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More than 50 years ago, Audubon, a grass roots volunteer led group began hosting what would become known as the Crane Festival—recognizing the return of Sandhill Cranes to the Platte River as one...

by Chloe Crumley, Engagement Manager While we’ve made tremendous progress through the Lights Out, Texas! initiative—a movement championed by Audubon Texas and partners where more than 20 cities...

Mitchell Lake Audubon Center As daylight fades, Mitchell Lake Audubon Center transforms; wildlife stirs, the air cools, and nighttime sounds like coyotes and Common Pauraques begin to rise. This...

by Delaney Hankins - Knowledge Tools and Communication InternOn Christmas Day, the year 1900, 27 birders from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California participated in Audubon’s first Christmas...

Trinity River Audubon Center In reflecting on 2025, it was clear Trinity River Audubon Center (TRAC) deeply fostered building community through environmental education and creating better habitat...

by Yvette Stewart, Manager, Community Outreach The Texas Leaders in Conservation (TLC) program kicked off its eleventh year in the 2025–2026 school year with a renewed focus on “starting...

Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center In a word, no. Not when we’re talking about our urban and suburban spaces, where natural habitat is shrinking and birds are struggling to find what they need to...

by Chloe Crumley, Engagement Manager Audubon Chapters are the boots on the ground across the Lone Star State, and we are lucky to have local Audubon chapters and organizations that support the...

By Chloe Crumley, Engagement Manager Conserving and restoring habitat is one of Audubon’s core strategies for bending the bird curve, but this work is becoming increasingly challenging in Texas...

by Anita Gilson, Range Ecologist, Audubon Conservation Ranching Land stewards in the Audubon Conservation Ranching program support some of North America’s most important bird habitat. However, the...

by Alexis Baldera, Senior Manager, Coastal Program Waterbirds depend on Texas’s coastal islands for nesting. Twenty-six species of colonial waterbirds gather on these islands each year to nest and...

by Dr. Richard Gibbons, Director of Conservation How do we know what conservation work needs to be adapted, expanded, or redirected to stop and reverse the population declines for the birds that...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Feb 20, 2026
Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org 

 

Department of the Interior Opens 2.1 Million Acres in Alaska’s Dalton Corridor 

Today, after the Department of the Interior opened 2.1 million acres in Alaska’s Dalton Corridor, Kristen Miller, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League, released the following statement: 

“At a time when pro-oil politicians are aggressively pursuing megaprojects like the Alaska LNG project and Ambler Road, we need public land protections more than ever. We must ensure that the public interest and sustainable uses are safe in places like the Arctic,” said Kristen Miller, Executive Director of Alaska Wilderness League.  “Today’s action sets the stage for the state of Alaska to take ownership of millions of acres of our nation’s public lands. The result would be fewer protections for subsistence, conservation, and other sustainable land uses. It’s yet another attack on federal public lands in Alaska, where short term profits and industrialization are being prioritized over the people in state who rely on clean air, lands, waters, and healthy wildlife populations.” 

Beyond the over-the-top family drama that keeps us watching, Landman’s second season showcased many unfortunate and harsh realities of the oil and gas industry.

For those yet to watch, Billy Bob Thornton stars as “Tommy,” a veteran landman — a one-man oil and gas field fixer — turned president of M-Tex, a fictional, independent West Texas oil company. As the second season progresses, we witness Tommy tiring of the high stakes, risky oil business he’s worked in for decades. Tommy cynically observes that “greed has dug a million wells.” Scathing aside, at his core, Tommy is a lifelong oil man. And Season 2 ends with Tommy forming CTT Oil Exploration and Cattle, a new “wildcatting” oil and gas venture drilling on a hunch with a handful of lowly-production wells — and branded with his own initials and those of his son, Cooper, and father, Thomas, plus some cows tossed in.

Despite the whimsical name of Tommy’s new company, the gamut of safety, environmental, economic, and geopolitical risks his industry faces is no laughing matter. These risks keep arising because they are ever-present. As a chemical engineer who once worked in the oil and gas industry, here’s a recap with my reactions.

Season 2, Episode 1 opens with a serious oil and gas health hazard. Toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas leaks at dangerous levels from M-Tex’s oil and gas equipment. A hunting party in the vicinity encounters animal carcasses strewn in a nearby field before perishing themselves. Tommy’s crew, despite wearing mandatory H2S monitors to alert them, cannot retreat fast enough. With H2S entering their bloodstreams, they become violently ill, and one worker loses his eyesight.

Reaction: Oil and gas are chemical concoctions that contain methane and other volatile compounds, including toxins like H2S and carcinogens like benzene. Although oil and gas are advertised as simple, “standard” commodities, they are very complex. Their makeups vary widely, but their compositions are not publicly disclosed. Greater transparency detailing what’s in oil and gas is needed to safeguard people and property.

Scenes from Landman’s second season.

Safety risks are a continuing theme in Landman. In episode 4, an oil field truck plows into a parked pickup in distress, resulting in a fireball with no survivors.

Reaction: Road accidents are common in West Texas’ oil patch due to long shifts, high speeds, rural (often unpaved) roads, and big rigs transporting heavy equipment. Studies find that the leading causes of oil and gas deaths, beyond dangerous field conditions, are road fatalities.

An oil field truck crashes in episode 4.

Physical risks are confronted in episode 6. One of M-Tex’s offshore rigs is damaged beyond repair in a hurricane, and insurance fraud surfaces. Money is paid out, but no reconstruction takes place.

Reaction: Oil and gas infrastructure is capital intensive and requires insurance (and often re-insurance) to operate. Yet much of the oil and gas industry’s operations — platforms, refineries, LNG terminals, ports, tankers, and pipelines — are in harm’s way in or near waterways and the methane leaking from oil and gas is superheating the planet. The changing climate is increasing the frequency, speed, and severity of superstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, sea level rise, and flash floods that present physical and financial risks that the industry has not weathered in the past. At least one insurance company, Chubb, has set underwriting guidance that may deny coverage to oil and gas companies with assets that leak too much of the powerful climate accelerant, methane, which is also a main component of oil and gas.

Economic risks are highlighted in episode 6. Tommy and his crew attend an industry fair showcasing conventional and novel technologies. They stop at a booth of a real-world startup, MaCH4 Coldstream Energy — which recovers natural gas liquids instead of burning and wasting them. One of Tommy’s crew laments: “That’s the future without us.”

Reaction: The energy world is in transition. Efforts are accelerating to eliminate energy waste, as evidenced by companies like MaCH4. Markets are reinforcing changes in the energy landscape. For example, the price of renewable energy has been even lower than that of gas and oil recently. And electric vehicles are overtaking gasoline-powered vehicles in new car sales, which is reducing demand for oil and shifting energy markets. There is added economic uncertainty about the future price of gas, given its significant market volatility. Taken together, this is making the future of oil and gas far less certain than it was in the past century.

Geopolitical risks are materializing in real time as the finale of Landman Season 2 airs. Tommy shares that M-Tex is a bit player in a global oil and gas industry that is too big to fail. He likens the business to a layer cake of many different interests, and he considers pursuing new opportunities with an international oil company — Chevron (one of the companies operating in Venezuela).

Reaction: Had Landman’s Season 2 script been written now, it’s very likely that the geopolitical situation in Venezuela would have been mentioned. Oil and gas are valuable trade commodities and countries rise and fall on them. When the US invaded Venezuela and jailed its president, at least one motivation was appropriating another country’s resource wealth.

Perhaps the most surprising reality that surfaced during season 2 was in my conversations with everyday Landman viewers. There is widespread public misconception regarding the source of everyday products we depend on to power our computers, heat our homes, form fiber for our clothes, manufacture our medicines, fuel our cars, trucks, and planes, pave our roads, and more. I was asked more than once if the gas piped to our homes is the same gas that comes out of the ground.

Reaction: The oil and gas that are drilled out of the ground are the very same resources that are processed into commodities that we consume every day. While the oil and gas that M-Tex and other companies produce must flow through a long chain of custody involving drillers, producers, processors, shippers, refiners, terminals, traders, public utilities, and retail outlets, the gas and petroleum products we consume start their journey under the ground. Regardless, these equivalent barrels of oil and gas do not have the same impact in terms of their safety, environmental, economic, and geopolitical concerns. The longer the trip from extraction to end uses, the more potential gas has to leak and cause harm to people, property, and the planet.

This is precisely what RMI’s Oil Climate Index plus Gas (OCI+) charts. Nearly three-quarters of global oil and gas supplies are analyzed — including those produced by smaller companies like the fictitious M-Tex in West Texas — to quantify the waste and emissions from equivalent barrels of oil and gas that M-Tex and its competitors produce.

US Oil and Gas Assets’ Methane Intensities are Wide Ranging, Especially in West Texas

Source: https://ociplus.rmi.org/, accessed February 9, 2025.

RMI then uses the OCI+ to generate oil and gas emissions inventories worldwide on the ClimateTRACE portal and to assess mitigation scenarios. It turns out that the energy waste and emissions vary markedly from field to field and country to country. This is valuable information that banks, insurers, companies, and policymakers are using to make smarter investment, underwriting, operational, and regulatory decisions.

Closing Reaction: Differentiating barrels of oil and gas is the key to a well-functioning market. Without knowing a commodity’s attributes — safety, environmental, economic, and geopolitical — inefficiencies, waste, and risks cannot be managed. As the maxim goes, we can manage what we measure. And this is especially true for critical commodities like oil and gas.

The post Reactions to Landman Season 2: Risky Business Continues in the Oil Patch appeared first on RMI.

Today, the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to implement sweeping tariffs was unlawful. Global Trade Watch director Melinda St. Louis issued the following statement:

“The Supreme Court’s decision today deals a blow to Trump’s illegal, chaotic tariffs that have been used to benefit powerful corporate interests over working people.

“When used lawfully and as part of a wider strategic policy, tariffs can help protect U.S. jobs, raise labor and environmental standards, and correct corporate-driven trade imbalances that harm workers and communities. But Trump’s approach was never strategic, constructive, or rooted in concern for working people.

“These sweeping tariffs were deployed to bully other countries to benefit his corporate cronies and to fuel anti-humanitarian political goals, not to uplift the people harmed by decades of corporate-rigged trade policy. While today’s decision is a meaningful check on a specific abuse of power, Trump has made clear that he plans to use other tariff authorities to barrel ahead with his global bullying and secretive dealmaking.

“Congress and the courts should exercise their constitutional checks and balances over all of Trump’s authoritarian power grabs and should demand a trade policy that prioritizes the lives of working people over the billionaires that this administration has been carrying water for since day one.”

Amid mounting signs of ecosystem disruption and ongoing damage to the vulnerable Bay-Delta Estuary, local advocates, Tribal leaders, and policymakers are calling for stronger water quality protections and renewed scrutiny of the Delta Tunnel proposal.

Representative Josh Harder has formally urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deny the federal permits required to advance the Delta Tunnel, citing concerns about the impacts to Delta waterways, local communities, and the regional economy. At the same time, Tribes and environmental groups are pressing state leaders to safeguard the estuary by rejecting the inequitable and weak Voluntary Agreements included in the latest Bay-Delta Plan update. Restore the Delta’s Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, emphasized these concerns in a recent interview with ABC 7 San Francisco (13:27). Fresno-based independent radio journalist Vic Bedoian also notes, “Voluntary Agreements won’t change the status quo, and instead will give water exporters a free pass on providing more flow without adequate water quality standards.” 

Concerns about insufficient protections are cemented by evidence that reduced water flows have already contributed to steep declines in key fish populations, including Chinook salmon and Delta Smelt. The Delta ecosystem also faces compounding threats from harmful algal blooms and the spread of invasive golden mussels. Advocates argue that this is a critical time to enact stronger, enforceable protections to restore the health of California’s largest estuary and to protect the communities that depend on it.

News Roundup:

Representative Josh Harder Stands Against Delta Tunnel

• DELTA TUNNEL: Harder Calls on U.S. Army Corps to Reject Permits for $20 Billion Boondoggle. Representative Josh Harder.
• Harder steps up pressure to derail the Delta tunnel. The Manteca Bulletin.  

Local Advocates Critique the Bay-Delta Plan

• Changes Coming to Bay Area Water. ABC 7 San Francisco – watch at 13:27
• Delta Advocates Criticize Bay-Delta Plan. Vic Bedoian. 
• Advocates Say Bay Delta Plan is Deficient. Vic Bedoian. 
• Tribal Nations and the Bay Delta Plan. Vic Bedoian.

Ongoing Threats to the Delta Ecosystem 

• NOTEBOOK FEATURE: State water officials are faced with a once-in-a-generation chance to save California’s salmon. Maven’s Notebook.
• Mussel mania: San Joaquin Valley water agencies gear up to fight invasive mollusk. SJV Water. 
• It’s final: No Delta smelt found in annual survey for 8 years as ecosystem collapses. Daily Kos.    

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This article Rev. Jesse Jackson’s deep commitment to peace was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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Amidst the many public tributes to the Rev. Jesse Jackson for his leadership in social justice, only a few have mentioned his deep commitment to peace and support for nuclear disarmament. I was fortunate to work with Jackson on these issues and knew him as an active participant in the peace movement.

I first met Rev. Jackson in 1980 soon after I became executive director of SANE, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. Jackson invited SANE and other national peace groups to join a march in Washington, D.C. for jobs, peace and justice. I also allied with Jackson and civil rights leaders in supporting the proposal to establish a national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

To deepen cooperation, I invited Jackson to serve as a member of SANE’s Board of Directors and join our national executive committee. Jackson agreed and designated his foreign policy adviser Jack Odell as his representative on the board. Odell had served as the head of fundraising and voter registration for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He brought decades of labor and civil rights experience to his role at SANE and was an invaluable adviser as we sought to build a larger and more diverse peace movement.

In the early 1980s the peace movement grew rapidly by supporting the Nuclear Weapons Freeze, which called for a bilateral halt to U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons testing, production and deployment. Jackson was an early and active supporter of the freeze. He was the keynote speaker at one of the largest public rallies for the freeze, the Peace Sunday event of 90,000 people in Pasadena, California in June 1982. Jackson went beyond the freeze and called for reversing the arms race and slashing military spending, positions we also adopted at SANE. He was a strong advocate of no first use of nuclear weapons.

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In the early stages of the Nuclear Freeze movement, a debate emerged over the question of political focus. Some Freeze organizers argued for a narrow emphasis on nuclear weapons issues. I and others said that the peace movement could not be silent in the face of the growing U.S. military intervention in El Salvador and support for the right-wing Contra rebels in Nicaragua. With strong encouragement and support from Jackson, SANE joined the growing movement against U.S. imperialism in Central America. We continued to support the nuclear freeze and a halt to nuclear testing, while also working to end the wars in Central America.

As Jackson condemned U.S. intervention against Nicaragua, SANE became actively involved in lobbying against military support for the Contras. When President Ronald Reagan called the Contras “heroes,” SANE sponsored an advertising campaign describing their actions as “terrorism” not “heroism.” Jackson used the same theme in the primary debates during his 1984 presidential run, calling on the U.S. to “stop our funding of terror in Nicaragua and El Salvador.”

Many praised Jackson for his ability to negotiate with governments and armed actors for the release of American hostages. In January 1984 he succeeded in persuading Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to release U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Robert Goodman. Later that year, he arranged for the release of dozens of American and Cuban prisoners held captive in Cuba. In June 1985 he traveled to Lebanon for negotiations with Hezbollah to arrange the release of some of the U.S. hostages victimized by the hijacking of TWA flight 847.

The call for a nuclear test ban was a central part of the Nuclear Freeze. It was a specific, easily verifiable first step toward ending the arms race. The issue unexpectedly assumed increased importance in August 1985 when the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced that Moscow would begin a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing.

SANE and the Nuclear Freeze campaign leaders seized upon the Soviet action as an opportunity to build support for a mutual test ban. Together the organizations announced the Appeal to World Leaders, a petition drive to gather a million signatures in support of that goal. We also decided to create a peace movement delegation to deliver the petitions in person at the Geneva summit.  Jackson enthusiastically supported the idea and agreed to head the delegation and serve as our spokesperson. Many in the peace movement considered Jackson a people’s secretary of state and were happy to have him as our leader.

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By coincidence, the annual Nuclear Freeze conference in 1985 was scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 15-17 in Chicago, two days prior to the beginning of the Geneva summit. The conference was turned into a rally and send-off ceremony for the citizens’ delegation to Geneva. Jackson was the keynote speaker, and rallied the crowd with an exhilarating and impassioned plea to “give peace a chance.”

Balloons were released and music blared, and the conference turned into a rollicking celebration. In the midst of the excitement, with delegates cheering and reaching out to us as we passed by, our delegation with Jackson at the lead left the stage and marched out through the hall to depart for O’Hare airport and the flight to Geneva. It was an exhilarating moment. We had the sense of being emissaries for peace to demand that world leaders halt the arms race.

Prior to the trip we had sent numerous letters and inquiries to the White House and the Soviet embassy in Washington requesting meetings. We received no response from the U.S. government, but when we arrived in Geneva the next day we were informed by the Soviet mission that a “high official” would meet with us the next day.

We huddled late into the night with Jackson to discuss how to handle the meeting. We agreed that we would urge the Soviet Union to extend its moratorium on nuclear testing. We also agreed, at Jackson’s urging, that we should show our political independence by challenging the Soviet Union on human rights concerns. He recommended that we focus on the plight of Soviet Jews and other minorities in the Soviet Union, and we agreed.

The next day we waited anxiously in the hallway of the Soviet mission. Soon a fleet of limousines arrived and Gorbachev and his entourage swept into the building. He approached us with outstretched hand to greet Jackson and members of the delegation. Jackson immediately got down to business and raised the points we had agreed upon the night before. Gorbachev responded positively to our appeal on nuclear testing and spoke about the need for “real disarmament.”

He did not address the concern about human rights, however. At this point, as the interpreter was translating Gorbachev’s remarks, Jackson interrupted and challenged the Soviet leader to respond to the question about human rights. Taken aback by Jackson’s audacity and obviously shaken by this unexpected challenge from the peace movement delegation, Gorbachev quickly regained his composure. He denied the issue, saying that Jews have made valuable contributions to disarmament.

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For the rest of the encounter the atmosphere was more cordial. Justine Merritt from a group called Women for a Meaningful Summit presented Gorbachev an artistic image of flowers and children. Jackson then directed Gorbachev to the table where the boxes of petitions were placed and he and I formally presented them. “How many signatures are here?” he asked. The final count was 1.2 million, we reported. Impressed at this outpouring of public concern, Gorbachev responded, “these petitions represent the hopes of millions of Americans.” It was a fitting final comment, as he shook hands again with everyone and departed.

News of the citizens summit and the dramatic photo of Jackson squaring off with Gorbachev appeared in newspapers and on broadcast outlets all over the world the next day. Much of the reporting was negative, as journalists paid little attention to the test ban appeal and accused Jackson of upstaging Reagan, but the core message of the action was clear and undeniable. The peace movement was on the global stage, with Rev. Jackson as our spokesperson, presenting our appeal to end nuclear testing and reverse the arms race.

Change did not come immediately, but in the following years, with citizen pressure continuing to build, Gorbachev and Reagan agreed to negotiate for arms reduction and the Cold War came to an end.  Jackson and the peace movement helped to make that possible.

This article Rev. Jesse Jackson’s deep commitment to peace was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

New science finds babies exposed to more ‘forever chemicals’ than previously known Monica Amarelo February 20, 2026

A new peer-reviewed study raises fresh concerns about how exposure to the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS may affect health from the very start of life – and how to most effectively tackle contamination from multiple PFAS.

The study reveals a sobering reality: Babies are exposed to a much wider and complex mixture of PFAS before they even take their first breath. 

The research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, used advanced screening methods to analyze umbilical cord blood collected at birth from 120 babies between 2003 and 2006 in Cincinnati. 

Researchers identified 42 individual PFAS, only four of which were detected using the standard test methods typically employed in research labs. 

New way to measure exposure

For decades, scientists have been limited in their ability to calculate the extent of PFAS exposure in the uterus. Laboratory standards exist for only a small fraction of the thousands of PFAS in use. 

Traditional targeted analysis looks for a short list of well-known chemicals like PFOA and PFOS – two of the most notorious and well-studied PFAS. If a particular PFAS isn’t on the list, it doesn’t get counted, so thousands go undetected.

To address this limitation, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai used advanced screening and data science tools to scan for hundreds of PFAS compounds at once, including those without official reference standards.

Measuring body burden

People aren’t exposed to just one PFAS at a time. They’re exposed to complex chemical mixtures. To better reflect this reality, the researchers developed a new scoring system to convey a newborn’s total prenatal exposure.

1. The PFAS exposure burden score. This traditional score is based on the concentrations of well-known legacy PFAS, such as PFOA and PFOS.
2. The “PFAS-omics” score. This broader score created by the researchers incorporates the legacy chemicals, a range of newer, understudied PFAS, including “replacements,” and breakdown products, which are detected through nontargeted screening.

This dual-scoring method led to a significant discovery relating to PFAS exposure and the number of times a person has given birth. 

For years, studies using limited test panels found PFAS levels in first-born babies to be much higher than in younger siblings. The working theory was that the pregnant person releases part of their stored chemical burden to the developing fetus and, later, to the newborn during breastfeeding.

This study confirmed that pattern for older, phased-out chemicals. But the disparity, between first-born and subsequent newborns, disappeared when the researchers looked at the more comprehensive PFAS-omics score.

This finding suggests that while levels of older, phased-out PFAS may decline in the pregnant body over the course of successive pregnancies, exposure to PFAS as a larger class appears to be ongoing and consistent. 

In other words, how we measure PFAS matters.

Critical window for fetus  

Pregnancy is a critical window for the developing fetus. But any PFAS exposure during that period, while its organs and immune systems are forming, can have serious consequences. 

Research has linked prenatal PFAS exposure to low birth weight, preterm birth, weakened vaccine response, higher risks of certain types of cancer, thyroid disease, liver damage and immune suppression later in life.

Studies also show that even fairly low levels of PFAS in drinking water can increase blood levels and raise the risk of premature birth and infant harm. These health consequences contribute to about $8 billion a year in U.S. medical costs.

The ‘everywhere’ problem 

PFAS have been detected in drinking water at 9,552 sites in the U.S., putting an estimated 172 million people at risk of exposure. 

Although the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first national drinking water limits for several PFAS in 2024, it is dragging its heels in enforcing the new standards.

Now the EPA is moving to roll back standards for some PFAS, leaving many communities exposed.

A second study published last week addresses indoor PFAS exposures. 

Research on household dust in Rochester, N.Y., found 43 individual PFAS in every sample tested. Homes with more carpet and upholstered furniture showed higher concentrations of certain PFAS, demonstrating how everyday household items continuously shed these chemicals into the air families breathe.

Together, the two papers underscore just how widespread this exposure is. 

While communities near industrial sites or military bases often face the highest contamination, this research makes clear that PFAS are not just a localized pollution issue. For many families, PFAS exposure comes from routine daily life.

What you can do to protect your family

PFAS are used in, and shed from, scores of everyday products, creating constant, low-level exposure from multiple sources. 

You can take these steps now:

• Check your tap water. Look up your water system using EWG’s Tap Water Database.
• Filter your water. Use reverse osmosis or activated carbon filters certified to reduce PFAS. Make sure to change the filter as directed, because otherwise you could just make the PFAS pollution worse.
• Swap cookware. Choose stainless steel, cast iron or glass instead of nonstick pans.
• Check your personal care products. PFAS are often hidden in cosmetics labeled “long wear,” “waterproof” or “smudge proof.”
• Look up products to see whether they contain PFAS. The Healthy Living app includes ingredient information and ratings for cleaning products.
• Avoid treated products. Skip rugs, furniture and clothing labeled “stain resistant,” “water repellent” or “wrinkle resistant.” These treatments often rely on PFAS coatings that can wear down and shed into the air and dust in your home.
• Reduce dust. Vacuum frequently with a machine using a HEPA filter and wet-dust surfaces regularly.

Urgent need to tackle the crisis 

These two new studies – one revealing 42 PFAS in cord blood from 20 years ago, another finding 43 types of PFAS in household dust today – deliver an urgent and sobering message: PFAS must be regulated as a class, not one chemical at a time.

Evidence suggests that even two decades ago, people were exposed to far more PFAS than standard tests captured. Today, as exposure has shifted to newer, short-chain replacement chemicals, the problem has just grown more complex. The ubiquity of PFAS mixtures in cord blood, household dust, drinking water and food makes clear that class-based regulation is essential. 

With more detailed tests, scientists are finally revealing the scope of this chemical burden affecting families long before a child is born and throughout daily life. 

The urgent question now is whether policymakers will act quickly enough to protect the next generation from these widespread, persistent forever chemicals – or whether children will continue to bear an ever-growing burden of PFAS from their first breath onward.

Two new studies show scope of contamination and need to regulate PFAS as a class Authors Monica Amarelo February 20, 2026

Federal Government Repeals Air Pollution Law that Protects Montanans from the Coal Plant that Emits Most Air Toxins in the Nation Montana’s Colstrip plant emits the most air toxins of any similar coal plant in the nation.   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 20, 2026   CONTACTS Krystal Two Bulls, Honor the Earth | 406-740-1508 | …

The post Press Release: Federal Government Repeals Air Pollution Law that Protects Montanans from the Coal Plant that Emits Most Air Toxins in the Nation appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.

Today, the Supreme Court drew a clear line, ruling that Trump’s tariffs were not within his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Food & Water Watch Senior Food Policy Analyst Rebecca Wolf issued the following statement:

“Trump’s misguided tariff tantrum has caused an affordability crisis for American consumers and farmers. Trump’s tariffs have driven consumer prices through the roof, and brought irreparable harm to farmers who have seen markets shrink with retaliatory tariffs.

“Today’s ruling is an important check on the President’s dangerous agenda. This decision marks an important step towards restoring balance and addressing the affordability crisis that indiscriminate tariffs helped fuel. We need sound trade policies that will help farmers and families — not undermine them.”

Food & Water Watch analysis of President Trump’s first term trade war found that in its wake:

• Farm bankruptcies rose 24% from 2018 to 2019.
• The number of farms harvesting soybeans decreased overall by 10.7% while the number of soybean farms with 1,000 acres or more increased by 5% from 2017 to 2022.
• The total number of farms fell 7% between 2017 to 2022, hitting small farms and Black producers hardest.
• Bailout funds flowed to the largest operations and multinational corporations.