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Monsanto’s Big Moment — All Eyes on Supreme Court Hearing Over Pesticide Law
The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a key pesticide regulation case on Monday, setting the stage for a ruling that could weaken the ability of consumers to sue companies for failing to warn of product risks.
The case, titled Monsanto v Durnell, centers on glyphosate — a weed-killing chemical used in the popular Roundup brand and numerous other herbicide products. The chemical has been scientifically linked to cancer in multiple studies, and was classified as a probable human carcinogen by an arm of the World Health Organization in 2015.
Monsanto, the company that introduced glyphosate to the world in the 1970s and which is now a part of the German conglomerate Bayer, has spent the last decade fighting more than 100,000 lawsuits claiming it failed to warn customers of cancer risks associated with exposure to its glyphosate products.
After losing multiple jury trials, the company has paid billions of dollars to resolve the bulk of the lawsuits and is proposing to spend another $7.25 billion toward a class action settlement aimed at resolving up to 60,000 cases still pending.
11 New US Data Centers Could Produce More Pollution Than Small Nations
Recent reports indicate that new gas projects designed to power 11 new data centers in the United States are poised to produce more air pollution than several small nations. These developments, associated with major tech firms such as OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI, could collectively produce more than 129 million tons of carbon pollution annually.
Wired reported that as new projects emerge and permits are filed, the pace of development is accelerating, raising alarms about potential environmental impacts.
“It’s almost like we thought we were on the downside of the Industrial Revolution, retiring coal and gas, and now we have a new hump where we’re going to rise,” said Michael Thomas, founder of clean energy firm Cleanview. “That terrifies me in a lot of ways.”
The gas infrastructure aims to bypass traditional grids, an approach called behind-the-meter power. As data center developers face delays in connecting to traditional utilities and growing frustration over rising residential energy bills, self-generated power is becoming more attractive.
The Poison Next Door: Measuring Risk in Cancer Alley
Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health reported:
On a hot, humid early evening in June 2025, a fire broke out on a benzene pump at a chemical plant along the Mississippi River. The plant was less than 3 miles from 75-year-old Sharon Lavigne’s comfortable, two-story brick house, along Louisiana’s industrial corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Heavy black smoke gushed from the site, but no one notified Lavigne or her neighbors.
Later that evening, government and plant officials sought to defuse any health concerns: The Parish Council announced on social media that “there are zero offsite impacts.”
It also released a statement from the plant manager that the plant’s fenceline air monitoring had not detected any carcinogenic benzene. But Lavigne had enough experience with inadequate air monitoring to be suspicious. At a Parish Council meeting a few weeks later, the president reiterated that there was no impact to the surrounding community.
“He’s lying,” she whispered to herself.
Way Down Upon This Florida River, Pollution and Water Withdrawals Spell Double Trouble
If you’re an old canoe paddler like me, Florida offers a delightful assortment of rivers to navigate or just plain contemplate. They range from the laidback Blackwater in the Panhandle to the northward-flowing St. Johns to the world-famous “River of Grass” in the Everglades.
But only one is mentioned in our official state song: the Suwannee.
That body of water flows southward from Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, working its way through some 250 miles of North Florida wetlands, rapids, and channels, at last cascading into the Gulf of Whatchamacallit. It drains a watershed of more than 11,000 square miles and its flow is fed by more than 300 freshwater springs.
And it just received a rare piece of national recognition. Hooray! I’m so proud, aren’t you? Maybe we should go all out with a celebration. Wait, what’s that? What’s the recognition? Oh. The Suwannee was just named one of the 10 most endangered rivers in America.
Largest-Ever Ban on Toxic Chemicals in EU Hit by ‘Extremely Frustrating’ Delays
Harmful compounds in children’s nappies and toxic “forever chemicals” in everyday products are among 14 hazardous substance groups hit by lengthy delays to EU pollution controls, according to report findings described by scientists as “extremely frustrating.”
The European Commission sought to push broad categories of dangerous substances off the market with a “restrictions roadmap” in April 2022 that was hailed at the time as the largest-ever ban of toxic chemicals.
But four years later it has failed to start the process of regulating seven of the 22 hazardous chemical groups and has “effectively frozen” progress in regulating seven more, according to a progress check by ClientEarth and the European Environmental Bureau.
Green groups say the European Commission is the “chief roadblock” to its own roadmap and allege “unlawful delays” have resulted in nearly 100,000 tonnes of extra chemical pollution from six of the groups.
