Explainer
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still wreaking havoc on the Gulf of Mexico
Fourteen years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the wildlife and ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico have still not recovered. As scientists continue to uncover new and disturbing things about the long-term impacts of the spill, proposals currently on the table to increase offshore drilling show that the lessons of Deepwater Horizon have not been learned.
Accidents Waiting to Happen: Factory Farms
Waste lagoons used by industrial-scale livestock operations threaten spills that can cause catastrophic damage to America’s rivers, lakes and streams.
Who are the top climate polluters in the country?
America’s most polluting power plants emit more greenhouse gas pollution than some entire states. New standards addressing pollution from those plants and the growth of wind and solar energy could make a big difference for the climate.
Accidents Waiting to Happen: Oil Pipelines
Pipelines transport billions of barrels of oil across the U.S. each year, frequently passing over or near waterways. Since 2004, pipeline spills have released more than 750,000 barrels of oil into the environment.
Milestones: America’s streams regain protection
Environment America has worked to establish, defend and restore federal clean water protections for the country's streams and wetlands despite opposition.
Milestones: A race to protect Mass. rivers is won
MASSPIRG joined the coalition behind the Rivers Protections Act, using grassroots advocacy to rally support for a strong and effective version of the bill.
Milestones: NJ’s ‘polluters’ playground’ exposed
After exposing water pollution permit violations by industrial and sewage treatment plants, NJPIRG staff worked to win the Clean Water Enforcement Act in 1990.
Accidents Waiting to Happen: Coal Ash
Hundreds of coal ash pits and ponds sit near the banks of American waterways, threatening toxic spills that can cause long-term damage to the environment and public health.
Milestones: Laboratories for clean air protection
PIRG has worked to achieve stronger pollution restrictions and cleaner air for the public, with big wins in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.