Parts Per Billion

Latest Episodes:

Big Pipeline Projects Get Rapid Fire Bad News Jul 08, 2020

Show notes

Just within the past few days, two big energy pipeline projects suffered major legal defeats and another one was abandoned by the company pushing it.

On this episode of Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law's Ellen M. Gilmer updates us on this fast-moving news and explains why the litigation strategy of environmentalists who oppose these projects is now paying off big time.

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Water Shortage Hits Tribes, But Is Mining to Blame? Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

With the coronavirus spreading rapidly, several American Indian reservations in the Southwest are experiencing extreme water shortages, a problem worsened by poor water infrastructure.

Though no one denies the acuteness of the problem, what is in dispute is who's to blame. Activists and environmentalists in these communities say decades of water-intensive coal mining has caused a dramatic drop in their aquifer. But the company that ran these now-shuttered coal mines disagrees.

On this episode of Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law correspondent Tripp Baltz explains the effect this dispute is having on these tribal communities and why Congress may be about to step in.

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Bird Killing Plan Uses 'Sully' Plane Crash as Rationale Jun 24, 2020

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The Trump Administration is putting forth a proposal that would eliminate, in some cases, the penalties for killing protected bird species. And, according to Bloomberg Law reporter Bobby Magill, it got pretty creative in justifying why it believes this move is necessary.

On this episode of Parts Per Billion, Magill explains how the administration cited 2009's "Miracle on the Hudson" plane crash as a reason why allowing more birds to be killed might be a good thing.

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Even Pandemic Can't Stop Shift to Renewable Energy Jun 17, 2020

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You would think that record low fossil fuel prices would spell certain doom for the future of solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy. But you'd be wrong.

At least, that's according to Albert Cheung, the head of global analysis at the research group Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Cheung joins Parts Per Billion to talk about why the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic likely won't stop renewable energy from slowly but steadily replacing other forms of energy in the coming decades.

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For PFAS Plaintiffs, Delays Starting to Add Up Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

The litigation over the toxic nonstick substances known as PFAS—or also known by their nickname "forever chemicals"—was already going to be pretty complicated. But now the pandemic has dialed that complexity up to a whole new level.

On this week's episode of Parts Per Billion, reporter Ellen M. Gilmer talks about the delays these high stakes lawsuits have suffered in recent months and about whether one side in these types of disputes benefits more than the other when court deadlines get postponed.

And to check out our new landing page that collects all of Bloomberg Law's reporting on PFAS, click here.

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California Climate Rules Not Made for Pandemic Times Jun 03, 2020

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California has some of the most aggressive climate change regulations of any state in the country. But, with greenhouse gas emissions plummeting due to the economic shutdown, those regulations may actually be backfiring.

On this week's episode of Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg News reporter David R. Baker explains how the Golden State's so-called "cap-and-trade" system for greenhouse gasses is struggling to function in a pandemic-afflicted world.

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Coronavirus Is in Air, on Surfaces and Even in Sewage May 27, 2020

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The human body isn't the only place the coronavirus can be found. Pieces of the pathogen can be found throughout the environment, even in the waste we flush down the toilet.

On this week's episode of Parts Per Billion, reporter Sylvia Carignan explains how environmental testing for the coronavirus might work and why scientists are asking the EPA to get to work developing a standard method of testing.

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Is EPA Trying to Help Older Workers, or Exploit Them? May 20, 2020

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The EPA has a program to hire older workers to perform administrative, and sometimes more complex, duties. It's meant to help the seniors get some work experience and earn some income, but the workers' wages are drastically lower than those of their younger colleagues.

On this episode of Parts Per Billion, reporter Stephen Lee explains who these workers are and why they continue working at the agency despite their low pay.

Read more of Stephen's reporting on this issue here.

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Where Crude Oil Goes When There's Nowhere to Store It May 13, 2020

Show notes

The price of oil is at a once-unthinkable low due to the coronavirus pandemic and its accompanying drop off in demand. In fact, the global supply of crude outstrips demand by so much that simply finding a place to store it all is becoming a problem.

This sudden shift in oil markets could have huge ramifications for the environment, as faulty or haphazard oil storage is a particularly acute source of pollution.

On this episode of Parts Per Billion, we hear from Rachel Adams-Heard, a Bloomberg News energy reporter based on Houston, about some of the environmental risks of ultra-cheap oil and about whether, if the price of crude continues to fall, illegal dumping may all of a sudden become financially attractive.

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GMO Debate Could Be Upended by Engineered Mosquitoes May 06, 2020

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The prospect of the wide release of genetically engineered mosquitoes got much closer to reality recently when the EPA gave a biotech company permission to conduct a mosquito field trial in the Florida Keys.

The environmental impacts of releasing GMO insects into the wild could be significant, but perhaps more significant is their potential to rid the world of mosquito-borne diseases. On this episode of Parts Per Billion, reporter Adam Allington explains what these mosquitoes are engineered to do and why their public health properties might lead people to rethink their unease with GMOs.

Read more about the mosquito field trial here. And check out Adam's six-part podcast on threats facing bees and other pollinators here.

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