Polluted Delhi Tries ‘Green’ Fireworks to Clear the Air at Diwali

8 novembre 2026 à 20:38

India’s top court decreed that only more environmentally friendly fireworks could be set off this weekend, citing air quality concerns. But environmental activists call it a “green wash.”

A young participant celebrating amid a flurry of fireworks during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Hyderabad, India, on Sunday.

US news | The Guardian

Babies more likely to have heart defects from Louisiana’s areas with industrial pollution, study finds

Par : Sara Sneath

3 novembre 2026 à 08:30

Compared to infants in the state’s low-pollution areas, the odds were 4.3 times higher for babies from toxic hotspots

A study looking at babies hospitalized in New Orleans found that babies born to mothers from neighborhoods in south-east Louisiana with high levels of industrial pollution were four times more likely to suffer from severe congenital heart defects.

Published last week, the study in the Environmental Health journal looked at medical records for 454 infants hospitalized at the two major Louisiana hospitals that can provide surgery for heart defects in babies. Researchers traced back where the mothers of these infants lived, examining the levels of industrial toxic pollution in their communities using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s risk-screening database. Compared to infants from low-pollution areas in the region, the odds of congenital heart defects were 4.3 times higher for infants from toxic hotspots, and 3.1 times higher for infants from places with intermediate levels of pollution.

US news | The Guardian

Trump boosted half of US coal plants with taxpayer dollars and ‘free passes to pollute’, report says

Par : Hilary Beaumont

31 octobre 2026 à 09:00

Environmental Defense Fund analysis shows administration handed out $950m and Clean Air Act exemptions

It’s a good time to be a coal plant in the US. The Trump administration has given support to almost half of the nation’s coal plants, helping them to continue operating despite economic and regulatory headwinds, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund.

The analysis, which looked at the 184 operating coal plants that are connected to the grid, found that 90 received support from the Trump administration through “cash handouts, free passes to pollute, and requirements to stay online past their retirement dates”.