Parts Per Billion

Infrastructure is one of those things that people like to say shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but maybe the secret of it is that it actually is: Democrats and Republicans have very different ideas about how to pay for it. That’s the highlight of our conversation with Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), chairman of a key environmental subcommittee in the House. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It looks like NAFTA might be going away, or at the very least getting significantly altered. Are environmentalists worried that the controversial deal's environmental provisions will vanish along with it? Actually no. This week, we hear from Bloomberg BNA international reporter Dean Scott on why the green movement never really liked NAFTA and why it wouldn't be that upset if the Trump administration defenestrated the trade deal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on our environmental policy podcast Parts Per Billion we begin the first in a series on drinking water—specifically, how do we pay for the drinking water infrastructure upgrades the country badly needs? We pose that question to Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on a key environmental subcommittee in the House. He says without a big infusion of federal cash, incidents like the ongoing contamination crisis in Flint, Mich., could become commonplace. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The EPA is in a tough place; it's got a deadline coming up in a few days to decide whether it should ban an insecticide used by farmers around the globe. If it does ban the bug killer, that would harm farmers in other countries that want to import their fruits and veggies to the U.S., and it may prompt those other countries to retaliate in ways that harm U.S. farmers. But, if the Trump administration decides not to ban chlorpyrifos, it will be going against mounting scientific evidence—much of it compiled by Trump’s predecessor—indicating that chlorpyrifos isn't safe. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Parts Per Billion, we’re going to be asking the question that everyone on Capitol Hill is going to be asking in a few days: Who is Neil Gorsuch? If he’s confirmed and takes Antonin Scalia’s long-empty seat, how will that change the way the court rules on environmental issues? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will Donald Trump's wall along the U.S.-Mexico border harm the environment? (Maybe) Will the Trump administration be able to bring its wall into compliance with environmental laws? (Probably not) Will that prevent it from actually building the wall? (Nope) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Think air pollution only happens in big cities on hot summer days? Think again. This week on Parts Per Billion, we speak with Bloomberg BNA's Patrick Ambrosio about the surprising winter air problems some rural areas are facing and how these problems are scrambling environmental politics. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Confirmation season is in full swing at the U.S. Senate, and that's where we are this week. We head to the marble halls of the Greatest Deliberative Body in the World to speak with Bloomberg BNA's Brian Dabbs. He tells us whether lawmakers will confirm Donald Trump's nominees to lead the EPA, Department of Energy and other agencies, and about what the Democrats' chances are in blocking them. (Hint: not good) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To give you a sense of what will be coming down the pike in 2017, this week’s episode ventures out of typical our recording studio and directly into the Bloomberg BNA newsroom. There, we talk with the reporters who live and breathe their environmental policy beats and let them set the stage for a year that will see a new president and a new Congress come into office. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we're taking a holiday look back at one of our favorite episodes from earlier this year on the implications of the new chemicals law. What will the law mean for big companies, small companies and for you and me? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even though he wasn't president yet, Donald Trump had a huge impact on the international climate change talks in Morocco a few weeks ago. Bloomberg BNA climate reporter Dean Scott talks about how The Donald influenced the outcome of the talks and where global climate negotiations are headed next. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you make an abandoned coal mine into something that stimulates a local economy, like a park or a farm, instead of literally just an empty hole in the ground? Mine reclamation may be the answer. And there’s a $1 billion bill in Congress right now that could kick start a wave of reclamation across the economically devastated towns in Appalachia. But there’s a catch: can the bill make it through the House and the Senate with only days left to go before the end of this lame-duck session of Congress? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The results are in: Donald Trump will be our next president and Republicans will maintain control over both chambers of Congress. What will this mean for leadership at the EPA and in key environmental committees on Capitol Hill? We break it all down for you in a special live episode of Parts Per Billion. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress just passed an overhaul of its main chemicals law and some are calling it the most significant piece of environmental legislation in a generation. But what does it mean for you and me? This week, we speak with a consumer products industry leader and an environmental attorney to hear different perspectives on what this new law will mean for shoppers in the marketplace. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though it gets more than four feet of rain a year, groundwater aquifers in Florida are growing perilously low, much like in many other states. And that's triggering lots of secondary environmental problems, from toxic algae blooms to sinkholes that can swallow entire homes. This week on Parts Per Billion, we speak with Bloomberg BNA's Amena Saiyid about what's driving this problem and about what she saw on a kayak trip to a shallow Florida river. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Both climate change and water pollution have made 2016 one of the worst years ever for the Great Barrier Reef. We speak with Bloomberg BNA Australia correspondent Murray Griffin about the economic and political obstacles making it difficult for Australia to stop the damage and fix what's been broken. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress passed a GMO disclosure law earlier this summer, but food companies are still a little confused about out how to comply. One of the reasons for the confusion: not everyone agrees on what a GMO is or whether we should even call them GMOs. For this episode of Parts Per Billion, we speak with environmental attorney Keith Matthews about what the new law will mean for the food industry, for federal agencies and for shoppers in the grocery aisle. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's looking like the Democrats have a pretty good shot at taking back the Senate this fall. If they do, how will they tackle climate change? Do they all agree on what strategies they should pursue? (Spoiler alert: they don't) This is the latest in our series "In the Year 2017" that examines how a new administration and a new Congress will handle environmental issues next year and beyond. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's wrong with the EPA's Office of Civil Rights? What's it doing to reform itself? And could it have prevented the Flint water crisis? We speak with Rachel Leven, Bloomberg BNA's environmental justice reporter, about problems at the EPA's civil rights watchdog and about who has been held accountable for Flint... at least, so far. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Power companies are soon going to have to decide whether to renew the licenses of nuclear reactors that were built in the 1960s. We speak with Bloomberg BNA energy reporter Rebecca Kern about how to keep a nuclear plant running past its sixth decade and whether it's even financially worth it to try. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.