Everglades algae bloom

Polluted by Politics

The state of Florida has passed laws and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on water treatment projects to try to reduce the phosphorus flowing into the lake. But it continues unabated, according to a review of state water-monitoring data by Weather.com and the Investigative Reporting Workshop.

Men in cowboy hats outside Florida Capitol Complex

Legislative sleight of hand

While the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs has been regulating pollution running off farms, not a single enforcement action has been taken against a farmer or rancher. Here’s how they kept it that way.

Fetal photographs: precious keepsake or needless risk?

The Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly urged pregnant women to avoid medically unnecessary ultrasounds, saying it is aware of “several enterprises” in the U.S. that perform ultrasounds on pregnant women for entertainment’s sake and then sell the images as keepsake photographs and videos.

Power plant cooling towers

The slow-walking switch to clean energy

In January, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that most new electric power generation in 2020 would come from wind and solar. A few months and a national crisis later, renewable prospects are perhaps shining even brighter, as government projections show that for the first time renewable power is likely to produce more electricity than coal in 2020.

JFK airport empty terminal

Chaos and confusion

Across the United States, state and local officials, frustrated by a lack of leadership in the White House and federal agencies, took steps on their own to prepare for the pandemic and protect their communities.

Rendering of hospital system

Boom and bust

Most hospitals — nonprofit, public and for-profit — operate on thin financial margins and have little to no budget for contingency preparations.

oil refinery

Anger over air quality

The American Lung Association ranks Bakersfield, Calif., as the most polluted city in the nation for average annual levels of dangerously high particle pollution. The city is second for short-term pollution spikes, a ranking Bakersfield has held in eight out of the last 10 reports.

decommissioned pumpjacks

Breathing problems

State regulators for more than a decade allowed a New Mexico refinery to delay fixing leaky equipment that was releasing toxic gases, including high levels of the carcinogen benzene.

Where does plastic go?

“Plastic Wars” looks at how the plastics industry has used recycling to help sell more plastic — and why the plastic waste problem has only grown.