In 2022, most of the world’s nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November.
Pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $4.3 billion in funding Monday as part of its Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, and Illinois was a big winner, nabbing $430 million.
NASCAR unveiled its first electric racecar Saturday in downtown Chicago, but it doesn’t thunder when the grand marshal says “drivers, start your engines.” It hums.
What It Means for the Supreme Court to Block Enforcement of the EPA’s ‘Good Neighbor’ Pollution Rule
The rule applies mostly to states in the South and Midwest that contribute to air pollution along the East Coast. Some states, including Illinois and Wisconsin, both contribute to downwind pollution and receive it from other states.
Developers are pumping the brakes on plans for a controversial logistics and distribution hub in North Lawndale. The project would tear down two buildings preservationists said are historically significant to make way for the nearly 250,000-square-foot facility.
“One of the biggest things about litter is it makes people think that the river is more polluted than it is,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.
“At the end of the day, it’s about respect for this community — the immigrant, Mexican community of Little Village, and it’s about justice,” attorney Scott Rauscher said.
Environmental advocates in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana applauded a tough new slate of Environmental Protection Agency rules for coal-fired power plants — rules that cover local generating stations that are already offline or slated to be phased out.
New bill would give Illinois EPA greater oversight
Black and Brown communities in Illinois are up to 200% more likely to live near a distribution warehouse than the overall statewide population, according to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund on the state’s “warehouse boom.”
Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.
During the more than hourlong confirmation hearing, Marlene Hopkins was not asked about what she did as the top official from the city’s Buildings Department charged with overseeing the implosion of the smokestack at the former Crawford Power Plant in Little Village.
Alliance for the Great Lakes has collected 20 years’ worth of data from beach cleanups. Tiny plastic trash is a huge problem.
Chicago’s water has been tested numerous times for the presence of so-called “forever chemicals,” and the substances have never been detected.
‘Watershed’ Moment for Chicago River System as Tougher Rules Take Effect for City’s Sewer Discharges
“Chicago owns the most outfalls that discharge into the river system, and controlling what comes out of them is essential to reach our shared vision for a fishable-swimmable river that is accessible to everyone,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.
Landfills tend to be a less well-known methane source, but they also have a huge impact, estimated at around 20% of global human-caused methane emissions.
Edith Tovar, of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, said her organization helped approximately 130,000 people submit a claim for damages.
