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EWG hires Samantha Romanick, Ph.D., to lead new plastics and microplastics research Anthony Lacey September 3, 2025 WASHINGTON – The Environmental Working Group welcomes Samantha “Sami” Romanick, Ph.D., to its team of scientists. As EWG’s analytical chemistry fellow, she will spearhead a new initiative on plastics and microplastics. The initiative will focus on the human health risks associated with plastic pollution in food and consumer products.Romanick is a molecular biologist by training whose research focuses on how microplastic exposure affects human health. She earned her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pharmacology and physiology from the University of Nevada, Reno, where she also received her B.S. and M.S. in biotechnology. Most recently, she completed postdoctoral training at the University of Rochester, New York, developing innovative methods for the identification and characterization of environmental microplastics and studying the impacts of microplastics on biological systems.“Plastics and microplastics are an urgent environmental and public health issue, and we’re thrilled that Sami is bringing her expertise and passion to EWG,” said EWG co-Founder and President Ken Cook. “Her leadership will help us expand our scientific research and push for policies that protect people from the hidden dangers of plastic pollution.”“I’m excited to join EWG and contribute to the mission of protecting human health,” said Romanick. “I’m eager to expand the conversation about plastics beyond polluting the environment and into the realm of human health. “Plastic pollution directly affects people and our environment every day, and there are solutions to this problem that an organization such as EWG can accelerate for a safer, healthier and just future,” she added.Beyond her academic achievements, she has been a dedicated leader in advancing sustainability and zero-waste initiatives, including:Launching a small retail business offering alternatives to single-use plastic household products.Educating high school students on human health and environmental threats from plastic pollution.Directing composting and recycling programs at community events and festivals.Researching microplastic pollution in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.Organizing the Microplastic Workgroup of Western New York, bringing together more than 70 researchers and advocates from 22 organizations across the U.S. and Canada.Her commitment to reducing plastic waste reflects EWG’s mission to combine cutting-edge science with bold advocacy. Through her new role, Romanick will help EWG drive evidence-based policy changes to safeguard communities from the growing threat of plastic pollution.Romanick joins EWG’s science team, bringing the total to eight Ph.D. scientists and three experts with master’s degrees in public health.###The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Areas of Focus Toxic Chemicals Press Contact Alex Formuzis alex@ewg.org (202) 667-6982 September 3, 2025

Californians fight back: Re‑Volt.org launches to take on monopoly utilities, paid-off politicians, and captured regulators Anthony Lacey September 3, 2025 SACRAMENTO – The Environmental Working Group has launched a new independent utility reform project, Re-Volt, to take on California’s monopoly utilities, their stranglehold on California’s political leaders and the energy regulators they appoint.The state’s long-broken system has led to skyrocketing electricity bills, energy insecurity and a failure to protect public health and the environment. It’s the result of policies that put utility profits ahead of working families and communities. To challenge California’s big three power companies and the politicians in their pocket, Re-Volt will inform and mobilize everyday ratepayers, from homeowners and renters to small businesses and local advocacy groups. The campaign is demanding energy choice, energy freedom and an effective government that puts people – not power companies – first.“For decades, California’s monopoly utilities and the politicians they control have rigged the rules to enrich Wall Street investors and C-suite executives, while most residents are left powerless, figuratively and sometimes literally,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, EWG’s senior vice president for California. “Re-Volt exists to shift that balance – informing and empowering everyday ratepayers to push for the reforms needed to bring energy choice and energy sanity to everyone,” she added.Escalating electricity billsOver the past decade, California’s investor-owned utilities have more than doubled electricity rates. In 2024 alone, the California Public Utilities Commission approved six rate hikes for Pacific Gas & Electric which went on to pocket $2.4 billion in profit. That same year, PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric collectively raked in $5.72 billion, following $7.18 billion in 2023 profits. Meanwhile, utility executives took home staggering paychecks. In 2024, PG&E CEO Patti Poppe earned $15.8 million, SCE CEO Pedro Pizarro made $13.8 million and Sempra CEO Jeffrey Martin hauled in $21.5 million. Sempra is the parent company of SDG&E.“While we don’t begrudge companies earning a profit, California’s electricity system is clearly out of whack,” said Del Chiaro. “Monopoly utilities have grown so big and so powerful that they have captured their regulators and the politicians who appoint them to the detriment of consumer access to clean, affordable and reliable energy,” she said.The cited cost increases were approved by the commission, whose five members were handpicked by Gov. Gavin Newsom.‘Follow the money’Since 2000, utilities have poured more than $200 million in political contributions into Sacramento, ensuring that lawmakers and regulators side with corporate interests over the needs of millions of Californians. While other states have banned the use of ratepayer money for political lobbying, California has refused, buckling to intense utility pressure and political complacency. Legislation introduced in 2024 to broaden restrictions on utilities’ spending on advertising and political influence died in a Senate legislative committee. “My father always said ‘Follow the money’ if you want to uncover corruption, especially when it comes to a widespread failure to govern,” said Del Chiaro. In the coming weeks and months, Re-Volt will spotlight leading voices for reform, including former commission President Loretta Lynch, EWG President Ken Cook, Energy and Policy Institute Executive Director David Pomerantz, Local Clean Energy Alliance Executive Director Jessica Tovar and Reclaim Our Power organizer Travis Gibrael, among others.Re-Volt’s mission is clear: Expose corruption, reveal the truth and advocate for policies that provide true energy freedom and access to clean, affordable and reliable energy for all Californians.Learn more at www.re-volt.org and follow the campaign on Instagram, BlueSky, X/Twitter and YouTube. ###Re-Volt is an initiative led by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in collaboration with a statewide network of partners committed to advancing energy equity, ending utility corruption and putting power – literally and politically – back in the hands of the people.EWG is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Areas of Focus Energy Utilities Federal & State Energy Policy Renewable Energy California Led by nonprofit the Environmental Working Group, the Re-Volt campaign will fight for commonsense energy policy in the state Press Contact Alex Formuzis alex@ewg.org (202) 667-6982 September 3, 2025

A recipient of the Stanley Park Climate Finance Scholarship, Soria hopes to help countries finance their conservation and climate goals.

Even if global temperatures plateau, glaciers worldwide will continue to melt.

‘Poison pill’: How Section 453 could block vital state pesticide protections JR Culpepper August 28, 2025 Some members of Congress are trying to sneak language into a must-pass funding bill that would effectively block state and local pesticide protections. These important safeguards  protect children and homes from the risks of pesticide spraying. Pesticides have been linked to serious health harms, including cancer, neurotoxicity and harm to development and reproduction. Because of their developing bodies and brains, children are especially susceptible to potential health problems. Citing these risks, many states, cities and counties have adopted practical standards to limit pesticide use, restrict spraying near schools, or require notifications when pesticides are used near daycares, parks and other areas the public may gather.  These local ordinances and restrictions are often added as supplemental information to pesticide labels, along with what the Environmental Protection Agency requires. Courts have long upheld that states may add this supplemental information and warnings as long as they don’t conflict with federal law. More than 30 states – including Georgia, Kentucky and Texas – have adopted tough standards limiting how and when pesticides can be sprayed near schools. California and Texas lawmakers, for example, require school officials to use low-risk pesticides. Alabama and North Carolina ban crop dusting near schools. Many other states – including Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire – have also placed buffer zones for pesticide spraying around schools. Other states, including Georgia and New Mexico, limit the times when pesticides can be sprayed near schools.Illinois and other states require that alerts be posted on school grounds to warn students before or after spraying. Some states, including Kentucky, Minnesota and Nevada, require that parents be notified about spraying. Some, like Louisiana and Pennsylvania, require schools to track students who are sensitive to pesticides.A “poison pill” rider (an accurate use of the term if there ever was one), Section 453, in the fiscal year 2026 House Interior-Environment bill would undo this longstanding state and federal partnership for regulating pesticide spraying. The provision would bar states from regulating pesticides in a way that better fits their local environments and that best protects their communities. States, companies, or other federal agencies would no longer be able to add anything to pesticide labels other than what the EPA requires. Shielding foreign chemical manufacturersSection 453 would be a gift to chemical companies that make pesticides, boosting their efforts to avoid legal liability for health problems caused by exposure to their products.When courts have looked at farmers and workers who have been injured by pesticides, they have relied on state laws to understand those harms more clearly – and to pursue justice. Research continues to show that many of the pesticides can cause cancer and other diseases. That includes RoundUp, which contains glyphosate, and Gramoxone, which contains paraquat.If this poison pill becomes law, crop chemical makers could avoid paying millions in liability cases to people sickened by exposure, while continuing to shield potential harms and what they may have known from the public. Blocking states and localities from more stringent protections – through more strongly worded warnings and labels – would let companies off the hook. It would let them downplay their liability for victims’ health problems.And it would help pesticide manufacturers protect their bottom lines.Handcuffing the EPASection 453 would also handcuff the EPA’s authority to assess the risks of pesticides. The provision would hamstring the agency’s ability to respond to the most recent data about pesticides’ health risks. It would do this by requiring the EPA to rely on human health risk assessments alone. The agency is only required to complete those human health risk assessments every 15 years and often fails to do so. For example, a state, pesticide maker or the EPA may find new information showing a pesticide causes harm or requires additional protections when applying. This would require an update to the label, forcing the EPA to undergo another new human health risk assessment, which could take years to complete. In the meantime, people would continue to be exposed to the chemical and suffer health harms.The EPA would also have to research pesticide cancer risks itself instead of using existing experts and data. Many federal agencies rely on the International Agency for Research on Cancer to identify probable and likely carcinogens. But the EPA would be forbidden from using such data and classifications. If the Department of Health and Human Services were to determine that a pesticide is a carcinogen, Section 453 would ban the EPA from using that data.The EPA is just beginning to address the widespread use of toxic pesticides. Tying its efforts to potentially outdated assessments that may not reflect the best science will impair its ability to take swift and necessary action to protect public health. The battle is just beginningHouse Republicans refuse to remove the harmful provision from the EPA’s funding bill. Instead of protecting the public and listening to health advocates, Republicans are acting at the behest of foreign chemical companies, like Bayer-Monsanto and ChemChina’s Syngenta, and the former pesticide lobbyists at the EPA. This poison pill is just another Republican effort to undo state and local pesticide laws and protect chemical companies, whether through EPA actions or the upcoming farm bill.Advocates are pushing back. Over 140 mayors, lawmakers and other officials from more than 30 states are standing together to urge Congress to reject legislation that would limit longstanding state and local pesticide safety rules. They’re joined by hundreds of members of Congress and 185 environmental, health and agricultural organizations, including EWG. Congress should heed these calls and reject legislative proposals to block state and local laws put in place to safeguard communities. Areas of Focus Farming & Agriculture Pesticides Authors Geoff Horsfield August 28, 2025