Environmental and Government News #8: 12/31/25

      Hello everyone, and happy holidays! 2025 was an amazing year, and I hope to continue to improve this blog's quality and consistency as we move into the new year. Trying something new, I want to give news on a city-level, state-level, country-level, and global-level, to give you a glimpse of environmental policy news from all levels of our world.

    In Northbrook, a new partial ban on gas-powered leaf blowers will become effective in the new year after it was approved in December 2023 by the Village of Northbrook. It is a 9-month ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, with a 4-week spring clean-up and an 8-week fall clean-up period in which the ban is lifted. (Note, these don't affect your everyday battery-powered and corded leaf blowers) This partial ban will be wonderful for our environment. By reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, the partial ban will improve the air quality

    In Illinois, especially rural parts, pesticide drift is becoming a massive problem. Pesticides are being sprayed several times a year on most farms, and natural wind drifts these chemicals over to schools and communities. These chemicals affect children's respiratory systems and have been associated with an increased risk of leukemia.  According to an analysis from the Environmental Working Group, across Illinois, "740 elementary schools are within a quarter mile of a crop field, and 40 are within 20 feet." The Illinois House Bill 1596, introduced by representative Laura Faver Dias on January 28th of this year, would require pesticide applicators to notify all schools, day cares, and parks 24 to 72 hours before spraying. As of the latest legislative session, the bill has been placed on the calendar for further consideration, but it still has not advanced to a final vote. However, there are strong hopes that it will receive further consideration in the next legislative session in the coming year.

    In the United States of America, the Trump administration has ordered a pause on five major offshore wind energy projects, all under construction off the U.S. East Coast. This pause will last at least 90 days, but it is unclear when it will be lifted. The reason given by officials referenced a recent classified Pentagon assessment, stating that the location of turbines near populated areas and the evolving technologies of the enemy could present a security vulnerability. Given the administration's shift away from sustainable causes as this year has progressed, it is natural to wonder about the validity of these threats, which remain unproven. Critics, including national security experts and Democratic governors, are questioning the justification, claiming the pause will harm energy reliability and the economy.

    On the global stage, the Seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (AKA UNEA-7) occurred, taking place from December 8th to 12th in Nairobi, Kenya. The UNEA is a super big deal in global environmental politics, as countries meet once every two years to tackle problems in our environment diplomatically. This year, they focused on a theme of "advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet. Delegates from all 193 UN member states gathered, along with scientists, youth delegates, and local leaders. Lots of hopeful progress was made at this meeting. The key policy outcomes include:

    -A Wildfire Management Resolution: India's proposal on strengthening global wildfire prevention and early warning protection systems was adopted, as we saw rising climate-driven fire risks over the past few years.

    -Coral Reef Climate Resilience Action: Delegates agreed on a resolution to increase global action on protecting our coral reefs from warming and ocean stressors, which is very exciting.

    -Sustainable AI for Environment Resolution: A never-seen-before UN resolution led by Kenya on environmental sustainability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications was adopted, hoping to link technological governance with existing environmental policy.

   There were 10+ more resolutions passed at the historical UNEA-7, so if you'd like to learn more, I'd highly recommend reading the official United Nations reports on the outcomes linked here! https://www.unep.org/environmentassembly/unea7/outcomes 

    Additionally, on the global scale, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) has announced a one-day resumed session (named INC 5.3) that will occur on February 7th, 2026, in Geneva. For context, the INC was formed after UNEA-5.2 all the way back in 2022, when a historical resolution was signed to form the INC with one goal in mind: to end plastic pollution. Since then, the INC has met 6 times, with delegates from all across the globe meeting to negotiate. The original resolution was only planned for 6 meetings, but the delegates are still far from finishing the treaty. They left Geneva defeated in August, 2025, so it is massive news that the negotiations are starting back up again. This plastics treaty would be a historical, one-of-a-kind mark of human cooperation and negotiation. I tried my best to summarize the progress they have made, but fitting 3 years of negotiations in a couple of sentences is tricky. If you're interested in learning more about what issues are being discussed in the negotiations, which countries are laggards/leaders in the negotiations, or if you are just fascinated by the idea of such a revolutionary treaty, please reach out to my email (osar6452@gmail.com)! I'm currently researching these negotiations with Professor Dr. Kuehl at NIU, and I'd love to share my longer report of all that has occurred during these negotiations. 

Today's Environmental Fun Fact: Honeybees pollinate crops that make up about 1/3rd of all the food people eat!

Thank you so much for reading, and cheers to a wonderful 2026!

~Oscar

Sources:

https://www.unep.org/environmentassembly/unea7

https://apnews.com/article/trump-offshore-wind-energy-climate-337980893e944ca274e46dbb70d04cb1

https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pesticide-drift-is-catching-schools-off-guard/

https://www.northbrook.il.us/1170/Leaf-Blower-Regulations