EHN Originals

Mary Beth Kirkham hadn’t studied microplastics when she was invited to co-edit a new book about microplastics in the environment—but something stood out to her about the existing research. “I had read in the literature that…cadmium and other toxic trace elements [are] increased when we have these particulate plastics in the soil. So, that was…

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On the first night of this week’s Republican National Convention, President Trump nailed the green bleeding-heart haters to the wall in two sentences: “They want no guns, they want no oil and gas, and they want no God. So it’s no religion, no guns, right, no oil and gas.” On the second night, he rested.…

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BLANCO, TX—Teri Albright and Milton Shaw, a couple living near Blanco, Texas, were bracing themselves as the coronavirus began appearing in the state. Both doctors working in long-term care facilities, the couple was busy learning new procedures to protect patients from the novel virus. On a Sunday afternoon in March, Albright tossed tea bags into…

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Something that speaks volumes about the environment’s low-level standing in American politics is how the environment wasn’t spoken about in volumes at this week’s Democratic National Convention. First, a little digression. This week’s Democratic Convention, and presumably next week’s Republican gathering, are absent the traditional crowds. Scripted “spontaneous applause” breaks and balloon drops are out.…

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We normally reserve this space for noteworthy environmental news. But I need time for a heartfelt “thank you.” Last week we concluded our annual mid-summer appeal. Thanks to readers like you, we exceeded our fundraising goal, raising more than $12,000. More than 170 readers like you gave, in amounts ranging from $5 to $1,000. Given…

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Nearly three decades ago, I wrote the following sentence in a Boston Globe column: “Let us bury the term ‘minority.’” Silly me, thinking in 1991 that I could eliminate this amorphous, diminutive label for people of color with a few taps on a keyboard. I excised it from my own writing, as government, businesses, and…

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More than half of the United States is underwater: a sunken landscape of canyons, volcanic ranges, coral reefs, and kelp forests. That’s been true since 1983, when then-President Reagan proclaimed national sovereignty over the ocean within 200 miles of the coastline, and banned foreign fishing fleets from fishing them. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management…

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In their congressional careers, both Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris fell within the norm for their respective parties. Pence’s six terms as an Indiana Congressman won him a 4 percent score from the League of Conservation Voters, which compiles an annual performance scorecard rating House and Senate members for “good” and “bad”…

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Eating an organic diet rapidly and significantly reduces exposure to glyphosate—the world’s most widely-used weed killer, which has been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other harmful impacts, according to a new study. Authored by researchers at the Health Research Institute and the nonprofit organizations Commonweal Institute and Friends of the Earth, the study measured…

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When a seabird is found with a belly full of plastic bags, or a turtle is strangled by six-pack rings, it’s easy to see how our trash turns deadly when it enters the oceans. It’s much harder to track the effects of the tens of thousands of chemicals that are dumped in the ocean every…

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