The plastics industry is releasing illegal pollution but rarely faces discipline for environmental permit violations, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project.

Companies producing plastics emitted nearly 63 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, about as much as 15 coal-fired power plants.

Alexandra Shaykevich, research manager for the Environmental Integrity Project, pointed out while many people and industries are now trying to minimize their use of fossil fuels, the plastics industry is moving in the opposite direction. She said people may not be aware plastic is produced primarily from oil and natural gas.

"It's been expanding at an exponential rate and causing a cascade of environmental problems, not just greenhouse gas pollution, but also litter," Shaykevich explained. "A lot of these products, they can't be recycled and so essentially, they wind up littering our oceans and our waterways."

The toxic chemicals emitted during plastics production have been linked to asthma, bronchitis and cancer. Nationwide, more than two-thirds of those living within three miles of the factories manufacturing the main ingredients in plastic products are people of color.

Shaykevich noted many plastic plants built or expanded over the last decade have received tax breaks or subsidies from state and local governments worth nearly $9 billion. She added data show the trend is likely to continue.

"Our report identified at least 10 new plants and 23 expansion projects that existing facilities have proposed," Shaykevich outlined. "They could add an additional 35 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, if those plants move forward."

One of the expanded plants is located in Ohio. According to the report, the new projects would produce ethylene or polyethylene but the industry is also planning to increase production of "PET," the type of plastic primarily used for packaging.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Congress is preparing to vote Wednesday on whether to roll back Ohio's authority to set tougher vehicle emissions standards. New research from Coltura suggests the move could cost rural and working-class drivers thousands in lost savings by limiting access to electric vehicles.

Rob Sargent, the organization's program director, said cutting back clean-car programs would hurt Americans who stand to benefit the most from buying an EV.

"For many rural drivers, contractors, long-distance commuters and families, gasoline costs, depending on income, can eat up 15% or more of their paycheck," he said. "EV tax credits and any programs designed to make EVs available to the American people can unlock decades of savings."

Opponents of emissions standards argue that expanding EV requirements could raise upfront vehicle costs for consumers, particularly in areas with limited access to EV chargers.

Cincinnati is already working toward cleaner fleets of vehicles. Robert McCracken, the city's energy manager, said switching to electric vehicles has provided clear financial and environmental benefits at the local level.

"We've seen lower maintenance costs," he said. "Our total cost of ownership has looked pretty good since we've had some of these electric vehicles. We do have goals for the city that by 2035 we will have a 100% clean-fuels fleet."

However, McCracken warns that rolling back emissions standards could reduce EV options and slow progress. He says the city currently has about 60 electric vehicles and is focusing on expanding fleet charging infrastructure to meet its clean fleet goals.

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Roz Brown for New Mexico News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

Hundreds of climate workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have now been fired for the second time after the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision on an initial dismissal. This move brings the total toll of fired federal employees up to about 16,000 - jeopardizing vital work at NOAA, including marine pollution research, weather forecasting for hurricanes and tornadoes and decisions for local fisheries that help guard against overfishing. Gathering in Washington D.C. on April 2, Democrats from the House Natural Resources Committee and a range of experts convened to express outrage, and fear at the attacks on the agency.

"The problem is we fired the people that know how to operate the technology," Val Hoyle, Democrat Member of Congress from Oregon's 4th District, told reporters at the forum. "They fired the people that know how to operate our tsunami warning system."

Cuts to an Underfunded Agency Threatens Public Safety

The agency is no stranger to budget challenges. In 2021, a chief scientist for NOAA described the institution as a "$12 billion agency trapped in a $5.5 billion budget," highlighting the longstanding discrepancy between the agency's value and its funding.

More cuts to funding and staff will only make this disconnect worse, according to the Representative from Rhode Island's 2nd District. "The assertion that mass layoffs will somehow improve efficiency is not only misleading, it is outright dangerous," said Rep. Seth Magaziner at the livestreamed public forum held on Capitol Hill.

"Real people's jobs and lives are on the line. Without NOAA's real time data, emergency responders are left without the critical information they need to respond to impending disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, floods and severe storms, putting millions at risk," added Magaziner, who is a Democrat and member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

The current round of cuts to NOAA comes a couple of months ahead of peak hurricane season. Just last year, hurricanes Helene and Milton ripped through Florida and North Carolina, and local officials were able to rely on forecasting and storm tracking by NOAA during the season.

Natural disaster experts and government officials have raised concerns about what their natural disaster response will look like without extreme weather event predictions. "We have a buoy off the coast of Central Oregon that is part of our tsunami warning system. It's offline. We can't get any information," said Representative Hoyle.

The National Weather Service has also halted weather balloon launches at many of its offices due to lack of staff. The balloons are key to measure temperature and wind and also signal early warnings of tornadoes.

Guardrails on Overfishing Gutted Thanks to DOGE Cuts

Another key role of the agency is to help manage commercial fisheries. The agency's role in day-to-day operations enables fisheries to function, but also plays a role in protecting fish populations against overfishing, a practice responsible for an estimated 5.6 million metric tons of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere each year.

Though forum speakers described the industry as having a "love-hate relationship" with NOAA, both industry and policy representatives at the forum said that mass layoffs and regulatory freezes would have a crippling effect.

As a result of the layoffs, the Mid-Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery was not closed on schedule for instance, and was subsequently overfished by 125 percent, said Elizabeth Lewis, senior associate attorney at the public interest law firm, Eubanks & Associates, at the forum.

In February, President Trump retaliated against Maine's Governor Janet Mills for her opposition to his executive order to ban transgender athletes competing in women's sports. As a result, he temporarily froze the state's sea grant funding.

"Although funding was reinstated later, it left fishing communities across the country thinking about what would happen if the state sea grant offices that they depend on also became political footballs," said Sarah Schumann, a fisherman and advocate for local fisheries in Rhode Island. Schumann pointed out the fishing industry heavily relies on NOAA's data collection and forecasting to navigate U.S. waters amid a warming climate.

Salmon in Washington State are also under threat as cuts to NOAA employees continue, according to reporting from the New York Times. An employee who ensured salmon hatcheries followed the Endangered Species Act was fired - jeopardizing current and future fish populations.

Privatization of Weather Predictions Risks Accuracy

"There is no weather forecast that's produced in this country that isn't dependent on NOAA, none," said Mary Glackin at the forum. Glackin is a former deputy undersecretary at the agency and former employee at the National Weather Service. NOAA is currently operating billions of dollars worth of satellites and high performance weather infrastructure. Glackin worries that this technology and surveillance may be auctioned off to the highest bidder, which would create a monopoly among billionaires to utilize the service for private interests.

This isn't the first time these programs have been threatened with privatization, as many prior administrations looked to do the same. Yet, they all came to the same conclusion, said Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico. The data was so crucial to the public interest that they could not turn it over to the private sector.

If private sector ownership fails, Stansbury said, there would be catastrophic impacts. "It's very clear that at the end of the day when [Musk] leaves in a few weeks or a couple of months, all he's going to leave in his wake is a gigantic mess of court cases," Stanbury said, before pointing to "the loss of scientists and dismantled government programs that will take years to restore [and] that has undermined our standing internationally and undermined our ability to even predict the weather."

NOAA Plays Key Role in National Security

Decimating NOAA's workforce is the latest move in weakening national security preparedness, said Rear Admiral John White, the former president of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and former superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Just last month, Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added by elected officials to a group chat detailing foreign war plans.

White stressed the importance of NOAA data to military operations and bases at sea, highlighting that our knowledge of oceanography was key to victory in the Cold War.

"It worries me a lot because I know that there are men and women in uniform out there who rely on this information...to maintain our national security and home and away game advantage for years to come. I just don't know how that's going to turn out based on the current trend and I lose sleep every night," White said.

The Future of NOAA?

Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee have sent letters to NOAA officials to ask for more information, a briefing and proposed amendments to legislation so "that [their] committee's oversight plan would include an understanding of the impact of the gutting of NOAA."

So far, Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials have refused all of their requests. The effects of agency cuts may be felt for years to come. "We are at a serious risk of alienating the next generation of scientists, policymakers and leaders who would help the United States weather future storms," said public interest attorney Lewis.


Dawn Attride wrote this article for Sentient.


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As oil and gas well sites pop up next to more Colorado neighborhoods, residents are gathering evidence to hold operators accountable for toxic emissions, which are invisible to the naked eye.

Bobbie Mooney, staff attorney for the advocacy group 350 Colorado, a nonprofit organizing tours and training, said using optical gas-imaging technology, everyday Coloradans can now see the single largest source of air pollution along the Front Range with their own eyes.

"We've been in violation of federal health-based standards for over a decade," Mooney pointed out. "Despite a lot of talk and efforts to change rules and regulations, unfortunately we have not seen an improvement in air quality here."

Colorado is the nation's fourth-largest oil and gas producer, and there are currently more than 46,000 active wells, up 25% since 2009, largely due to expanded fracking operations. The Trump administration would like to see the number go up and has promised to roll back regulations in order to achieve its goal of energy dominance.

The American Lung Association's latest State of the Air Report Card gave Colorado's Front Range an "F" for poor air quality due to ground-level ozone and particle pollution.

Mooney noted toxic emissions from oil and gas sites such as benzine pose serious threats to human health at every stage of life.

"Regulations are really the only line of defense that Coloradans have to protect our health and safety from the impacts of oil and gas extraction," Mooney emphasized. "Everything from air pollution to water consumption to habitat destruction."

To get the optical gas imaging camera into the hands of more communities, 350 Colorado has partnered with Earthworks. Mooney added tour participants also get tips on how to let lawmakers know what they saw, and how to push leaders to protect themselves, their family, and their neighbors.

"We also encourage participants to write a public comment," Mooney urged. "To their local county or city, or to the state government agencies, like the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, or the Department of Public Health and Environment that regulates air quality."


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