Climate Point: What is in your tap water?
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate change, energy and the environment. I'm Janet Wilson, writing to you from Palm Springs, Calif.
Ever wonder what's in your tap water? Yes, most of us get those annual, small-print notices assuring us that our drinking water meets federal standards. But a new report says more than 270 contaminants have been found in water supplies across the nation, substances linked to cancer, brain and nervous system damage and other health woes. You can search by your zip code here.
One note: The Environmental Working Group, which put out the report, sets far lower levels than the federal government for safe exposure, saying U.S. EPA hasn't updated its drinking water regs in 20 years. EWG worked with scientists to analyze data from 50,000 local water utilities in all 50 states. Some districts say the report found trace amounts, and their water is fine. EWG disagreed.
"Legal does not necessarily equal safe," Sydney Evans, an EWG science analyst told Patch reporter Jimmy Bentley. The group also offers tips on water filters.
Here are some other stories that may be of interest:
MUST-READ STORIES
Two sets of books. Exxon Mobil's climate fraud trial kicked off this week in New York, where the state's attorney general has accused the company of misleading investors about the risks it faces from future climate regulations by using two sets of calculations, one public, the other internal. The civil case is the first major climate change lawsuit to reach trial in the United States, and whatever happens, it could set precedent for others. Nicholas Kusnetz with Inside Climate News does the math.
Getting warmer. El Niños are getting stronger, and climate change will make them even worse, a new University of Hawaii study says. El Niños, the warming of tropical Pacific Ocean seawater, fuel weather extremes around the world, as Doyle Rice with USA Today explains. Scientists found that they have been forming farther west since the 1970s, where water is naturally warmer, causing stronger, havoc-wreaking events. A United Nations study found the 1997-98 El Niño caused thousands of deaths from severe storms, heatwaves, floods and drought, costing $32 billion to $96 billion.
In the dark. Half a million Californians are without power again as fires rage in Sonoma and San Bernardino counties.
POLITICAL CLIMATE
Cap and trade wars. The Trump administration has sued California to shut down its emissions-trading market, claiming it is unconstitutional because it is run in cooperation with the Canadian province of Quebec, as the Wall Street Journal's Timothy Puko reports. Cap and trade is central to the state's goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades, though some environmentalists don't like the market-based approach either.
Conservation from the heart(land). Indiana is a manufacturing and agricultural powerhouse, and more than 70% of its energy relies on coal. But Indiana's freshman GOP senator, Mike Braun, is reaching across the aisle to team up with Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, to introduce the first-ever Senate bipartisan caucus on climate solutions, reports Sarah Bowman with the Indianapolis Star. "Someone had to start on our side of the aisle," said Braun, a lifelong conservationist.
ALL ABOUT ENERGY
"Gusty as all get out." That's how one Lone Star state environmentalist explains the big surge of wind power in Texas — so big that it leads the nation in production, and wind is poised to beat out coal power in the state by next year. Elizabeth Weise and Rick Jarvis have the tale for USA Today. But natural gas still provides nearly half of the state's energy, far outstripping wind turbines.
Fighting for natural gas. California has largely weaned itself of coal, but still relies heavily on natural gas. The L.A. Times' Sammy Roth did a deep dive on efforts by SoCalGas, one of the nation's largest U.S. gas utilities, to prevent the state from beginning to phase out gas use in the home. SoCalGas is working to convince local officials that policies aimed at replacing gas with electricity would be wildly unpopular. More than 100 cities and counties have endorsed the company’s push for “balanced energy solutions.”
AND ANOTHER THING
Natural high. A California cannabis grower is the first in the industry to use commercial scale solar power, as The Desert Sun's Melissa Daniels reports. Canndescent CEO Adrian Sedlin says the project, more than 700 solar modules on carports, offsets a third of energy used at the facility, while providing shade and cooling. Plus, many consumers desire a green product, he said. So stick that in your pipe.
By the numbers. Scientists say to keep a livable planet, we need to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 ppm. We're above 400 ppm and rising.
That's all for this week. For more climate, energy and environment news, follow me on Twitter @janetwilson66. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here.