As the world turns its attention to the environment we share on this Earth Day, the tide of public opinion is turning toward decisive climate action. Statewide carbon-neutral goals, emerging carbon credit markets and incentive programs for renewable energies are quickly becoming the new reality.

April 22 marks the 54th celebration of Earth Day. Unfortunately, there should be much more to celebrate five decades later. 

For the first time ever, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is issuing a national regulation limiting the amount of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, found in drinking water.

Commonly called "forever chemicals," PFAS are synthetic chemicals found nearly everywhere – in air, water, and soil – and can take thousands of years to break down in the environment.

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement for a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio, but local residents worry the money won’t go very far because their potential health needs down the road may be tremendous.

“It’s not nowhere near my needs let alone what the health effects are going to be 5 or 10 years down the road,” said Eric Cozza, who had 47 family members living within one-mile of the derailment.

The company whose freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a massive chemical spill last year has reached a $600 million settlement agreement with residents. 

Norfolk Southern will pay $600 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to last year’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the company announced Tuesday, following complaints from residents who said they were affected by the incident after hazardous chemicals leaked into the nearby water, air and soil.

The settlement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims from a 20-mile radius of the derailment and personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius for those who choose to participate, Norfolk Southern said.

The Biden administration on Friday announced a regulation designed to turbocharge sales of electric or other zero-emission heavy vehicles, from school buses to cement mixers, as part of its multifront attack on global warming.

The Environmental Protection Agency projects the new rule could mean that 25 percent of new long-haul trucks, the heaviest on the road, and 40 percent of medium-size trucks, like box trucks and landscaping vehicles, could be nonpolluting by 2032. Today, fewer than 2 percent of new heavy trucks sold in the United States fit that bill.

The Environmental Protection Agency today announced a final rule the agency said sets stronger standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles beginning in model year 2027. Major trucking organizations reacted, saying the industry has already done plenty to reduce pollution, and the new rules will be expensive, and overly burdensome, especially for small trucking businesses.

The Biden administration finalized long-awaited regulations targeting emissions generated from heavy-duty vehicles, including trucks and buses, the latest salvo in President Biden's sweeping climate agenda.