EHN Originals

In 1997, the American Plastics Council ran a New Yorker ad calling plastics “an important part of a healthy diet.” The ad, which trumpeted plastic juice jugs and plastic-wrapped food as the “sixth basic food group,” wound up proving far more literal than the copywriters intended. Nowadays, nearly all of our meals come seasoned with…

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Jan-Michael Archer joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss community-driven science in Alabama’s Black Belt and his role in fighting for workers’ rights at his university. Archer is a senior fellow of the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice program and a Ph.D. Candidate and National Science Foundation Research Trainee at…

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HOUSTON — The Texas department responsible for monitoring air pollution is using different science to analyze risks than the federal government recommends. Health advocates say this leaves people breathing more cancer-causing compounds. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, provides air permit applicants with the option to use an alternative algorithm to simulate air…

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HULL, Ma.—Whenever a storm is coming, the fire company in this town of 10,500 jutting into the Atlantic Ocean sends a truck and personnel to wait in an old fire station on the northern tip of the peninsula. All too often, said William Frazier, the deputy fire chief, the sea will wash over the single…

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HOUSTON — This has been a summer of extreme heat — and scientists say this heat, coupled with infrequent rain, can supercharge air pollution. As the climate continues to warm, summers will pose a threat to not only our comfort but our lungs. Climate has always changed, but it’s important to acknowledge that scientists universally…

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HOUSTON – Ha sido un verano de calor extremo- los científicos dicen que este calor, combinado con pocas lluvias, pueden agravar la contaminación del aire. A medida que la atmósfera se calienta, los veranos representarán mayores riesgos no solamente a nuestra comodidad, sino a nuestros pulmones. El clima siempre ha cambiado, pero es importante reconocer…

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At the break of dawn, in the dry and sweltering Arizona summer heat, my masáni, mom, aunts and many cousins round up our grandmother’s herd of sheep. Even at sunrise, the parched soils release stored heat into our rubber-soled shoes. We’d herd the animals from their corrals in the canyon to our summer camp on…

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Black, Hispanic and low-income children are more exposed to toxics like air pollution and lead — and this disparate exposure is linked to autism, lower IQ scores and worse memory, according to a new scientific review of more than 200 studies. The review, published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, found that scientists often study how…

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Editor’s note: This is part 1 of a 2-part series, “Tracking down a poison.” See part 2 here. NEW YORK CITY — In 1988, turmeric producers in Bangladesh had a problem. The country sits on the world’s largest delta, where three rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, flooding annually and leaving behind rich soils…

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Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a 2-part series, “Tracking down a poison.” See part 1 here. NEW YORK CITY — A third of the world’s children have so much lead in their blood they’re poisoned. These children experience cognitive and behavioral delays, reduced kidney function, anemia and more. They might drink water that…

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