Environmental Health

Gas Piped Into Homes Contains Benzene, Other Risky Chemicals: Study

"The natural gas delivered to homes contains low concentrations of several chemicals linked to cancer, a new study found. Researchers also found inconsistent levels of odorants — substances that give natural gas its characteristic “rotten egg” smell — which could increase the risk of small leaks going undetected."

Source: NYTimes, 06/28/2022

How 'Rights of Nature' Is Recasting the Relationship Between Law and the Earth

In 2006, a local government council in Pennsylvania concerned about sewage sludge dumping enacted the Western legal system’s first formal “rights of nature” instrument. Today, numerous countries have laws recognizing specific rights or even legal personhood for nature. As legal expert Alice Bleby explains, this new perspective arises from a wide range of contexts and plays out in many different ways.

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"Heat Waves Around the World Push People and Nations ‘To the Edge’"

"Millions of Americans are once again in the grips of dangerous heat. Hot air blanketed Europe last weekend, causing parts of France and Spain to feel the way it usually does in July or August. High temperatures scorched northern and central China even as heavy rains caused flooding in the country’s south. Some places in India began experiencing extraordinary heat in March, though the start of the monsoon rains has brought some relief."

Source: NYTimes, 06/27/2022

"U.S. Monkeypox Response Mirrors Early Coronavirus Missteps, Experts Say"

"Public health experts, including within the Biden administration, are increasingly concerned that the federal government’s handling of the largest-ever U.S. monkeypox outbreak is mirroring its cumbersome response to the coronavirus pandemic 2½ years ago, with potentially dire consequences."

Source: Washington Post, 06/24/2022

"U.S. To Expand Monkeypox Testing At Commercial Labs As Outbreak Grows"

"The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is authorizing commercial laboratories to conduct monkeypox tests in an attempt to dramatically expand testing as the United States confronts a record outbreak that experts fear is far larger than the official count of 156 cases."

Source: Washington Post, 06/23/2022

"Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Roundup Maker Over Cancer Claims"

"The Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a multimillion-dollar verdict against the manufacturer of the popular weedkiller Roundup for failing to warn of cancer risks. The decision by the justices not to intervene clears the way for thousands of similar lawsuits against the company Bayer."

Source: Washington Post, 06/22/2022

"U.N. Nature Summit Set For Montreal as COVID-Hit China Steps Aside"

"U.N. negotiations to seal a global pact to protect nature - already delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic - are set to be moved to Canada in December after an agreement was made with host nation China, environmentalists said on Monday."

Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn., 06/21/2022

"In An Unusual Step, a Top Medical Journal Weighs in on Climate Change"

"For years, research journals devoted to the earth sciences have warned of the dire consequences that could result from global warming and pollution going unchecked. Now, one of the nation’s oldest medical journals has committed itself to increasing the public’s knowledge about the health effects of the planet’s changing climate."

Source: Inside Climate News, 06/21/2022

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