In a decision that will slow the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) to require effective clean air standards, the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked implementation of requirements that limit mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. The decision may also open the door for industry to challenge and delay other important public protections.

A new lawsuit is urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require pesticide companies to disclose all of the hazardous ingredients in each product. The case, filed by the Center for Environmental Health, Beyond Pesticides, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, points out that the EPA already has the authority to require industry to disclose hazardous pesticide additives, even if they're not designated as the main, "active" ingredients in a product.

In 1962, Rachel Carson published a groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, that rang the alarm about the health and environmental impacts of rampant pesticide use – on our crops, lawns, and gardens. Two of those toxic chemicals – DDT and lindane – were the subject of a recent World Health Organization review. The agency found that they pose cancer risks to humans, highlighting the need for more effective public protections against dangerous pesticides.

As a college undergraduate, I majored in meteorology. When you walk into your first college meteorology class, you ask your classmates two questions: 1) Which weather event made you want to be a meteorologist? 2) Do you want to be a broadcast meteorologist or work for the National Weather Service (NWS)? While Americans usually hear a tornado or winter storm warning from meteorologists on television or radio, it is the unseen and unheard professionals at the National Weather Service who issue the warnings. But Sen. John Thune (R-SD) recently introduced a bill with a provision that would have cut weather service jobs and made it harder for the agency to alert the public when hazards arise. Following strong criticism and opposition, the Senate tabled this part of the bill.