11-4: Five quick things for your Saturday

11-4: Five quick things for your Saturday

Winter's coming. We all have chores to do. Let's make this simple: Five quick hits to keep you up to date on our environment and health.



Gov't climate report at odds with Trump and his team

Coverage of the federal climate assessment takes Trump to task:

AP's Seth Borenstein:

As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nation's struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods.

Our new look and feedback

Two weeks into our new look, and we continue to refine and adjust it. Like it? Loathe it? Let us know how we can better serve you.

It's time to be loud: We deliver news that drives the discussion on environmental health and climate change.

Drop us a line at feedback@ehn.org ("Attaboys" always welcome).

Three top stories for Saturday

  1. New Jersey sets new PFOA level below Vermont standard. New Jersey last week set its safe drinking water standard for the chemical PFOA at 14 parts per trillion, 30 percent lower than Vermont's standard. (Vermont Public Radio)
  2. Louisville neighborhoods use trees to fend off heart disease. The poets were right all along: Trees are a drug, in ways marvelous and often misunderstood. We underestimate at our peril the powers of a walk in the woods. (USA Today) (thanks to Univ. of Louisville's Alex Carll for pointing us to that story)
  3. Will the bird that dodged a bullet pay the price of peace? "Armed conflict is good for preventing deforestation." (Mike Shanahan, Under the Banyan)

One must-read opinion

As ice shelves crumble and the Twitter president threatens to pull out of the Paris accord, author Jonathan Franzen reflects on the role of the writer in time of crisis (The Guardian)

One beautiful thing

Those are my kids (and dog), at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Eleven inches of snow fell overnight in Bozeman, Montana.

It's ski swap weekend here, and people are already to find a sweet deal on winter gear. I told my kids we weren't moving the car until the driveway was clear.

Amazing how much energy a motivated kid has.

Today's gift in Bozeman is reminder for us all: Get outside and enjoy the weather. It's beautiful out there.

environmental justice

LISTEN: Robbie Parks on why hurricanes are getting deadlier

"In places where there are high minority populations they bear, by far, the most burden of deaths from tropical cyclones."

Dr. Robbie Parks joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast for a bonus episode to discuss how hurricanes have become deadlier in recent years and how we can better protect vulnerable communities.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
counting bumblebees pollinator protections
Photo by Stacie Clark on Unsplash

To protect wild bumblebees, people have to find them first

For six years, hundreds of volunteers have counted bumblebees across the Northwest. Their data is shaping pollinator conservation nationwide.

Why we need a ‘slow water’ movement

To withstand drought and deluge, an H2O how-to from Erica Gies, author of ‘Water Always Wins.’

Prosecutors are going to war with climate protesters

The far-reaching RICO indictment against Stop Cop City organizers in Atlanta is just the latest example of prosecutors’ central role in chilling dissent.

China and U.S. face mounting calls to strike a climate deal at COP28

COP28 hinges on China and the United States putting their political differences aside, said Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency.

U.S. housing crisis thwarts recruitment for nature-based infrastructure projects

Even when the funding is lined up for green restoration efforts in northern Wisconsin, a lack of affordable housing makes it hard to attract workers and get started.

From our Newsroom
children nature

Opinion: When kids feel the magic of nature, they will want to protect it

Improving our quality of life starts with the simple of act of getting kids outdoors.

birds climate change

In the Gulf of Maine, scientists race to save seabirds threatened by climate change

“I could see that, if successful, the methods developed could likely help these species."

fracking economics

Appalachia’s fracking counties are shedding jobs and residents: Study

The 22 counties that produce 90% of Appalachian natural gas lost a combined 10,339 jobs between 2008 and 2021.

Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una  potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

En los últimos tres años, Marathon ha violado repetidamente la ley de Aire Limpio y tuvo tres emergencias en el semestre de febrero a julio de 2023.

WATCH: How Marathon Petroleum and one Texas city show the potential for a chemical communication crisis

WATCH: How Marathon Petroleum and one Texas city show the potential for a chemical communication crisis

Marathon in Texas City has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act and had three emergencies in the span of a six month period.

air pollution heart attack

ER visits for heart problems plummeted after Pittsburgh coal processor shut down

Levels of one highly-toxic pollutant fell by 90% and ER visits for heart problems decreased by 42% immediately after the shutdown.

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