaths were in Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific — reflecting growing concern about the amount of plastic proliferating in developing countries. (Osaka, 4/29)
The New York Times:
Mexico To Give U.S. More Water From Their Shared Rivers
Mexico has agreed to send water to the United States and temporarily channel more water to the country from their shared rivers, a concession that appeared to defuse a diplomatic crisis sparked by yearslong shortages that left Mexico behind on its treaty-bound contribution of water from the borderlands. Earlier this month, President Trump threatened additional tariffs and other sanctions against Mexico over the water debt, amounting to about 420 billion gallons. (Cameron and Wagner, 4/28)
