The Biden administration is proposing to tighten standards for pollution coming from coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Tuesday that it is proposing to strengthen restrictions under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for the first time in more than a decade. The agency said it will update limits for pollutants, including lead, nickel and arsenic, by 67 percent for all coal power plants. Exposure to these substances raises the risk of developmental delays in children, as well as heart attacks and cancer. It will also increase mercury controls by 70 percent for some power plants — specifically those that use a type of coal known as lignite, which have been operating under looser mercury limits than other coal plants. Lignite plants are located primarily in North Dakota and Texas, EPA officials said Wednesday. Exposure to high levels of mercury can cause harm to a person’s brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system.

Starting in August, Americans will only be able to purchase LED lights from retailers across the nation as an official ban on incandescent lightbulbs will be in full effect. Incandescent lightbulbs have been providing light in American homes since the 1800s, when Thomas Edison patented the bulbs. But now, the nation has evolved into a more energy-efficient society and LED lights have become the new norm. Rules finalized by the Energy Department last year require manufacturers to sell energy-efficient light bulbs, accelerating a longtime industry practice to use compact fluorescent and LED bulbs that last 25 to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs. The Trump administration had slowed an earlier phaseout of incandescents, saying it was targeting rules that burden businesses. Officials say the move will help Americans save money and benefit the environment.

Environmental groups on Monday petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require companies to disclose the chemicals discharged from waste incinerators and plants that claim to recycle plastic waste into fuel. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Energy Justice Network filed the petition with the agency because the toxic chemical emissions from around 400 incinerators, gasification and pyrolysis, or "advanced recycling," facilities are not required to be reported to the Toxics Release Inventory. The TRI was created as part of the 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act and currently contains information on 770 chemicals from different industries to provide local communities with information about toxic chemical releases and waste management activities.

The oil and gas industry waged a decades-long war against America’s transition to a carbon-free energy system despite its benefits for public health, the economy and climate stability. The industry won battle after battle until 2021 and 2022, when Congress passed two bills that offer hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives for America to invest in zero-carbon energy. But the industry hasn’t lost the war yet, and it hasn’t stopped fighting. It has turned its heavy artillery toward states and communities, which will decide whether to take advantage of the new incentives. Unsurprisingly, oil and gas companies are not playing nice. They are pushing back against communities that want to reduce their use of fossil fuels.