This week, EWG released an analysis that details the crop insurance premium subsidies in the Mississippi River region. The report found that the subsides cost taxpayers almost $39.5 billion between 2001 and 2020.
“The federal Crop Insurance Program must be reformed to encourage farmers to adapt to a rapidly changing climate before costs spiral even more out of control,” said Anne Schechinger, EWG Midwest director and author of the report. “The Department of Agriculture should start by reducing premium subsidies in environmentally sensitive areas, like those found in many parts of the Mississippi River region.”
The New Lede, a nonprofit environmental news site created as a journalism initiative of EWG, officially launched this week, with the goal of spotlighting underreported stories affecting the planet and public health.
“I saw a need to make sure important environmental stories are being covered,” said EWG President and co-founder Ken Cook. “We see disturbing trends in the world of local journalism and a severe lack of coverage of critical issues impacting communities across the country, which poses a threat to democracy, environmental law and science. With The New Lede, it is our goal to correct this growing imbalance.”
The New Lede operates independently of EWG’s advocacy and communications units and pledges to “drive an evolution of the environmental news landscape with a strict adherence to objectivity, and an advocacy only for the truth.”
The New Lede’s managing editor is longtime investigative journalist and author Carey Gillam, who spent 17 years as a senior correspondent for Reuters covering agriculture and its effect on the environment.
In honor of National Women’s Health Week and Women’s Health Month, EWG is highlighting how toxic chemicals in our environment pose a particular threat to women’s health.
On Monday, environmental organizations led by Greenpeace USA, EWG and Earthjustice filed comments with the White House, urging the Biden administration to act to reduce the greenhouse emissions associated with electricity-intensive digital currencies using “proof of work,” such as bitcoin.
Last week, EWG released the 16th annual Guide to Sunscreens, and this week followed up by detailing the effect that melanin and sunscreen have on vitamin D levels.
Finally, EWG highlighted misleading “regenerative” soil claims on non-organic food labels and asked what the effect might be if the U.S. produced all the world’s beef.
Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
Crop insurance
FERN’s Ag Insider: Report: Crop insurance premiums could skyrocket as climate change intensifies
Taxpayers shelled out nearly $40 billion in crop insurance premiums in the Mississippi River region between 2001 and 2020, and that number is expected to increase sharply as climate change intensifies, according to an analysis of Department of Agriculture data by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that was released Wednesday.
EWG’s Guide to Sunscreens
InStyle: 60-Year-Olds Are Turning to This EWG-Approved Tinted Sunscreen Instead of Foundation
The multitasking sunscreen recently made it onto the Environmental Working Group's 2022 sunscreen guide, making it one of over 400 SPF products that the organization deemed to have safe ingredients and provide adequate sun protection. (To put that in perspective, the EWG evaluated over 1,850 products this year and found 75 percent to contain worrisome ingredients.)
AARP: How to Choose a Safer Sunscreen This Summer
But recent concerns about sunscreen ingredients have made it more difficult than it used to be to choose a safe sunscreen. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit advocacy organization, says about 75 percent of sunscreens on the market provide inferior sun protection or have worrisome ingredients.
Meat and dairy alternatives
E&E News: Biden nutrition conference may fire up climate debate on meat
“It’s impossible to talk about nutrition without addressing that we’re eating more protein than is healthy,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. But the EWG has urged the White House to keep the upcoming conference focused on hunger and nutrition, rather than the climate debate, Faber said.
Cleaning products
Mind Body Green: How To Actually Keep Your Glass Shower Clean + 5 Products To Help
Not only are they all highly rated, but these nontoxic cleaners are also made with ingredients that the Environmental Working Group has deemed safe in its Healthy Cleaning database, which analyzes ingredients on their impact on human and environmental health.
Skin Deep® cosmetics database
On average, women expose themselves to 168 chemicals in personal care products each day, according to the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. Activists and government officials have pushed for legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to regulate the products.
The Sun (UK): I’m a germ expert – here’s why you’ve been cleaning your house ALL wrong
Don't let long words scare you – some acids and chemical-sounding ingredients are present in natural skincare that aren't harmful so double check on EWG's Skin Deep database to see if they're safe.
Cryptocurrency
Axios: Axios Generate Newsletter
Environmentalists are urging the White House to launch major regulatory efforts to stem carbon emissions linked to bitcoin mining, Ben writes.
Several groups sent joint comments to the White House science office in response to its call for input on the energy and climate impacts of cryptocurrencies.
Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, Environmental Working Group and others say permits for digital mining operations should face "stringent environmental reviews."
Inside EPA: Environmentalists seek curbs on cryptocurrency pollution
In their May 9 letter to the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, groups including Environmental Working Group, Earthjustice, Greenpeace, Sierra Club and others urge a comprehensive strategy to address the adverse impacts of cryptocurrencies that rely on a system known as “proof of work” to verify transactions. The most prominent of such currencies is Bitcoin.
The Hill: Equilibrium/Sustainability — Hydrogen-powered flights hitting California by 2024
But the Environmental Working Group, Greenpeace and Earthjustice are pressing the Biden administration to change that by bringing cryptocurrency mining under the same sorts of regulatory controls that have been proposed for the automotive and electric industries.
Factory farms
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Want to fight climate change? Eat more plants and fewer animals | Opinion
A 2020 Environmental Working Group study found that the continued expansion of animal farming threatens water quality in nearly all farm counties in Minnesota. Reprinted by News Break; Menopausal Mother Nature
Food safety
Eat This, Not That!: Here's Why There May Be Poop In Your Lunch
"The primary way you will get sick from your food today is from your salad, leafy greens, and any fruits and vegetables that you eat raw and uncooked," said Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group's senior vice president of government affairs. "The primary way pathogens get into these foods is through the irrigation water [used on farms] which is filled with animal feces."
“Not So Pretty” docuseries
Until proper regulation is put in place, organizations like EWG and docuseries like “Not So Pretty” will help consumers understand more about the “not so pretty” realities of an industry that speaks to two very sacred components of our lives as humans—health and external appearance—both of which are intimately related to our overall well-being.
PFAS
The Guardian: ‘Forever chemicals’ may have polluted 20m acres of US cropland, study says
The analysis, conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), is an attempt to understand the scope of cropland contamination stemming from sewage sludge, or biosolids. Regulators don’t require sludge to be tested for PFAS or closely track where its spread, and public health advocates warn the practice is poisoning the nation’s food supply.
EcoWatch: 20 Million Acres of U.S. Cropland May Be Contaminated by PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’
PFAS are used to make products water-, heat- or stain-resistant, The Guardian reported. Very low amounts of these forever chemicals in drinking water have been linked to a higher risk of cancer, immunosuppression, interference with the reproductive system and other health problems, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).