The Supreme Court has sided with Bayer/Monsanto in the case of a man who believes his cancer was caused by the weedkiller Roundup. My last story for C&EN covered the case, which affects tens of thousands of others and questioned whether the EPA has sole authority here: cen.acs.org/environment/...

In other Maine news: bidding closes today in the latest effort to bring big renewable energy projects (and a new transmission line) to the most northern part of the state. Here's the backstory on this long saga, and what's different this time: themainemonitor.org/wind-farms-t...

ISO New England's latest electricity forecast is down from last year's, in large part because federal tax credits for EVs and heat pumps (from the Inflation Reduction Act) have ended. But state-level rebates in Maine are still going strong, and people are really snapping up heat pumps in particular.

It's back to Maine and back to the environment beat for me. Mainers and anyone working on environmental issues in the state -- please feel free to reach out!

The inside scoop from @leighkboerner.bsky.social: "About 150 employees remained in ORD as of Feb. 13. Most got letters that day saying that they would be reassigned to other offices in March. The letters did not specify which offices."

There's been a barrage of pesticide news recently - from Bayer's class settlement for Roundup lawsuits, and Trump's EO on domestic glyphosate production, to the draft Farm Bill (which will be marked up tonight). I covered how it's all related, and what it all means: cen.acs.org/environment/...

After a court-mandated ban that applied for the 2025 growing season, the US Environmental Protection Agency has reapproved over-the-top use of dicamba for genetically modified soybeans and cotton. cen.acs.org/policy/chemi... #chemsky 🧪

Lower levels of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in North Atlantic whales show regulations work -- by @lizkimbrough.bsky.social for @mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/2026/02/lowe...

The Associated Press’ reporting on the vulnerabilities of private water well owners to contamination by harmful forever chemicals shows how some well owners are left stranded. Here are takeaways from the investigation.

Come for the interactive quiz on what counts as an ultraprocessed food, stay for the policy outlook on this weirdly bipartisan issue -- from US dietary guidelines to school lunches to state SNAP waivers to front-of-package labeling in other countries.

Earlier this month, a research institute in Venezuela was damaged by US air strikes, marking the latest blow to a research sector already battered by funding and supply shortages. Read more at @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/policy/US-ai...

For his #PulitzerStaffPicks 2025, Mark Schulte, Director of U.S. Education and Outreach, selected "See How Marine Heat Waves Are Spreading Across the Globe" by @edelger.bsky.social for The @nytimes.com. 👉 bit.ly/YIStories25

For @cenmag.bsky.social, I tried to summarize what happened in science policy in 2025. Spoiler: A lot! Thanks to Ian Banks, @jeremymberg.bsky.social, Arthur Daemmrich, @cdelawalla.bsky.social and @ucs.org Jen Jones for their insights. Out soon: what to expect in 2026 cen.acs.org/policy/nih-n...

For her second #PulitzerStaffPicks selection, Ocean Editor Jessica Aldred chose @katiemcque.bsky.social’s story “'I’ve Seen Hell': Inside the Global Crisis of Seafarer Exploitation” published in @contextnewsroom.bsky.social. 👉 bit.ly/YIStories25

Entangled examined the threats to North Atlantic right whales & the policies to address them. Now, as the series closes, we return to the people working to change the outcome: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... @pulitzercenter.org @theglobeandmail.com

The United Nations effort to negotiate a treaty on plastic pollution appears to be at a standstill. The parties’ approach needs to change if a treaty is to be reached. But how? cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪

Advisory panel on vaccine policy in the US votes to scrap recommendation of #hepatitisB vaccination for newborns. One panel member called decision "unconscionable" @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social for @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Boy, retraction is the thing these days. After years of critique, a foundational 25-year old paper on the safety of glyphosate herbicide has been pulled. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/2

So, remember that MAHA summit 2 weeks ago that @statnews.com broke the news of and @maxkozlov.bsky.social somehow got into for Nature, even though it was closed to the press? The organizers posted the entire 6.5-hour conference proceedings to YouTube last week. cen.acs.org/policy/MAHA-...

Reflections on COP30 now that it's over. (Or is it??) First, idk if this was Lula's goal, but the physical chaos of the venue—fire, deluge, diesel fumes—sure seemed like a metaphor for climate change to me. cen.acs.org/environment/...

The chemical industry is a huge source of GHG emissions. Decarbonizing the industry will be hard, but as a UNFCCC technology expert said here, there's no way we can avoid it. COP30 reflected that, with what seemed to be more spotlight on chemicals than past summits. cen.acs.org/environment/...

Nov. 14 Policy Watch: US government reopens, is absent from COP 30 climate conference In other news, the EPA wants to trim PFAS reporting requirements and is pushing back compliance dates for parts of its TCE and methylene chloride rules. cen.acs.org/policy/Nov-1...

Tomorrow at #COP30 I'll be discussing what I learned from my recent @pulitzercenter.org reporting on marine heatwaves and their effects on wildlife and fisheries -- 1:30pm Brazil time at the Ocean Pavilion, alongside fishermen & women, scientists, and policymakers.

Rescheduled for this morning 8 am - if you are in the Blue Zone, come by the Ocean Pavilion and learn about the links between rainforest and ocean to start your day.

The best news from #COP30 so far is that a couple got engaged last night during dinner at a restaurant just outside the venue. It was packed with conference attendees and decidedly not the most romantic ambiance… but good for them!!

I’m in Belém covering #COP30. It’s a difficult geopolitical—and physical—context, as the planet begins to breach the 1.5C goal set 10 years ago and the US withdraws once again from the Paris Agreement. I’ll be continuing coverage throughout the conference, so please reach out if you’d like to talk.

Not since 1935 has anyone experienced a storm like Melissa. Melissa's record wouldn't have happened without climate change, which made the hurricane's winds about 10 mph stronger, according to a rapid attribution analysis by Climate Central. yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/10/cata...

A team of international scientists suggests that ignoring plankton could lead scientists to underestimate how the ocean will respond to climate change. Read more: cen.acs.org/environment/... #CENChemPics #chemsky 🧪

Yes, there's lead in protein powders. No, there's no known safe level. But, exposure to trace amounts is inevitable, especially since plants naturally take up lead from the environment. And, people disagree on standards for manufacturers. Latest @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/food/food-in...

It's been a big year for chemists trying to turn PTFE (better know as Teflon) into something that won't hang out in a landfill for 1,000 years. The latest development in this area uses chunks of sodium metal. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/materials/po...

Our first weekly briefing of chemistry policy news @cenmag.bsky.social. In food world, companies and trade groups formed a supergroup called Americans for Ingredient Transparency to lobby Congress to preempt state laws on food additives and other MAHA-inspired issues: cen.acs.org/policy/Oct-2...

A 2023 marine heat wave in the central Red Sea caused 100% of monitored sea anemones to bleach, followed by the death of 94-100% of clownfish and 66-94% of the anemones across three surveyed reefs. The findings challenge the belief that Red Sea marine life would be protected from climate change.

New Mexico is proposing warning labels for #PFAS across a wide range of consumer products starting next year, similar to California's Prop 65 labels. This is part of the rule-making for a new law that also phases out many products with PFAS. More in @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/policy/New-M...

My first foray into food chemicals -- which I'm learning is a busy, busy beat right now, especially at the state level

My new colleagues really commit to the bit

New job, new beat: I'm now covering PFAS, pesticides and other chemicals in food, ag and water for @cenmag.bsky.social. Would love to connect with sources -- please do reach out with tips (or just intros)! My new email is D_Erdenesanaa at acs dot org. Signal remains edelger dot 10.

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools are changing the way we can monitor the ocean. The @pulitzercenter.org is hosting a webinar on Tues, Sept 9, at 12pm US ET, for investigative journalists, environmental reporters & data enthusiasts looking to deepen their reporting using OSINT.

Published a story with @rjnskl.bsky.social last week on the future of the ocean under growing human pressures -- and the future of cultures and economies built on the ocean and coastlines. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Highly recommend to any journalists with an ocean story to tell! You get the rare gift of time (and travel $) to pursue ambitious stories. You also learn a ton from the Pulitzer Center's data and research team, as well as from your cohort -- who will be impressive journalists from around the world!

Efforts by countries like Russia and Iran to circumvent Western sanctions on their petroleum have spawned a black market at sea, leading to a surge in human rights abuses of the seafarers recruited. Story by ORN Fellow @katiemcque.bsky.social for @contextnewsroom.bsky.social. bit.ly/4mjwAuE

This is such an important story for the ocean. Losing these sea stars meant losing whole forests of kelp, whole ecosystems. And although scientists have just identified the bacteria behind the disease, as this story points out, they already knew there was a "co-conspirator" in rising temperatures.

Update: Our friend @alecluhn.bsky.social was found alive this morning! He is in good health with some injuries to his leg/foot. He is at a hospital in Bergen now. Thank you to the Norwegian helicopter team who found him and all the volunteers who searched in bad conditions. ❤️

In case I have any followers in Norway -- my colleague Alec Luhn is missing after a solo hiking trip in the Folgefonna / Nedre Buarbreen area. The Red Cross is searching, but if anyone has seen Alec by chance, they can call the local police at 02800 or email [email protected] with info.

If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, chances are you've endured a heatwave. But have you considered what this extreme heat looks like beneath the surface? #ORN Fellow @edelger.bsky.social uncovers, for @nytimes.com, how marine heatwaves, once rare, are now recurring. bit.ly/44zgG81

Easy-to-miss news amid the chaos: At the 3rd UN ocean conference, countries declared 20+ new marine protected areas, but thousands more are needed to reach a goal of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. Questions also remain about how meaningful these protections are. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/c...

As politicians from around the world discuss the ocean in Nice this week for #UNOC3, the ocean itself continues to warm from climate change. My latest story dives into the toll this takes on marine wildlife and fisheries: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/c...

Nice example too of the @pulitzercenter.bsky.social Ocean Reporting Network sharing, eg) I learned about NASA’s PACE program from our editor @jessicaaldred.bsky.social, now @edelger.bsky.social latest gives a deeper dive! #ocean #climate #oceanreportingnetwork

I started reporting this -- on climate change and the smallest, most numerous residents of the ocean -- before the election. Amid the chaos, I think it's still important to tell the big picture story of what's happening to the planet. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/c... 🧪

The 1900 Galveston Hurricane has a little history lesson about what can happen when you restrict international scientific communication (Spoiler: 8,000 people died) Gift link: cmf.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/noaa-galveston-weather-hurricane-20152145.php

FYI: USAID has been one of the world's largest and most important funders of global biodiversity conservation — a chronically underfunded area. It has supported efforts to protect forests, reduce illegal wildlife trafficking, and end violence towards women defending the environment.