Environmental Health

"All U.S. cities experience some level of “heat island effect,” in which heat reflects off hard surfaces, intensifying the impact of the hottest days. But as climate change intensifies, nine U.S. cities are special islands unto themselves, according to an analysis released Wednesday that coincides with a heat wave enveloping much of the nation."

"President Biden will announce new measures on Thursday aimed at helping communities across the country deal with extreme weather, as rising temperatures scorch much of the country and amplify alarms about the climate crisis."

"Since 2011, there have been more human swine flu cases reported in the United States than anywhere else in the world. Most have occurred at farm-animal showcases."

"A federal appeals court said Tuesday that EPA went too far when it subjected an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands to a costly, multiyear permitting process in order to restart operations."

"Baltimore City has refused to comply with a directive from state and federal environmental regulators that it expand the scope of a program that helps residents clean up after sewage backs up into their homes."

"California is poised to become the first state in the country to adopt special measures to protect workers who make kitchen and bathroom countertops out of a popular kind of artificial stone known as "quartz.""

"A deadly heat wave continues across the Southwest, and an often forgotten group of people affected are prisoners. Many inmates struggle to stay cool in aging facilities, including in Texas — where some 100,000 prisoners live in large facilities that lack air conditioning."

"A heat wave that has brought triple-digit temperatures to the Southwest for weeks is expected to expand this week to cover most of the country."

"Each year, Philadelphia's waterways are forced to swallow a dirty mix containing 15 billion gallons of untreated sewage and rainwater during storms because of an antiquated city system, according to a report released Thursday by PennEnvironment."

"It was half past midnight on March 11 when a cacophony of sirens and shouting jolted Emilio Vasquez and his family from a sound sleep. “Get out of your houses immediately!” a voice barked in Spanish through a bullhorn. “The water is coming!”"