For years, I had a four-cup plastic measuring cup in my cupboard. It took up valuable space next to the cereal bowls. I never used it because it was plastic. I try to reduce my use of plastic as much as possible. Plastic items degrade so very tiny plastic pieces... Read more →

About a week ago, I received an email about Plastic Free July, a global effort to help people reduce single-use plastic waste every day at home, work, school, and at local stores. The organization sponsoring the action, the Plastic Free Foundation, asks people to choose to: Refuse single-use cups. Refuse... Read more →

One heat wave after another has swept the country this summer and many more are expected. As global average temperatures increase, heat waves are increasing. High heat can be dangerous to your health, especially for people with pre-existing health conditions, the elderly, pregnant people, infants, unhoused people, and people in... Read more →

Always check the ingredients label of processed food for synthetic dyes and for high levels of added sugar. If a product contains either, you are better off not buying it, especially for your kids. About 19 percent of packaged foods and beverages contain synthetic food dyes, according to research evaluating... Read more →

I’m feeling stressed. How about you? Everyone has some type and level of stress, but the past few years have increased Americans’ stress levels with record-high inflation and economic uncertainty. About 77 percent of Americans feel stressed about the future of the nation these days, and 73 percent feel stressed... Read more →

In a move that contradicts campaign pledges to crack down on toxic pesticides, President Donald Trump has appointed longtime agriculture lobbyist Kyle Kunkler to serve as the nation’s top pesticide regulator at the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. Kunkler is a former lobbyist for the American Soybean Association and the... Read more →

As he had wanted, President Donald Trump signed his budget bill on July Fourth that will give tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy while slashing Medicaid and food-assistance benefits for millions of Americans. The budget measure puts the country on a perilous fiscal path by increasing the federal deficit through huge... Read more →

July 4, 2025, marks the 249th birthday of the United States of America. Millions of people celebrate the day with barbecues, parades, and fireworks. And also travel, with more than 72 million Americans planning to travel 50-plus miles from home this year. About 61 percent of Americans will attend a... Read more →

On Monday, four federal agencies revoked longstanding regulations to carry out the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA. In some cases, new regulations were proposed to replace them; in others, the regulations are replaced by nonbinding guidance. In all cases, the regulations significantly weaken the implementation of the statute by... Read more →

More than 170 personal care products can be found on store shelves in California, even though they contain toxic chemicals banned under state law. That’s the result of a review by the state’s Department of Public Health as part of the California Safe Cosmetics Program. Chemicals found in the products... Read more →