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Columbia Climate School students tackled real-world conservation challenges in one of the planet’s most biodiverse regions.

Setting a gold standard in the Golden State: 5 EWG-sponsored bills to boost safety choice and transparency Ketura Persellin April 13, 2026 As the world’s fourth largest economy, California doesn’t just pass laws, it helps reshape the American marketplace. With the Sacramento legislative session in full swing, EWG is sponsoring five critical bills to help consumers lead cleaner, healthier lives through transparency, commonsense safety regulations, and choice. The bills address energy, toxic chemicals and ultra-processed food, or UPF, among others. In order of bill number, here are the problems they address. Sky-high electricity bills (Senate Bill 868)The average California ratepayer faces electricity bills higher than those of most Americans. “Balcony solar” could help.SB 868 would make it easier for renters, apartment dwellers and owners of single family homes to plug into the sun. The small, portable solar panels can be easily set up on a patio or balcony and taken along when its owner moves. But complex energy rules make it unnecessarily hard to get these systems.EWG is sponsoring the Plug and Play Solar Act to streamline and accelerate balcony solar. The bill is authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). If enacted, the bill would ensure balcony solar systems meet strict safety standards while removing additional obstacles for Californians who want to take ownership over their electricity bill and also help clean the air.Setup is absurdly easy – about the same as plugging a toaster oven into the wall. And it’s not free, but it’s inexpensive enough that ratepayers can recoup their investment within a couple of years, putting solar – and savings – within reach of more people. And we expect the costs to decline as the market grows. Produce contaminated with PFAS pesticides (Assembly Bill 1603)This bill would rein in the use of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS that are used as pesticides. Yes, you read that right. California allows PFAS chemicals to be used as pesticides. Over 2.5 million pounds of these chemicals are applied to crops each year, contaminating not just produce but soil and water too.The bill comes on the heels of state test results showing PFAS pesticides contamination on nine in 10 samples of peaches, nectarines and plums grown in California. It’s critical to check this source of toxic pollution in the state that grows about half the country’s produce.AB 1603, by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), would ban the use, sale and manufacture of PFAS pesticides statewide beginning in 2035. It would also immediately put a pause on state approvals, phase out by 2030 the use of 23 PFAS pesticides not allowed in Europe, and require public disclosure of PFAS pesticide uses.Our interactive map shows where PFAS pesticides are applied. Protein supplements legally contaminated with heavy metals (Senate Bill 1033)Millions supplement their protein intake in various forms every day. But they have no way to know if their shakes, powders and bars contain concerning levels of heavy metals – lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic. One recent study showed that about half the products tested exceeded at least one state or federal safety limit for these contaminants. SB 1033 would require manufacturers to disclose levels of heavy metals in their products. The author, state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), seeks to make manufacturers accountable for a product that is underregulated by federal standards.  The stakes are high: Heavy metals are potent toxins, and repeated exposure, even at low levels, can cause lasting and irreversible harm, particularly threatening the health of pregnant people and the developing fetus.Because of an earlier law, which we also backed, California holds producers of baby food to a safety standard for heavy metal in their products similar to what we are proposing. The result? Manufacturers lowered contamination levels. The bill would bring similar transparency to protein products.Baby diapers made of mystery chemicals (Assembly Bill 1901)From the consumer point of view, many categories of personal care products are a black box, their ingredients a mystery. That’s especially an issue with baby diapers, since infants and toddlers wear them constantly for at least a couple years. Their developing bodies make them particularly vulnerable to toxic chemical exposure. AB 1901, by Assemblymember Mark Berman (D-Menlo Park), would require manufacturers of children’s diapers sold, distributed or manufactured in California to fully disclose their ingredients on the product’s packaging and online.Recent tests have found diapers can contain phthalates, linked to hormone disruption, bleaching agents associated with skin and respiratory irritation, and volatile organic compounds including hazardous air pollutants like toluene and xylene.Parents and caregivers deserve to know what chemicals sit on their child’s body 24/7 for years.Consumer bafflement over what is and isn’t ultra-processed food (Assembly Bill 2244)UPF make up more than two-thirds of children’s diets and more than half the typical adult diet in the U.S. It’s a good idea to try to cut back on eating UPF, for yourself and your family. But that’s hard to do when, as shoppers consistently say, it’s tough to distinguish ultra-processed from less processed food. This bill addresses that confusion, with the intent of reining in skyrocketing and harmful UPF consumption. If enacted, the bill would: Establish a system for certifying qualifying foods as free from the additives, emulsifiers, food dyes and flavors that often characterize UPF. Tie that system to California’s first-in-the-nation definition of UPF adopted last year as the result of a bill intended to stem the consumption of UPF. The bill’s author, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), is the lawmaker behind this bill and several other pioneering laws addressing food safety, especially for kids. His work has galvanized a national movement to address food chemicals.  Areas of Focus California Authors Ketura Persellin April 13, 2026

Here are some of the devices and appliances that might be secretly costing you money and energy, and how to save on both.

Researchers found that two alleles in the wood pink plant species may allow the perennials to adapt to warming temperatures.

A new study finds that land subsidence is outpacing ocean-driven sea-level rise along the northern coastline of Java Island, Indonesia.