Truthout
Environment & Health
![A pig looks through the holes of a livestock transport container](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0816-pig-400x300.jpg)
EPA Denies Petition Seeking Stronger Rules on Water Pollution From Factory Farms
The agency instead pledged to study factory farm pollution, but the petitioners say its impacts are already well known.
![The exterior of the Atrium Health Carolinas building](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0816-atrium-health-400x300.jpg)
North Carolinians Face Crushing Interest Rates as Hospitals Sue for Unpaid Bills
Researchers found the state's laws are allowing hospitals to add tens of thousands of dollars to some families' debts.
![A home is seen next to a fracking site](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0816-fracking-house-400x300.jpg)
Kids Are 5 to 7 Times More Likely to Develop Lymphoma If They Live Near Fracking
Pennsylvania-based researchers identified the risk of cancer for children living within one mile of a fracking well.
![Youth plaintiffs are greeted by supporters as they arrive for the nation's first youth climate change trial at Montana's First Judicial District Court on June 12, 2023, in Helena, Montana.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0815-climate-trial-400x300.jpg)
In Major First, Judge Rules in Favor of Montana Youth Suing Over Climate Crisis
A judge has ruled that officials’ failure to address the climate crisis violated constitutional rights.
![A woman speaks with a ranger as she participates in a protest on a road](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0814-water-protectors.jpg)
As US Begins Crackdown on PFAS, Indigenous Communities Are Getting Left Behind
Tribal water systems have gone largely untested because many are too small to meet the EPA’s PFAS testing parameters.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/seg1-split-guest-aftermath-400x300.jpg)
Colonialism Set the Stage for the Wildfire Destruction of Maui
Transformation of the island for mass tourism helped turn it into a tinderbox that has claimed 96 lives so far.
![A ranger stands by a hose as it sputters water onto the ground](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0814-arizona-water-400x300.jpg)
State Pension Fund Is Invested in Deal to Drain Arizona’s Dwindling Groundwater
The state’s investment into exporting its own water overseas comes as the region faces ongoing water shortages.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1210650864-2-400x300.jpg)
Debate Intensifies Over PFAS Cleanup Costs Amid US Regulator’s Actions
Various health issues like cancer, birth defects, reduced fertility, and kidney disease are connected to PFAS.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1595201069-400x300.jpg)
Hawaii AG Investigates Wildfire Policies as Death Toll Reaches 80
Amidst historic destruction, activists decry fossil fuels' role in “apocalyptic” Hawaiian fires.
![A commercial fishing boat returns to harbor at sunset in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on September 5, 2019.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1170977144-400x300.jpg)
Record Ocean Heat Waves Threaten Ecosystems, Wreaking Havoc on Fisheries
Rising marine temperatures will remake natural ocean patterns and cost coastal economies billions in coming years.