Delger Erdenesanaa

Boy, retraction is the thing these days. After years of critique, a foundational 25-year old paper on the safety of glyphosate herbicide has been pulled. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/2

At MAHA Summit, the NIH head pushes for research that risks failure And 4 other takeaways for life scientists from the ‘off-the-record’ Make America Healthy Again conference

So, remember that MAHA summit 2 weeks ago that @statnews.com broke the news of and @maxkozlov.bsky.social somehow got into for Nature, even though it was closed to the press?

The organizers posted the entire 6.5-hour conference proceedings to YouTube last week.

cen.acs.org/policy/MAHA-...

As COP30 begins, countries face ‘hard truth’ of 1.5 °C global warming The average global surface temperature passed a key threshold last year. Meanwhile, the US does not have an official delegation at the UN climate conference now underway in Brazil

All against a backdrop of temperatures continuing to rise, soon to pass 1.5°C. cen.acs.org/policy/COP30...

At COP30, chemical companies push biobased climate solutions But environmentalists are raising concerns about the ecosystem, food security, and other impacts from the fossil fuel alternative

And, of course, there was everything happening on the sidelines, including greater attention to what might be the hardest-to-abate sector of all: chemicals. cen.acs.org/environment/...

As for countries' actual work, it's split. There's the official, consensus-based track making incremental progress on adaptation but not stopping emissions at their sources (fossil fuels, deforestation). And now there's an unofficial, more ambitious "coalition of the willing" led by Colombia.

COP30 final agreement omits fossil fuels Countries also left deforestation on the sidelines but agreed to more funding for climate adaptation efforts by low-income countries

Reflections on COP30 now that it's over. (Or is it??) First, idk if this was Lula's goal, but the physical chaos of the venue—fire, deluge, diesel fumes—sure seemed like a metaphor for climate change to me.
cen.acs.org/environment/...

But clearing or converting land to grow biofuels could have unintended consequences. The carbon accounting is controversial, with some saying biofuels could in fact increase GHG emissions. And Indigenous people's land rights, particularly in the Amazon, have been a huge topic of contention at COP30.

Biobased chemical companies took the stage at multiple panels. And biofuels as alternatives to fossil fuels rose to the top of the conversation. Brazil, the host country, is a big player in the industry, with the COP30 presidency announcing a global initiative to quadruple alternative fuels by 2035.

At COP30, chemical companies push biobased climate solutions But environmentalists are raising concerns about the ecosystem, food security, and other impacts from the fossil fuel alternative

The chemical industry is a huge source of GHG emissions. Decarbonizing the industry will be hard, but as a UNFCCC technology expert said here, there's no way we can avoid it. COP30 reflected that, with what seemed to be more spotlight on chemicals than past summits. cen.acs.org/environment/...

Nov. 14 Policy Watch: US government reopens, is absent from COP 30 climate conference In other news, the EPA wants to trim PFAS reporting requirements and is pushing back compliance dates for parts of its TCE and methylene chloride rules

Nov. 14 Policy Watch: US government reopens, is absent from COP 30 climate conference

In other news, the EPA wants to trim PFAS reporting requirements and is pushing back compliance dates for parts of its TCE and methylene chloride rules. cen.acs.org/policy/Nov-1...

Tomorrow at #COP30 I'll be discussing what I learned from my recent @pulitzercenter.org reporting on marine heatwaves and their effects on wildlife and fisheries -- 1:30pm Brazil time at the Ocean Pavilion, alongside fishermen & women, scientists, and policymakers.

Rescheduled for this morning 8 am - if you are in the Blue Zone, come by the Ocean Pavilion and learn about the links between rainforest and ocean to start your day.

The best news from #COP30 so far is that a couple got engaged last night during dinner at a restaurant just outside the venue. It was packed with conference attendees and decidedly not the most romantic ambiance… but good for them!!

I’m in Belém covering #COP30. It’s a difficult geopolitical—and physical—context, as the planet begins to breach the 1.5C goal set 10 years ago and the US withdraws once again from the Paris Agreement. I’ll be continuing coverage throughout the conference, so please reach out if you’d like to talk.

Catastrophic Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica as the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane on record » Yale Climate Connections At landfall in western Jamaica, Melissa’s 185 mph winds and 892 mb pressure tied with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 in the Florida Keys as the strongest on record for the Atlantic.

Not since 1935 has anyone experienced a storm like Melissa. Melissa's record wouldn't have happened without climate change, which made the hurricane's winds about 10 mph stronger, according to a rapid attribution analysis by Climate Central. yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/10/cata...

Black and white images showing micrographs of various species of coccospheres, calcifying plankton that play a role in the ocean carbon cycle.

A team of international scientists suggests that ignoring plankton could lead scientists to underestimate how the ocean will respond to climate change. Read more: cen.acs.org/environment/...

#CENChemPics #chemsky 🧪

Why scientists found lead in protein powders Consumers shouldn't panic

Yes, there's lead in protein powders. No, there's no known safe level. But, exposure to trace amounts is inevitable, especially since plants naturally take up lead from the environment. And, people disagree on standards for manufacturers. Latest @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/food/food-in...

This reaction turns Teflon into toothpaste’s key ingredient Grinding PTFE with chunks of sodium metal creates sodium fluoride in a solvent-free reaction that aims to avoid landfills

It's been a big year for chemists trying to turn PTFE (better know as Teflon) into something that won't hang out in a landfill for 1,000 years. The latest development in this area uses chunks of sodium metal. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/materials/po...

Oct. 24 Policy Watch: Schools reject White House ‘compact’ In other news, EPA launches a new research office and NGOs sue the Trump administration over air pollution exemptions

Our first weekly briefing of chemistry policy news @cenmag.bsky.social. In food world, companies and trade groups formed a supergroup called Americans for Ingredient Transparency to lobby Congress to preempt state laws on food additives and other MAHA-inspired issues: cen.acs.org/policy/Oct-2...

Losing Nemo: In the Red Sea, clownfish vanish as anemones bleach When Morgan Bennett-Smith descended to a familiar reef in the central Red Sea in September 2023, he expected to find the same tagged anemones and resident clownfish he had been monitoring for months.…

A 2023 marine heat wave in the central Red Sea caused 100% of monitored sea anemones to bleach, followed by the death of 94-100% of clownfish and 66-94% of the anemones across three surveyed reefs.

The findings challenge the belief that Red Sea marine life would be protected from climate change.

New Mexico proposes world’s broadest use of PFAS warning labels The state’s proposed requirements have not been done anywhere else and stem from a 2025 law that also outlaws PFAS in certain products

New Mexico is proposing warning labels for #PFAS across a wide range of consumer products starting next year, similar to California's Prop 65 labels. This is part of the rule-making for a new law that also phases out many products with PFAS. More in @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/policy/New-M...

My first foray into food chemicals -- which I'm learning is a busy, busy beat right now, especially at the state level

My new colleagues really commit to the bit

New job, new beat: I'm now covering PFAS, pesticides and other chemicals in food, ag and water for @cenmag.bsky.social. Would love to connect with sources -- please do reach out with tips (or just intros)!

My new email is D_Erdenesanaa at acs dot org. Signal remains edelger dot 10.

How To OSINT the Ocean Image   The ocean may seem vast and opaque, but open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools are changing the way we monitor it.  From tracking illegal fishing and ship movements to uncovering pollution and...

P.S. If you want to hear about where I looked for data during the course of my reporting, I'm giving a presentation tomorrow alongside Saroj Pathirana, who investigated one of the largest-ever plastic spills in the ocean for the BBC: pulitzercenter.org/event/how-os...

How To OSINT the Ocean The ocean may seem vast and opaque, but open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools are changing the way we monitor it.  From tracking illegal fishing and ship movements to uncovering pollution and port…

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools are changing the way we can monitor the ocean. The @pulitzercenter.org is hosting a webinar on Tues, Sept 9, at 12pm US ET, for investigative journalists, environmental reporters & data enthusiasts looking to deepen their reporting using OSINT.

A Warning From a California Marine Heat Wave

And from December, what we've learned about the ocean's vulnerability to climate change in the 10 years since the infamous "Blob": www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/c...

Rising Temperatures Are Scrambling the Base of the Ocean Food Web

From March, on how plankton, the foundation of the marine food web, are responding to warming waters: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/c...

See How Marine Heat Waves Are Spreading Across the Globe

From June, on how marine heatwaves are becoming the new normal: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/c...

This wraps up my @pulitzercenter.org project on how climate change is playing out in the ocean. I'm really grateful for their support, and grateful to my editors, collaborators and above all the many many sources who spoke to me over the past year. I'll thread the other 3 stories below.