Environmental Defense Fund

Increasing transparency across the supply chain brings several benefits for fishers and the environment: It gives more leverage to win better prices, ensures seafood comes from legal fishing and helps to comply with new international commercial agreements. Here’s how small fishing cooperatives, fish processing plants, and a tech company are working together on Mexico’s Yucatán coasts: https://www.edf.org/Z6FR

The Trump EPA just proposed rolling back limits for four cancer-linked “forever chemicals” in drinking water, and delaying compliance for two others. PFAS are highly toxic, even at very low levels, and are linked to liver damage, cancers and other health problems for children and pregnant women. “Needlessly exposing millions of Americans to PFAS prioritizes the interests of polluters over the rest of us,” said Maria Doa, senior director, chemicals policy, at EDF. “It’s another way the Trump administration is making life more dangerous for American families.” More at the link in comments 👇🏻

There are some things that can go on the back burner. Protections against pollution that causes serious heart and lung diseases and early deaths is not one of them. The latest in a series of attacks on health protections for Americans, the Trump Administration’s EPA proposed a two-year delay in implementing life-saving protections that reduce air pollution from cars, passenger trucks and SUVs. This would lead to more harmful air pollution linked to heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks, per EDF's Peter Zalzal. https://reut.rs/4eRW55u

Midwestern families are on the hook to pay $180 million to prop up an aging coal plant they don’t need—and they can’t afford. The Campbell coal plant was set to close a year ago, but the Trump administration is requiring the expensive plant—that is responsible for hundreds of asthma attacks each year—to stay open. We’re joining partner organizations and three states in court to challenge this harmful and expensive mandate.

Unpredictable seasons, shrinking snowpack, strained water supplies and worsening wildfire conditions are changing what it takes to make a living for farmers, guides and communities across the U.S. The Trump administration’s efforts to roll back climate and clean air protections will make these pressures worse. Keep reading at the link in comments.

What happens when the world’s largest rainforest starts to lose its natural resistance to fire? In the first episode of On (Wild)fire, our new podcast exploring tropical wildfires, EDF’s Mark Moroge speaks with Ane Alencar, Director of Fire Science at IPAM Amazonia - Amazon Environmental Research Institute, about why wildfire is becoming one of the biggest threats to the Amazon. Ane explains how drought, deforestation, and human activity are making the rainforest more vulnerable to fire—and why more than 95% of Amazon fires are caused by people. Together, they explore the links between land clearing, cattle ranching, repeated burns, and climate risk, as well as the practical solutions already emerging across Brazil. From fire science to local response, this conversation offers a clear look at what’s driving wildfire in the Amazon—and what it will take to stop it.  🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eEbDmgUV 

EDF senior chemicals expert Maria Doa spent decades at the EPA protecting people from toxic chemicals. After new EDF research revealed that chemicals linked to cancer are still allowed in and around our food, we asked her what people should know—and what we can do. Keep reading at the link in comments.

Climate change’s impacts on our planet are impossible to ignore, but its effects on our mental health are often less visible. From extreme weather to nonstop climate headlines, more people are experiencing eco-anxiety, grief and other emotions related to our changing climate. We spoke with climate and mental health expert Elizabeth Bechard (she/her) of Moms Clean Air Force about how climate anxiety shows up—and how to manage it. Link in comments!

Families are struggling to recover as climate change worsens extreme weather and drives up costs. Federal programs are falling short—and the Trump administration’s policies that increase climate pollution will make these costs even worse. Keep reading at the link in comments.

Brazil just took another meaningful step for public health by strengthening its national air pollution control program (PRONAR). Air pollution is linked to 60,000+ premature deaths each year in Brazil. For the first time in Brazil, the modernization of PRONAR has established a national system that strengthens the evidence base for clean air decision making and implementation, clarifies responsibilities across levels of government and expands public data through MonitorAr. Next up for EDF? Help Brazil turn these standards and plans into cleaner air where people live, work and go to school, especially in communities facing the highest burdens. Read more of these great insights from Sergio Sánchez and Juliana Klakamp.