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Winter inversions threaten to increase air pollution, COVID-19 risks
At around 11 AM on November 4, Germaine Patterson stepped outside to exercise in her backyard. Dirty air sent her quickly retreating back inside. “I started having heart palpitations,” she told EHN. “I know it was due to the air quality.” For seven straight days in early November, air pollution levels in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,…
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Southwest US communities and Hispanics most likely to have arsenic-laden water
A new survey shows arsenic levels in public water are disproportionately high in certain U.S. communities, despite national regulatory standards designed to protect people from the harmful chemical. Researchers studied approximately 13 million records from 2006 to 2011 covering 139,000 public water systems in 46 states, Washington D.C., and Native American tribes. The records cover…
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Unplugged: Abandoned oil and gas wells leave the ocean floor spewing methane
Out on the deck of a research boat, Tara Yacovitch looked out to the water. In the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, the seascape is peppered with lights. And every light is part of an offshore oil or gas platform. Offshore platforms can vary greatly in size—some are as big as multi-storied buildings, while…
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LISTEN: Ans Irfan’s vision for progress and equity in global public health
Ans Irfan joined the Agents of Change in Environmental podcast to talk about his path from Pakistan to public health—and how the field can and should place equity and justice at its core. Irfan, a public health scientist and lecturer at George Washington University, was part of the first group of fellows for Agents of…
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Preguntas y respuestas: Una joven líder en justicia ambiental sobre el valor de acercar a los jóvenes de color a la naturaleza
Para la mayoría de los estudiantes universitarios, los sábados son para relajarse o pasar tiempo con los amigos, pero Damar García suele estar ocupada preparando materiales de campaña para los residentes de la comunidad sobre la importancia de garantizar que los jóvenes de color tengan un mayor acceso a la naturaleza en las ciudades. García,…
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Nature’s smelly grandeur: Why I love salt marshes
Imagine a marvel of nature that changes itself every six hours: new views, new sounds, new smells, four times a day. Of course, that’s what the tides do at the shoreline. This is most beautifully done in salt marshes. That’s what captured me. First, it was the smell—the mix of rotting beach grass and crab…
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Preguntas y respuestas: Una joven líder en justicia ambiental sobre el valor de acercar a los jóvenes de color a la naturaleza
Para la mayoría de los estudiantes universitarios, los sábados son para relajarse o pasar tiempo con los amigos, pero Damar García suele estar ocupada preparando materiales de campaña para los residentes de la comunidad sobre la importancia de garantizar que los jóvenes de color tengan un mayor acceso a la naturaleza en las ciudades. García,…
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WATCH: Top scientists explain how small exposures have a huge impact
Understanding of the relationship between chemicals and pollutants and reproductive health is advancing rapidly—and now you can have access to leading experts to stay on top of the latest science and ways to improve your health. Evidence shows that pollutants and toxic chemicals have an impact on a number of reproductive health outcomes and disorders,…


