environmental justice
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The hidden cost of powering your phone might be someone else’s cancer
As the world races to secure rare earth elements for tech and defense, residents of Baotou, China bear the brunt of toxic pollution and displacement.
In short:
- Baotou is China’s rare earth capital, fueling global tech and military industries while dealing with toxic waste and widespread health problems.
- Residents living near tailings ponds have faced cancer, birth defects, and neurological disorders linked to exposure from mining byproducts.
- While Beijing touts environmental cleanup and economic progress, local communities have been displaced, and evidence of illness and contamination persists.
Key quote:
"Large-scale extraction quite often proceeds at the expense of the health and well-being of surrounding communities, pretty much regardless of the context."
— Julie Klinger, associate professor at the University of Delaware
Why this matters:
China calls Baotou its “rare earth capital,” and it’s not exaggerating. More than 80% of the country’s known reserves are extracted and processed here. But what’s left behind after the magnets and metals are separated is an environmental nightmare — tailings ponds leaking toxics substances, and ghost towns where farms once fed generations. While Beijing talks up cleanup efforts and green growth, those living closest to the waste say the truth is much dirtier. Global tech giants and defense contractors rely on Baotou, but its people are paying with their health. The rest of the world rarely looks backRead more: In push to mine for minerals, clean energy advocates ask what going green really means
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Oil companies divide Indigenous Amazon communities where the state fails to show up
In Ecuador’s Amazon, oil companies have taken over the roles of health providers, educators, and employers — fracturing Indigenous communities and undermining their autonomy in the process.
Emilia Paz y Miño and Isabela Ponce report for Mongabay and GK.
In short:
- For decades, oil companies operating in Block 10 have stepped in where Ecuador’s government hasn’t, offering healthcare, education, and jobs in exchange for access to Indigenous land.
- These services come at a cost: Companies pit communities against each other, deepen internal divisions, and offer only short-term benefits while polluting the land and water.
- Indigenous leaders like Rosa Aranda are pushing back, demanding accountability and trying to preserve community control and unity in the face of oil industry encroachment.
Key quote:
“They have provided jobs in certain areas, such as environmental outreach and health care, but not in others, due to a territorial dispute with the community of Villano, who took our places saying that the pipeline doesn’t pass through our land."
— Rosa Aranda, President of Moretecocha, Indigenous governing body formed of eight Kichwa communities
Why this matters:
When extractive industries replace the state, they create dependence and erode the social fabric. Communities once bound together by shared tradition and land are now split by uneven access to oil-funded benefits. In addition to polluting ecosystems, these corporate power grabs leave behind deeper inequality and worsen health outcomes in some of the most remote, vulnerable communities.
Read more: The planet’s largest ecosystems could collapse faster than we thought
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FIFA faces rising heat risks as 2026 World Cup planning intensifies
A blistering heatwave during this year’s Club World Cup in the U.S. has reignited debate over the health and safety risks of afternoon match times for the 2026 World Cup, set to take place across North America.
In short:
- Temperatures above 90°F (32.2°C) during Club World Cup matches in cities like Cincinnati and Philadelphia forced players to rely on cooling breaks, with coaches describing the conditions as unworkable for training.
- Player union FIFPRO, the International Federation of Professional Footballers, warned that extreme heat poses growing risks as climate change intensifies, urging FIFA and broadcasters to reassess kickoff times to avoid exposing players to dangerous conditions.
- With the 2026 tournament expanding to 48 teams, host cities including Miami, New York and Monterrey may struggle to avoid hot afternoon slots, especially under pressure from broadcasters to preserve peak viewing times.
Key quote:
"Current protocols and laws of the game require urgent revision – this is a challenge the entire football industry must take on together."
— FIFPRO spokesperson
Why this matters:
As climate change accelerates, extreme heat is turning into a permanent fixture of outdoor sports, especially in already hot and densely populated cities. The health risks aren’t confined to elite athletes; rising heat also threatens millions of youth and amateur players who lack professional-level protections. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures increases the risk of heatstroke, dehydration, and long-term cardiovascular stress. Urban environments, with their heat-trapping infrastructure and poor air quality, amplify these risks. The World Cup, a global media spectacle, forces a public reckoning: Will health take precedence over profit? The decisions made now could set a precedent for how future sporting events navigate a hotter, more volatile world.
Related: Opinion: Football’s growing carbon footprint threatens its future
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New pricing system helps small town slash its garbage output
When Plympton, Massachusetts started charging by the bag for trash, it nearly halved the town’s garbage — and saved thousands of dollars in the process.
In short:
- Plympton cut its annual trash output from 640 to 335 tons after shifting from a flat-fee dump sticker to a “pay-as-you-throw” model charging per bag.
- The new pricing system incentivized recycling and composting, saving the town about $65,000 a year and reducing landfill-related emissions.
- Nearly half of Massachusetts municipalities now use PAYT, and experts say volume-based pricing drives waste reduction without unfairly burdening small or low-income households.
Key quote:
“We found that demand for waste disposal was really responsive to price. If you raise the price of trash, people are going to find ways to not put as much out at the curb.”
— John Halstead, retired professor of environmental economics at the University of New Hampshire and an author of a study on New Hampshire's pay-as-you-throw model
Why this matters:
Less landfill use means fewer toxics in the air and water, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and more recycled materials in circulation. Plympton’s story shows that smart policy doesn’t have to be punitive or complicated — it just has to make people see the cost of their choices, and let common sense do the rest.
Read more:
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Heat and pollution are combining to threaten public health as U.S. temperatures rise
As a massive heat dome scorches much of the U.S., scientists warn that extreme heat is increasingly intensifying air pollution, amplifying health risks for millions.
Claire Brown and Christina Kelso report for The New York Times.
In short:
- The combination of extreme heat and stagnant air is trapping pollutants close to the ground, increasing levels of harmful substances like ozone and particulate matter that affect heart and lung health.
- The Trump administration is rolling back environmental regulations, including emissions standards for power plants and vehicles, while halting research into how heat and pollution harm public health.
- Children, older adults, and people with respiratory conditions are particularly vulnerable, with hospitals seeing more admissions during days with both high heat and poor air quality.
Key quote:
“You have a mixture of natural and man-made sources often during wildfire events at levels that are really extraordinary.”
— Meredith McCormack, director of pulmonary and critical care at Johns Hopkins University
Why this matters:
As fossil fuel combustion and wildfires pump pollution into the atmosphere, high temperatures trap that pollution in place, leading to dangerously poor air quality. Ground-level ozone and PM 2.5, which spike during these conditions, can worsen asthma, damage the heart and lungs, and even trigger strokes. These effects fall hardest on the most vulnerable: kids, the elderly, and people with chronic conditions. But no one is exempt. At the same time, efforts to loosen emissions rules and scale back health research threaten to strip communities of the tools they need to protect themselves. As the climate warms, more Americans may find themselves unable to avoid the dangerous mix of heat and dirty air.
Read more: European heatwaves in 2023 led to nearly 50,000 deaths due to carbon pollution
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Newsletter
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Global support grows for carbon tax that also reduces poverty
People across 20 countries, including many in wealthy nations, say they are willing to pay a climate tax that also redistributes income to those with smaller carbon footprints.
In short:
- A global survey of over 40,000 people found broad support for a carbon tax that penalizes high emitters and provides monthly payments to those with lower emissions.
- Japan showed the highest support at 94%, while in the U.S., only about half supported the idea, with deep partisan divides: 75% of Biden voters favored the plan, compared to 26% of Trump voters.
- Researchers noted that while initial support is strong, public opinion may shift once policies take effect, especially if costs are visible and opponents frame the tax as harmful.
Key quote:
“People with a carbon footprint larger than the world average would financially lose, and those with a carbon footprint lower than the world average would win.”
— Adrian Fabre, lead author of the study and researcher at the International Center for Research on Environment and Development in Paris
Why this matters:
Carbon taxes are one of the most discussed tools for addressing climate change, yet they often face political resistance, especially when costs are passed directly to consumers. This study suggests many people are willing to accept higher personal costs if climate policies also address global inequality. That’s especially relevant as emissions remain highest in wealthier countries, while climate impacts often fall hardest on poorer ones. The challenge remains in translating that support into durable policy. Past efforts, like Canada’s rebate-based carbon pricing, have faltered as rising fuel prices and misinformation chipped away at public trust. Understanding how to frame and design such taxes could be key to their survival — and to cutting global emissions fast enough to matter.
Related: New international carbon tax on shipping is significant, but falls short of climate goals
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Credit: Kaz Tanaka/BigStock Photo ID: 2398044
How a government feud threatens decades of scientific progress
The Trump administration’s move to cut off $2.6 billion in federal research funding to Harvard has upended a vital engine of American science, with ripple effects that reach far beyond a single university.
Emily Badger, Aatish Bhatia, and Ethan Singer report for The New York Times.
In short:
- Nearly 900 grants supporting projects in neuroscience, opioid treatment, environmental health, and more were halted after the administration accused Harvard of failing to meet federal conditions tied to civil rights and research integrity.
- The funding freeze impacts long-term, high-risk science — including regenerative medicine, sleep studies, and cancer research — that typically isn’t pursued by industry due to cost or lack of near-term profit.
- These grants also train the next generation of scientists, sustain critical partnerships across institutions, and support research that underpins national policy, from trans fat bans to telehealth effectiveness.
Key quote:
“What we are losing is a future.”
— Glorian Sorensen, professor and co-director of a worker health and safety center at Harvard
Why this matters:
Shutting down nearly 900 research grants puts real-world public health, environmental policy, and future breakthroughs at risk. The consequences might not be seen today, but years from now, the impacts will be felt — in the therapies the world doesn't have, the gaps in climate data, the lives that could have been saved but weren't.Read more: An open letter from EPA staff to the American public
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