Pennsylvania must prioritize plugging these wells now that we better understand their methane leaks and groundwater contamination. With evidence of dissolved metals and air pollution, delaying action risks greater harm to public health.

“Until this study, we have had a much less comprehensive picture on the groundwater impacts, which could influence decision-making around well plugging,” according to the corresponding author Samuel Shaheen.

The researchers noted that though many studies have been conducted on atmospheric emissions, this is one of the first that studied how unplugged wells can pollute groundwater.

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In our newly uploaded data on our Fenceline Monitoring Dashboard, three chemical plants – Exxon Beaumont Chemical Plant, Exxon Baytown Chemical Plant, and LyondellBasell Clinton Plant – exceeded the action level threshold requiring them to address the excess emissions.

Secretary Wright’s push for more fossil fuels ignores the urgent need to cut emissions and expand clean energy. Telling Europe to double down on oil and gas, instead of accelerating renewables, deepens the climate crisis and delays the transition to more clean energy.

Wright also said that he wanted the U.S. to replace "every molecule" of Russian gas that goes into Western Europe.

"It just hasn’t worked," U.S. energy secretary Chris Wright said of the transition to renewable energy at the conference, where U.S. companies announced deals to supply and drill for gas in Europe.

This report makes clear that climate change is already uprooting lives on an extremely large scale. With 250 million people displaced in the past decade, many in countries least responsible for the crisis, we must act now to cut emissions and protect communities.

Almost half the world’s displaced people are facing conflict and climate impacts in politically fragile states like Sudan, Syria, Haiti, and Yemen. These countries contribute negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions yet have limited access to climate finance and solutions needed to adapt.

Three-quarters of refugees and other displaced people live in countries facing high or extreme exposure to climate-related hazards. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Rolling back the HFC phaseout hurts businesses that already invested in cleaner refrigerants and delays progress on cutting planet-warming pollution. This will also disrupt markets, create uncertainty, and set back a climate win that industry had already embraced.

The law accelerated an industry shift to alternative refrigerants that use less harmful chemicals and are widely available.

The 2020 law signed by Trump, known as the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, phased out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, as part of an international agreement on ozone pollution.

Weakening TSCA reviews and removing safety requirements puts public health at risk. This could lead to more hazardous chemicals in our communities with fewer safeguards and less accountability.

EPA plans to weaken chemical reviews by dropping the requirement to assess all uses and exposure routes, reducing the amount of data manufacturers must provide, and letting the agency rule some uses safe instead of judging overall chemical risk.

TSCA is a federal law under which the EPA evaluates chemicals to make sure human and environmental health will be protected before chemicals are put into the marketplace. www.thenewlede.org/2025/11/epa-...