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Industry says food safety costs more. Some store brands show it doesn’t need to. Ketura Persellin August 24, 2026

Food industry lobbyists argue that food safety laws drive up grocery prices. EWG’s review of the shelf tells a different story – retailers are already proving that removing chemicals of concern from food doesn’t cost consumers a dime, and often costs them less. 

Grocery “store brands” like Walmart’s Great Value tend to be less expensive than famous name brands like Kraft and Kellogg. Grocers save money when they work directly with manufacturers and they pass some of those savings along to you. 

But store brands can sometimes also have fewer chemicals of concern while saving consumers money, proving that “healthier” and “cheaper” aren’t in conflict. Reformulating products while cutting the price shoppers pay is possible, and already being done.

Many retailers have created lists of chemicals they no longer use in their store brands, including Albertsons, H-E-B, Meijer, Hy-Vee, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Publix, ShopRite, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Wegmans.

Some of these retailers have removed more than 100 chemicals of concern from their own store brands. For example, Albertsons list 117 substances that are not used in their “Open Nature” store Brand. H-E-B includes 203 that are free from their “Select Ingredients” line of products. These chemicals include BHT and TBHQ, preservatives that have been linked to tumor promotion in animals and immune dysfunction. 

That’s not only good news for consumers. It also undercuts the false claims food companies are making right now to fight food safety bills in Congress.

Affordable foods with fewer harmful chemicals

EWG looked at the name and store brands of common grocery items sold by several national chains that have store brands that have committed to not use select food chemicals of concern, such as those found on EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ Food Chemicals. 

A few examples:

• Aldi Fruit Rounds, Mom’s Best Fruity Rings and Wegmans Frosted Fruit O’s are all cheaper alternatives to Kellogg’s Froot Loops – and are free of synthetic dyes.
• Trader Joe’s version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups leave out the TBHQ.
• WalMart’s store brand, Great Value, has a version of Cheez-It that’s free from TBHQ and costs less than the name brand version.

Source: EWG review of retailer websites accessed July 28, 2026

Store brands are often cheaper than name brands. Soda is one product type where the store brand can be less expensive and contain fewer toxic chemicals. For example, Whole Foods’ lemon-lime soda is more than $1 less than Mountain Dew.  

This doesn’t mean that every store brand food is healthy. Sugary cereals, soda and candy are still full of sugar. But when consumers choose to enjoy these foods as part of a healthy diet, they should know that foods free of harmful chemicals don't require paying more for it. 

Yet that’s exactly what food companies have been telling Congress.

Industry deception

Some of your favorite food companies are telling lawmakers that removing toxic chemicals from food and food packaging will drive up the cost of food. 

Their industry front group falsely claims that state laws making our food safe would increase food prices. Food lobbyists have even hired “experts” who worked for chemical manufacturers like Dow to argue that food chemical ban bills would raise costs for consumers. 

But their math makes bogus assumptions about how consumers actually shop. And it ignores affordable alternatives sitting on the same shelf. In fact, it’s also contradicted by another food industry report that found two-thirds of all grocery retailers are reformulating brands to meet consumers’ demand for cleaner products. 

If reformulation were as costly as industry claims, retailers wouldn’t be doing it voluntarily, at scale, while keeping prices flat or lower. Their math simply does not add up. 

States are leading on food safety laws

States have banned many toxic chemicals from food and food packaging, including chemicals linked to cancer. 

The Food and Drug Administration, by contrast, has banned just two – and only after states had done so. So far, the second Trump FDA has not banned a single chemical of concern. Without state action, there is little hope that the worst food chemicals will be off our plates any time soon. 

We need the states to protect us. 

When it comes to the toxic chemicals in our food, the FDA has a long history of failure. It has largely allowed food chemical companies to decide which food chemicals are safe and permitted these companies to add new chemicals to food without the FDA’s knowledge. Proposals to narrow these loopholes are still just that: proposals. 

Some members of Congress now want to make things even worse.

They would block states from keeping our food safe, and would do so both retroactively and prospectively. This isn’t just about stopping states from passing new food safety protections. Their bill would also retroactively wipe out laws already in effect. 

In all, the proposal in Congress could preempt more than 100 state laws that keep our food safe from chemicals, contaminants and pathogens like cyclospora. 

Retailers are doing their part – removing many of the worst chemicals from their own store brands. But consumers shouldn’t have to worry about which brands they can trust every time they go to the grocery store. 

For consumers who want to find out more about what’s in their food, EWG’s Food Scores rates more than 150,000 foods and beverages based on nutrition, ingredients and level of processing. Food Scores also flags ultra-processed food and can point shoppers toward healthier alternatives.

Areas of Focus Food Authors Scott Faber August 27, 2026

Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has briefed the FBI on potential fraud involving Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White and the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad (SCVRS) that he runs.

The briefing followed a July 14 complaint to the FBI that detailed 10 issues of concerns about White’s apparent corruption in office, including his conflicts of interest in voting to send taxpayer money to SCVRS and potential Medicare and Medicaid billing fraud tied to SCVRS.

C&BP also filed a complaint on July 17 with the inspector general of the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. C&BP briefed an HHS investigator on Aug. 6 about the details included in its complaint.

The FBI and the HHS inspector general reached out to Checks & Balances Project.

The HHS complaint alleged potential fraud involving billing for ambulance calls conducted by SCVRS and the lack of transparency in the squad’s finances.

SCVRS lost its federal nonprofit status in 2023, because it failed to file tax returns for three years. C&BP also reported that in the five years for which tax returns are available – 2015 through 2019 – SCVRS reported a $304,000 surplus.

Outstanding FOIA requests

C&BP is still waiting for Sussex County to reply to Freedom of Information Act requests seeking data on SCVRS response times to calls for help and the number of times White used his state of Virginia email address for Sussex County work.

The county is also in apparent violation of Virginia law for not maintaining public records, including the agenda packets and minutes of supervisors’ meetings, on its website.

Sussex County’s site includes no information on meetings before 2025 and is missing minutes from some meetings after that date.

State law § 2.2-3707.2. says, “Posting of minutes for local public bodies. Except as provided in subsection I of § 2.2-3707, any local public body subject to the provisions of this chapter shall post minutes of its meetings on its official public government website, if any, within seven working days of final approval of the minutes.”

However, attempts to access the links on the site for meetings before 2025 yield this message: “Sorry! That page doesn’t seem to exist.”

Neither the office of Attorney General Jay Jones nor Sussex Commonwealth Attorney Regina Sykes have responded to C&BP’s offers to brief them.

Ray Locker is the executive director for Checks & Balances Project, an investigative watchdog blog holding government officials, lobbyists, and corporate management accountable to the public. Funding for C&BP is provided by Renew American Prosperity and individual donors.

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The post Checks & Balances Project briefs FBI on alleged fraud in Sussex County appeared first on Checks and Balances Project.

On Thursday, Aug. 27, registered nurses – joined by patients and community allies  – will be mobilizing nationwide to demand hospitals and elected officials immediately cut ties with the artificial intelligence giant Palantir. The nurses belong to National Nurses United, which has opposed Palantir’s growth as a dangerous threat to democracy and human rights.

© SUSSEX.COMSurvival International has been calling on Prince Harry to step down from African Parks for years. He finally has. #

Registered nurses at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, Calif., will hold a rally and press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to condemn proposed layoffs of critical support staff,

All three Union Jack Oil directors, David Bramhill, Joseph O’Farrell and Zac Phillips, have been removed immediately from the board, the company announced today (24 August 2026).

They have been replaced by Craig Howie and John Americanos, again with immediate effect.

The announcement follows general meetings in London earlier today.

Last month, Mr Howie and Mr Americanos, both former Union Jack directors, called for the removal of the entire Union Jack board and their appointment in its place.

The former directors described the call as “opportunistic” and urged investors to vote against.

But Mr Howie was appointed today with 90.85% of the votes cast in favour and Mr Americanos with 90.82%.

A statement to investors reported that 90.89% of the votes cast were in favour of the removal of David Bramhill (the former executive chairman), 90.55% for the removal of Mr O’Farrell and 90.89% for the removal of Zac Phillips.

Union Jack, which has interests in the Wressle oil field in North Lincolnshire and the West Newton oil and gas sites in East Yorkshire, is the subject of a takeover bid by Reabold Resources.

Earlier this month (5 August 2026), Union Jack, urged investors to support the takeover. It said the company would, “in the short term, be unable to meet its licence commitments”.

The company said the former board had “considered the likelihood of accelerated cash calls for the West Newton project (where Reabold has an economic interest of 69.9%) and payments for loss of office following the recent shareholder requisition received by Union Jack to remove all of its current directors.”

The former directors added:

“Consequently, in accordance with the licence terms, this may result in the forfeiture of key assets within the Union Jack portfolio.”

Today’s statement said Mr Howie would become executive chairman and Mr Americanos the executive director. Independent non-executive directors would be appointed, the statement said.

Mr Howie said:

“Following the Board changes announced today, Union Jack’s immediate priority must be an urgent right-sizing of its central cost base, particularly with regard to directors’ remuneration.

“This should be accompanied by significantly improved investor communication and corporate governance.

“Supported by a fresh commercial and technical approach, the incoming Board also needs to make considerably more effective capital allocation decisions at the asset and corporate levels, to preserve and grow value going forward.

“We look forward to updating shareholders once the most urgent steps have been taken, including the selection and appointment of independent non-executive directors to ensure the highest standards of boardroom oversight.”

Last week, Reabold Resources announced that it had received support for the takeover from holders of 2.35% of Union Jack’s share capital, 21 days after the takeover offer. The offer remains open until 25 September 2026.

Reabold Resources has not issued a formal statement to investors in response to today’s news.

Integrated planning can lower costs to ratepayers by reducing duplicative spending, and New York could lead the way, write experts at Current Energy Group and Advanced Energy United.

Ryan Costello, Policy Director with the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), issued the following statement as the Trump administration moves to intensify its economic pressure campaign against Iran following months of war and instability:

“President Trump, the ultimate gambler in geopolitics, is poised to double down on a bad hand on Iran yet again.

“We’ve been down the maximum pressure road with Iran many times. What we’ve learned is that President Trump can impose extensive economic pain on Iran, but ordinary Iranians overwhelmingly bear the cost.. The ruling elite in Iran remains largely insulated, while Tehran has repeatedly refused to capitulate to Washington’s demands.. Trump’s gamble is that this time, amid the destruction of war, and with the reinforcement of a blockade, time is on his side and ultimately Iran will be forced to concede defeat.

“The pivot back to economic coercion comes with enormous risks the administration appears determined to ignore. After all, it was the United States that waived sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea during the height of the war in March, and again issued a waiver allowing Iran to sell oil freely in June. Now attempting to choke off those same oil sales exposes the contradiction at the heart of Trump’s strategy: Washington needed to relieve economic pressure when the consequences became too costly, yet is now betting that it can reimpose that pressure without suffering the same blowback.

“Within the United States, ordinary Americans are paying the price for this deeply unpopular war at the gas pump and in their grocery bills. Trump’s polls have plummeted amid the war - one he said he’d avoid - heading into all-important midterms. Continuing economic warfare risks deeper turmoil in the energy markets and the global economy, which could cascade into a full-blown catastrophe. Moreover, starting a trade war with China risks retaliatory measures that the U.S. economy can ill afford.

“Iran has also indicated clearly that it will not tolerate economic warfare and will escalate across the region, if necessary, to target any nation that supports President Trump’s efforts to cripple the Iranian economy. While the President may think economic warfare is less risky than military warfare, ultimately Tehran will view it as a different tactic in the same campaign to crush the country.

“None of this appears likely to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Rather, it appears intended to delay and avoid a deal that ends not just the war, but also the maximum pressure campaign that the President has waged since 2018. Oftentimes, admitting you have a problem is necessary in order to stop an addiction. President Trump has proven unable and unwilling to stop his gambling on Iran that risks further undermining U.S. and regional security and the global economy.”

‘The Great Reformulation’: How some grocery giants are cutting back on food chemicals Ketura Persellin August 24, 2026

Many grocery stores are meeting consumer demand by taking food chemicals off their shelves. 

More than 70% of U.S. adults are concerned about chemicals in their food and water – and they deserve better consumer protections than the federal government has given them.

Due to a legal loophole, almost 99% of all new food chemicals introduced in the past 20 years have been approved by companies themselves, rather than the Food and Drug Administration. The Trump administration recently took a step toward amending that loophole – but it may be years before people see changes in their shopping carts as a result.

Some grocery giants aren’t waiting to act on potentially harmful food chemicals.

Whole Foods is a leader, with a longstanding commitment to ban a lengthy list of ingredients throughout its store. H-E-B, the largest chain in Texas, has banned more than 200 ingredients of concern from its store brand products. Albertons, Kroger, Target and Wegmans have each removed around 100 food chemicals from their store brand items.

Food chemicals are just one feature of a food system that favors industry and leaves the public with too few options for eating well. But understanding how retailers are responding shows how the food landscape is shifting and can help point shoppers in the right direction.

Grocery stores have more control over store-brand products

The products at most grocery retailers fall into one of two categories: name brand goods like Cheerios, and store brand or “private label” goods like Kroger Toasted O’s. 

Private label brands make up close to 25% of most retail sales. Shoppers used to associate more affordable private label brands with lower quality. But that’s changing. More than half of consumers now say they can’t justify spending more on name brands when private label products meet their needs.  

But retailer pledges usually focus on these in-house brands because they own the product lines and have control over the supply chains, so they have more sway here than over manufacturers of brand name products.

‘The Great Reformulation’

Many major grocers are now capitalizing on consumer demand by removing ingredients or reformulating products – a trend one publication calls the Great Reformulation. Many stores’ restrictions and bans focus on ingredients like artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners, and some include a much wider range of additives.

Here’s where some of the other top grocery retailers stand.

Retailers with clear commitments and results

Albertsons. The company has removed 110 ingredients from its private label brand, Open Nature. The brand is available in the company’s 20 grocery subsidiaries, including Jewel-Osco and Safeway.

H-E-B. The Texas staple’s store brands feature their Select Ingredients seal, indicating products are free from more than 203 ingredients.

Kroger. Kroger’s Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic store brands date back more than a decade. As of 2021, its product lines were free of more than 101 ingredients.

Target. Target’s private label brand, Good & Gather, is free of more than 100 ingredients of concern. In 2026, Target announced it would remove synthetic dyes from all cereal sold in its stores.

Wegmans. Wegmans launched its Food You Feel Good About line in 1991, with restrictions on artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners. Its website currently lists close to 100 ingredients of concern that are not used in its private label products.

Whole Foods. Whole Foods has had storewide standards for colors, flavors and preservatives since it opened its doors in 1980. Today a list of 300 banned or restricted chemicals is easy to find on the Whole Foods website. 

Retailers with commitments and some signs of success

Aldi. Aldi removed 13 ingredients, including artificial colors, from its store brand line more than a decade ago. This year, Aldi announced it would ban 44 more chemical ingredients from all of its private label foods, vitamins and supplements by December 2027. 

Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s inventory is dominated by its private label products. The store generally commits to no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives in their product – with some exceptions – but doesn’t offer a full list of banned ingredients.

Walmart. Last year, Walmart pledged to eliminate synthetic dyes and 30 other ingredients from its Great Value brand. Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart, has already removed more than 40 ingredients of concern from its Member’s Mark products.

Retailers with pledges but few signs of progress

Ahold Delhaize USA. In 2018, Ahold Delhaize USA – owner of Giant, Hannaford’s, Food Lion and Stop and Shop – pledged to remove all synthetic colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, sweeteners, MSG and high fructose corn syrup from private label products by 2025. But their 2025 annual report made no mention of the initiative, and no updates have been issued since.

Retailers without public pledges

Costco. The company has yet to announce any commitment to remove ingredients of concern from its product line, Kirkland Signature. A proposed class-action lawsuit earlier this year accused Costco of falsely advertising “no preservatives” in its rotisserie chicken.

States are stepping in to regulate chemicals of concern 

States are also leading efforts to fill gaps in federal regulation.

A 2023 California law banned four toxic chemicals from food products manufactured, distributed or sold in the state, and a 2024 law banned six food chemicals from food served in public schools. 

Other states have since launched efforts to restrict ingredients in food sold in their stores. As of August, more than 150 bills had been introduced and 20 signed into law. Take a look at EWG’s interactive food legislation map to find out more.

When it comes to harmful chemicals in food and packaging, states are often better – and faster – at providing consumer protections than the federal government. State laws have been so effective that they’re now being targeted by the food and beverage industry, which is backing legislation that would erase many state consumer protections.

What to look for when you shop

For many families, it can be hard to eat healthy. Avoiding food chemicals of concern is one challenge among many others, including affordability, access and the addictive nature of many highly processed foods.

That’s why EWG pushes for policies that can make healthy eating easier for everyone. In the meantime, there are a few tools that can help you navigate the grocery store:

• Take a look at EWG’s Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Chemicals™, which highlights some of the most concerning chemicals still allowed in the U.S. food supply.
• Consult EWG’s Food Scores to find out what’s in your food. Food Scores also flags unhealthy ultra-processed foods and can help you identify less-processed alternatives.
• Use our label reading guide. It helps you scan ingredient lists for items you wouldn’t have in your home kitchen, and make sure to check how much added sugar, salt and saturated fat is in your food.
• And when you’re on the go, check our Healthy Living app to find products.

Areas of Focus Ultra-Processed Foods Authors Ketura Persellin Sarah Reinhardt, MPH, RDN August 25, 2026

Nurses at West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, Calif.; Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, N.V.; Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago, Ill.; and nurses and health care workers at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif. gave notice to their employer Prime Healthcare that they will hold one-day strikes from Sept. 3 to Sept. 4 to protest the administration’s refusal to address deep concerns about patient care and safe staffing.

Nurses at West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, Calif.; Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, N.V.; Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago, Ill.; and nurses and health care workers at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif. gave notice to their employer Prime Healthcare that they will hold one-day strikes from Sept. 3 to Sept. 4 to protest the administration’s refusal to address deep concerns about patient care and safe staffing.

CEO Bob Mumgaard said the reactor, SPARC, is now “about 80% complete.” Experts remain divided over how soon they believe fusion technology could be commercialized.

Duke Energy is leading NC in the wrong direction of dirty, expensive power

Durham, N.C. – While the rest of the world makes promising advancements in solar, wind, and battery storage technologies, North Carolina remains a climate laggard instead of a climate leader. Duke Energy’s massive planned expansion of fracked gas-fired and nuclear power plants and its suppression of renewables has caused our state to fall behind in the global clean energy transition. 

Technological advancements are happening daily – Chinese scientists just set a world record by developing a new solar cell exceeding 28% efficiency. Solar abundance is now allowing many households in Australia to get three free hours of solar power every afternoon. A dozen nations now generate more electricity with renewable sources than they consume, and they export the excess. 

Worldwide, 80% of new energy capacity comes from renewable sources. According to Stanford University Professor Mark Jacobson, this progress reflects a global transition away from dirty and dangerous fossil fuels, enabled by advances in battery technology and rapidly falling costs. 

Even in the US, where federal policy aims to hamstring the renewable energy industry, solar and batteries remain the cheapest form of electricity. Utah produced more power from solar than any other source in May for the very first time. South Dakota and Montana now generate more renewable energy than they consume. California, the fourth largest economy in the world, now produces more than 100 percent of its electricity demand from renewable energy most days.

Much of the world is realizing that fossil fuels and risky, expensive nuclear plants are becoming obsolete in the face of faster, cheaper, safer, more reliable renewable power. But Duke Energy seems set on dragging our state backward, against the flow of progress. 

“In my international work, I’m inspired by the ever-increasing expansion of solar, wind and other renewable energy across the world,” said Dale Evarts, former head of the Climate and International Group at the US Environmental Protection Agency. “Countries are reducing their reliance on expensive fossil fuels and their vulnerability to blackmail and war. It’s discouraging to see North Carolina miss out on this enormous clean energy transition that creates jobs, inspires innovation, and makes electricity more affordable.”

Duke Energy has the largest planned expansion of fracked gas-fired power plants and failure-prone nuclear plants in the nation. Duke’s top executives recently admitted to aggressively recruiting data centers, which harm communities and drive Duke’s fossil fuel buildout. 

While solar and batteries become cheaper and more accessible globally, Duke Energy repeatedly attacks North Carolina’s solar industry. In 2024, the NC Court of Appeals ruled to uphold a Duke rule change that slashed the economic benefits of installing rooftop solar. 

Solar energy is available everywhere, free from volatile fuel costs, cheap and reliable, and readily available to us at a time when scientists demand that we change course as soon as possible to avert climate chaos. In the words of journalist and environmental scholar Bill McKibben, “[the sun] is willing to provide us with all the power we could ever need. This gift has come at the last possible moment. It would be an extraordinary sin to waste it.”

Why would Duke Energy hold North Carolina back by investing in dirty, failure-prone energy instead? Governor Josh Stein must ensure that North Carolina benefits from the global clean energy revolution by investing our future in clean, cheap solar power.

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Now in its 38th year, NC WARN is building people power in the climate and energy justice movement to persuade or require Charlotte-based Duke Energy – one of the world’s largest climate polluters – to make a quick transition to renewable, affordable power generation and energy efficiency in order to avert climate tipping points and ongoing rate hikes.

The post North Carolina Falls Behind as World Advances in Solar, Renewables — NC WARN News Release appeared first on NC WARN.

This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator and climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any).

Video description

In the fight against climate change, the world has made immense progress on renewable power - with wind and solar growing faster than ever. And finally carbon dioxide emissions are flatlining. But if we've made so much progress, why is CO2 building up in our atmosphere faster than ever before? And what can we do to finally protect our climate and ourselves?

Support ClimateAdam on patreon: https://patreon.com/climateadam

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 22, 2026) – Today, local leaders and advocates rallied at Philadelphia City Hall to confront a new reality: climate change is making summers hotter and longer. As students head back to school this year, families should be focused on buying notebooks, meeting teachers, and preparing for a successful school year—not worrying whether classrooms are too hot for learning.  

“Today, students are experiencing longer stretches of extreme heat, unpredictable weather, heavy rainfall, and changing seasonal patterns. And while we might assume that modern schools are equipped with reliable heating and air-conditioning systems, the reality is that many school buildings struggle to maintain comfortable learning environments. And here’s the reality that educators face: the students who are usually engaged, motivated, and eager to learn can become disengaged when their basic environmental needs aren’t being met,” said Austin Minor, Founder/Executive Program Director of the Jacob’s Puzzle Foundation and Secondary Special Education Math Interventionist with Mastery Charter Schools.

Climate change is exacerbating extreme heat. Summer temperatures now extend well into the fall months, putting children in classrooms without air conditioning at risk. Students and teachers are having to learn and teach in sweltering classrooms and, at times, schools are forced to dismiss early because of extreme heat. Furthermore, federal attacks on clean energy and climate protections are moving us in the wrong direction. 

“Our current climate is NOT ‘the new normal.’ It’s the normal – for now. Unless we reduce greenhouse gases, extreme heat will keep coming earlier in the spring and last into fall. There will be more and more school days cancelled because it’s too hot,” said Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz, meteorologist for 50+ years.

Students deserve safe schools. Teachers and school staff deserve safe workplaces. Parents deserve the confidence that their children can learn without interruption. Speakers at the press conference called on our leaders in Washington to stand up for students and make classrooms better for learning. It’s time to defend environmental protections that tackle climate change and clean energy investments that reduce climate pollution and, in turn, the extreme heat conditions it fuels.  

“As a teacher at my state-funded summer program in a district building, we went virtual three times this summer. Part of the reason was due to the sweltering heat, but the other reason was due to the air being too dangerous to breathe. These conditions can extend into the school year, so it is far past due to invest in sustainable, clean energy,” said Emmie Ledesma, Educator, George Washington High School.

“As my children head back to school, climate change is turning their classrooms into health hazards. Research has shown that without adequate air conditioning, children can’t concentrate, retain information, or perform well on tests. In the most extreme cases, heat can cause illness or even death. As an environmental attorney, we must take meaningful action on climate change with strong environmental policies that invest in clean energy and cut climate pollution before it’s too late,” said Lauren Otero, Clean Air Council Staff Attorney.

 At the event, Philly-area residents gathered for a rally to send the message to their elected officials to act on climate now. The gathering was part of a national movement of communities coming together and demanding strong climate action of their elected officials while they’re back in their home states during the August recess. At the press conference, volunteers also handed out “back to school kits” that highlighted what tools are needed to keep a child safe on hot school days. 

Should ‘city slickers’ receive farm subsidies? Anthony Lacey August 24, 2026

Farm subsidies should go only to people living or working on a farm. 

That’s what Senate Agriculture Committee members Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) agreed on when the panel debated the farm bill earlier this month. Grassley, a long-time advocate for ensuring farm subsidy recipients are “actively engaged” on a farm, and Welch both said subsidies for people living in the country’s largest cities makes little sense. 

EWG has long held the same position. 

For years we’ve tracked the billions of dollars paid out in farm subsidies to people who don’t live or work on farms. We recently found that more than 92,000 “city slickers” living in some of the biggest metropolitan areas in the U.S. took in more than $2.6 billion in farm subsidies between 2020 and 2025.

Although it seems no one believes paying these city slickers makes sense, Republicans at the recent Senate farm bill hearing voted against doing anything about it.

‘Actively engaged’

Welch proposed a series of amendments to the pending farm bill that would ensure that people who collect subsidies live or work on a farm. They would also lower payment limits on those subsidies and address fraud in two of the largest farm subsidy programs. 

If adopted and enacted, these changes would help taxpayers and family farmers. 

One of his amendments would have simply required an audit of some farm subsidy recipients when a subsidy program has a high “error rate,” which indicates farmers may have been paid too much.

Welch suggested subsidies should go to people “on tractors” and offered the amendment to audit certain farms.

Grassley agreed, saying, “You and I believe that people who are actively engaged are the only ones who should be receiving farm payments.” 

Grassley also said runaway farm subsidies are driving up the cost of farming, making it harder for family farmers to compete with their larger, more heavily subsidized neighbors. “We should be helping those farmers who can’t help themselves,” not the biggest corporate farms collecting the lion’s share of farm subsidies, he said. 

When Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in 2025, lawmakers enlarged loopholes that make it easier for the largest farm operations to get more money. 

The bill allowed every member of a farm partnership to collect up to $155,000, so long as the farm is organized as a pass-through entity, such as a joint venture, S corporation, or limited liability corporation.

Since the new law was enacted, the number of “city slickers” collecting farm subsidies has increased by 13,000 – even if some of those recipients never step foot on a farm. 

One of Welch’s amendments would have only required an audit when the “error rate” for two farm subsidy programs exceeded 6%. Agriculture Department studies show that the error rate for the two programs topped 6% in 2022 and 8% in 2023, resulting in more than $567 million in improper payments. 

Republicans have insisted that states should share more of the cost of anti-hunger programs when the error rate exceeds 6 percent, so simply requiring an audit when farm subsidy program error rates exceed 6 percent seems reasonable, right? 

Wrong. 

Grassley and other committee Republicans voted against Welch’s audit amendment. Democrats refuse to support the GOP farm bill in part because it fails to address deep funding cuts to anti-hunger programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP. 

So Grassley said he would not be able to support any amendments Democrats offer.

Dairy farm subsidies

Even Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) seemed to agree that farmers – or at least Welch’s dairy farmers – should have to live or work on farms if they receive farm subsidies. 

Unlike other farm subsidy programs – which can make a payment regardless of whether the “farmer” actually harvests a crop – dairy subsidies are automatically terminated if a dairy receiving them stops producing milk. 

Welch said that the principle – of subsidies going only to people who truly live and work on farms – should apply to all farmers, no matter what they produce.

He said, “Whether it’s the SNAP program or it’s a [farm] support program, the intention of Congress is that the actual farmer that gets the money or the actual person who is in need of nutrition gets the nutrition aid.” 

Areas of Focus Farming & Agriculture Farm Subsidies Authors Geoff Horsfield August 24, 2026

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released a two-year plan for the Colorado River, requiring the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona, and California to cut their use of water. The seven states that share water from the Colorado River failed to reach a consensus agreement earlier this year, prompting the federal government to step in.

Under the Bureau of Reclamation’s operating plan, the three Lower Basin states will be required to cut their Colorado River water use by 1.25 million acre-feet, with Arizona bearing the brunt of the required cuts. The Upper Basin states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico are also encouraged to undertake voluntary water conservation measures, but are not yet forced to make cuts in Colorado River water use under the two-year operating plan.

“What’s clear after seeing the projections for reservoir elevations over the next couple of years is that the buffer the Colorado River reservoirs provided over the last many decades is gone,” Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River program director for the Audubon Society, told the Colorado Sun. “There is real risk for the cities, farmers and ranchers, Tribes, and the entire natural world that depends on the Colorado River.”

Quick hits The BLM may stop notifying landowners about drilling under private land. Ranchers are alarmed

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National park maintenance work sidelined as Trump’s Freedom 250 takes precedence

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A White House official helped an oil company advance its projects. Now she’ll lead its DC office

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Bigger, hotter fires are slowly erasing America’s great forests

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Developers now targeting public lands to build huge AI data centers

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Drive for nuclear power boosts uranium industry—and Tribal health concerns in Utah

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Inside the struggle to dismantle America’s greenhouse gas data

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Editorial: A simple concept lawmakers should be able to get behind

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Quote of the day

I’ve worked with really incredible federal personnel with the BLM who take every single comment to heart, and they have improved applications immensely based on public feedback, because no one knows their land better than those people who are being directly drilled on.”

—Gwen Lachelt, Western Leaders Network, High Country News

 

Picture This @usinterior

National Park Week is back!

From August 22-30, we’re celebrating the incredible places that protect America’s landscapes, history and stories.

If you love hiking, walking across a historic battlefields, watching wildlife, or standing in the places where history was made, this week is for you.

And mark your calendar: August 25 is the National Park Service’s 110th birthday. In celebration, entrance fees will be waived at NPS sites that normally charge them.

This National Park Week, get out there and find your park.

Photo of Lehman Caves at Great Basin National Park by David Caldwell

Featured image: Lake Mead, Kumar Appaiah via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0

The post Feds release 2-year Colorado River plan requiring Lower Basin cuts appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

GARNER, NC—Every spring and fall we make one of our biggest calls to action—turn off unnecessary outdoor lights at night for migrating birds. This fall is no different, and with migrating birds...

Data center agreements in Wisconsin fail to protect ratepayers, Microsoft says. Separately, PowerHouse Hillwood has accused Exelon’s ComEd of using monopoly power to quash an agreement for an Illinois data center.