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Kennedy’s Allies Against Pesticides: Environmentalists, Moms and Manly Men
In Europe, the weedkiller atrazine has been banned for nearly two decades because of its suspected links to reproductive problems like reduced sperm quality and birth defects. In the U.S., it remains one of the most widely used pesticides, sprayed on corn, sugar cane and other crops, the result of years of industry lobbying. It has been detected in the drinking water of some 40 million Americans.
Now, American environmental groups that have long sought a ban are finding some unexpected allies: the Trump administration and its MAGA supporter base. It is an unwieldy coalition, extending even to some men’s rights influencers on alternative media, where commentary abounds on how toxic chemicals are threatening masculinity.
They are taking on an influential agricultural and chemicals lobby that has long rebuffed attempts to strengthen restrictions on atrazine and other pesticides, at a time when the Trump administration is rolling back government restrictions on industries, not imposing new ones.
Mr. Kennedy has a vocal movement behind him. “We’re calling for a ban of 85 pesticides that have already been banned in other countries,” said Zen Honeycutt, who leads a coalition of mothers opposed to pesticides and genetically modified organisms, at a national conference of Make America Healthy Again supporters ahead of the report’s publication.
Environmental Advocates Urge Lawmakers to Remove Pesticide Section From Farm Act
Leaders of the nonprofit advocacy group Toxic Free North Carolina held a virtual press conference along with community advocates on Wednesday to warn lawmakers against what they said are the dangers of Section 19 in the 2025 North Carolina Farm Act.
The provision, part of Senate Bill 639, would remove responsibility from pesticide manufacturers and sellers to disclose a product’s risks as long as the pesticide container bears a label indicating that it has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
The bill’s language would also remove the ability of individuals and families harmed by pesticide exposure to seek justice in court, according to Toxic Free NC. “This is a direct attack on our community’s right to hold chemical manufacturers accountable for the harm they cause,” Toxic Free NC Policy Manager Kendall Wimberley said. “This is not something communities are asking for.”
Bayer, a Triangle-based global pesticide manufacturer, has supported the language in the bill as it has moved through several committees in the North Carolina Senate. The bill was withdrawn from the chamber’s floor and referred to the Senate Rules Committee last week.
Similar bills have been introduced in other states. Eight have failed thus far in 2025 — in Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, Wyoming, Montana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Idaho — although North Dakota and Georgia passed their versions of the legislation.
Millions in the U.S. May Rely on PFAS-Contaminated Drinking Water
Environmental Health News reported:
Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first national drinking water standards for six hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Last week, the Trump administration announced that it would delay the timeline for implementing limits on two of those compounds and reconsider the limits on the remaining four.
There are more than 15,000 types of PFAS, and a growing body of research underscores the urgency of addressing them in water supplies. For decades, manufacturers have added the chemicals to products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals” for their resistance to breaking down over time.
These compounds now linger in soil, waterways, and human bloodstreams, with mounting evidence linking exposure to certain levels to some types of cancer, immune system damage, and other human health issues. Yet until recently, no comprehensive estimate of PFAS contamination in U.S. groundwater was available.
A study published in Science helps fill that gap. The research offers the first nationwide model of PFAS occurrence in untreated groundwater at depths commonly tapped for drinking water, estimating that up to 95 million people nationwide may rely on sources containing detectable levels of 24 types of these contaminants.
Michigan Lawmakers Propose PFAS Testing for Children
State lawmakers are proposing testing Michigan children for PFAS contamination.
Often called “forever chemicals,” PFAS are a family of industrial chemicals linked to numerous health problems. Hundreds of PFAS contamination sites have been identified across the state of Michigan, usually linked to industrial or military complexes. The chemicals seep into the ground and spread through groundwater, and can contaminate drinking water.
Senate Bills 298 & 299 and House Bills 4499 & 4500 would provide free PFAS blood testing for children who were younger than 11 years old on January 1, 2012, and lived in homes in Kent, Ottawa and Kalamazoo counties that used well water or water from public water supplies with PFAS levels exceeding the state’s limits.
Under the new bills, the state would provide free testing of PFAS levels to all eligible families and additional counseling and information would be provided as necessary. The research study would provide data and future solutions for impacted families.
State Senator Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) said they expect to ask for $500,000 for testing and research in the next fiscal year budget for the pilot program.
“We don’t know how many kids will be needed to get the testing done. But we do know there is a dramatic need,” said Huizenga.
US Oil Firms Pumping Secret Chemicals Into Ground and Not Fully Reporting It
Colorado oil and gas companies have pumped at least 30 million lbs of secret chemicals into the ground over the past 18 months without making legally required disclosures, according to a new analysis.
That’s in spite of first-in-the-nation rules requiring operators and their suppliers to list all chemicals used in drilling and extraction, while also banning any use of PFAS “forever chemicals” at oil and gas sites. Since the transparency law took effect in July 2023, operators have fracked 1,114 sites across the state, but as of May 1, chemical disclosures have not been filed for 675 of them — more than 60% of the total, the analysis says.
Chevron, the world’s third-biggest fossil-fuel company by market cap, is by far the most serious offender, operating about 375, or more than half, of the non-compliant wells.
“We thought that the Colorado law was going to break through the culture of secrecy that surrounds the use of potentially toxic chemicals in oil and gas production,” said Dusty Horwitt, an attorney and researcher who was lead author on the analysis, which is based on public disclosures. “But the lack of compliance has left the secrecy in place, putting people’s health at risk.”
Oil Companies Want Protection as Texas Considers Allowing Treated Fracking Water Released Into Rivers
Oil and gas companies are seeking legal shelter as Texas comes closer to using waste brine once considered too toxic for anything other than fracking to replenish Texas’ water shortages. Legislation filed by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, could give them, transportation companies and landowners such protection.
Darby told a Texas House panel in March his bill will give industries the certainty they need to ramp up treatment of the industrial waste, known as produced water. The full House approved the legislation earlier this year and it is awaiting a Senate debate.
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders have made water a priority issue this session. Several proposals aim to increase the state’s water supply, which is under duress from a growing population, climate change and leaking infrastructure.
Cleaning produced water is one of several ways lawmakers hope to boost supply. There is an extraordinary amount of backwash from oil production, which continues to break records, especially in West Texas. For every barrel of oil produced, as many as five barrels of water are captured, Darby told lawmakers on the committee on natural resources, where he introduced the bill.
House Votes to Undo Industrial Air Pollution Protections
Environmental Defense Fund reported:
Today, the U.S. House voted 216-212 to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn longstanding Clean Air Act protections that limit toxic air pollution.
“This vote reopens a dangerous loophole for the most irresponsible polluters,” said Joanna Slaney, vice president for political and government affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “These commonsense protections have worked as intended for decades, keeping Americans safe from some of the most toxic air pollution.
Overturning these safeguards means more families will breathe unsafe air that causes cancer, heart and lung problems and brain damage in children.” The resolution, which passed in the Senate on a party-line vote earlier this month, effectively overturns a 2024 rule that provided protections against seven super-toxics, including arsenic, lead and mercury.
Facilities that are “major” sources for the most hazardous pollutants must comply with protective pollution standards based on Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT). For decades, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy required major industrial facilities to continue to comply with MACT standards as major sources, even if a source later reduced its emissions below the major source threshold.
