EHN Originals

Cuando el incendio de Caldor se dirigió hacia el lago Tahoe azotado por la sequía en los últimos días de agosto, los bomberos se enfrentaron a un escenario aleccionador: los fuertes vientos aumentaron desde el suroeste, empujando el fuego hacia áreas pobladas y provocando que decenas de miles de personas huyeran. Durante días, los equipos…

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Around the world, regulators have long relied on one compound to assess a community’s lung cancer risk from a class of chemicals that we’re exposed to while grilling burgers, waiting in traffic, and breathing in wood smoke from a fire. That compound—benzo(a)pyrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)—however, only accounts for 11% of lung cancer risk…

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“They are playing a game. They are playing at not playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me. I must play their game, of not seeing I see the game.” – R. D. Laing Over the past century, the finance, insurance, and…

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Every year, an estimated seven million people die from air pollution across the globe. Now, new research shows that air pollution is not only a health threat to everyone in the world, but also to those who have not yet arrived. The study, published today in the journal PLOS Medicine, looked into the pernicious impact…

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Insiders at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have alleged dozens of violations of the agency’s “scientific integrity” policy over the last few years, including complaints of political interference and tampering with chemical risk assessments, but nearly all the complaints have been ignored, according to an analysis conducted by a nonprofit group representing EPA employees. Since…

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PITTSBURGH—Thousands of Pennsylvanians are being exposed to toxic chemicals in their drinking water. The state has been working to regulate the chemicals since 2017, but officials say those regulations are at least two more years away. EHN reporter Kristina Marusic discussed her recent reporting reporting on PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) with The Allegheny Front’s…

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As the Caldor Fire roared toward drought-stricken Lake Tahoe in the last days of August, firefighters faced a sobering scenario: Strong winds increased from the southwest, pushing the fire toward populated areas and prompting tens of thousands to flee. For days aerial crews dropped fire retardant from planes, aiming to slow the fire’s progress and…

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A piece last week by Katie Surma of Inside Climate News credited William O. Douglas with early support of the notion that nature should have legal rights. It reminded me of just how far ahead of time this Supreme Court Justice was. Catching the eye of FDR Born in rural Minnesota in 1898, Douglas grew…

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More than 90 scientists, doctors, and public health researchers are calling on U.S. and European regulators to conduct new safety reviews of acetaminophen, pointing to mounting evidence that fetal exposure to the commonly used pain reliever could increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and reproductive system effects. Pregnant women should take as low a dose…

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Azmal Hossan joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss climate change and the ongoing water crisis in Bangladesh. Hossan, a PhD student in sociology at Colorado State University and current Agents of Change fellow, also talks about growing up in a farming family, how the environmental justice movement looks much different…

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