Credit: somchaiP / Shutterstock.com Recently, the topic of banning plastic bags has become hotly debated. China has shown the world that an outright ban of plastic bags can be effective, celebrating the 5th anniversary of the nation’s plastic bag restriction earlier this month. The National Development and Reform Commission reports that China’s prohibition has seen a two-thirds decline in the use of plastic bags, reducing overall consumption of them by 67 billion. This saves the equivalent of ...

Credit: Calin Tatu / Shutterstock.com A bill being considered by lawmakers in California may bring increased accountability to oil companies who engage in fracking. Senate Bill 4 passed in the Senate with a 29-11 vote and is now in the hands of the Assembly. What is fracking? Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, is the process of injecting a high-pressure mixture of water, sand, and other chemicals into the ground in order to fracture shale rock layers. The method releases natural gas from th...

Credit: Creative Commons The California agency in charge of toxic regulation announced last Thursday that it had failed to collect $185 million in repayments owed by polluters. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has since come under fire from Consumer Watchdog, who has called for a comprehensive financial audit of DTSC by the California State Auditor. The financial loss to California has been substantial, making an audit seem inevitable. But, will an audit of the DTSC...