EHN Originals

This is part 2 of our 5-part series, Pollution’s mental toll: How air, water and climate pollution shape our mental health. PITTSBURGH—In an average week, NaTisha Washington hears from seniors forced to choose between keeping their water running or paying medical bills, moms afraid to make their baby’s formula with tap water over fear of…

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This is part 3 of our 5-part series, Pollution’s mental toll: How air, water and climate pollution shape our mental health. Mathitha Ramachandran, a junior at Fox Chapel Area High School, is only 16 years old but she’s already spent years worrying about climate change. In September, she was on her way to a student…

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This is part 4 of our 5-part series, Pollution’s mental toll: How air, water and climate pollution shape our mental health. The more people experience climate change, or even hear about storms and wildfires, the more it is expected to impact their mental well-being. Some mental health experts have started preparing for the tsunami of…

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This is part 5 of our 5-part series, Pollution’s mental toll: How air, water and climate pollution shape our mental health. In Pollution’s mental toll, we laid out some of the ways climate change and polluted air and water impact mental health in western Pennsylvania. Below are ways to support your mental health and push…

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“Safe” limits on human exposure to phthalates set by national and international regulatory authorities may not adequately protect public health, according to a new analysis published in the journal Environmental Health on Monday. The study, synthesizing dozens of human studies, drew significant associations between phthalate exposure and human reproductive, neurodevelopmental, behavioral, hormonal, and metabolic health…

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Dr. Daniel Carrión joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss inequities in global energy access and how an increase in heat waves is worsening this injustice. Carrión, a postdoctoral fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who will soon begin a position as assistant professor of Environmental Health…

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PORTLAND, ME—On an early fall day, the city’s downtown Fox Field and Playground is humming. A half dozen young men shoot baskets, and small children scramble over playground structures. The central playing field is wet with dew and shimmers an emerald green in mid-morning light. Last fall, Portland’s Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department began organic…

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Let’s lend ourselves to Jennifer Vander Veur, a marine biologist and conservationist working to protect Hawaii’s coral reef and coastal ecosystems. Due to climate change and ecotourism, the reefs surrounding this archipelago are in increasing danger of bleaching. Jennifer’s hope is not only to conserve the islands’ natural coastal wonders to but to show people…

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I’m almost certain that Bruce Babbitt is the only Interior Secretary—past, present or future—to appear on Saturday Night Live. He appeared in a skit to drop a little self-deprecating humor on his brief 1988 presidential campaign. Prior to his 1993 to 2001 stint as Bill Clinton’s Interior boss, he served as Arizona Governor and Chair…

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There is no doubt that insects are in decline: every year there are slightly fewer butterflies, fewer bumblebees—fewer of almost all the myriad little beasts that make the world go round. Estimates vary and are imprecise, but it seems likely that insects have declined in abundance by 75% or more in the last 50 years.…

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