Marginalized populations experience disproportionate rates of preterm birth and early term birth. Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been reported to reduce length of gestation, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. In the present study, we characterized the molecular signatures of prenatal PFAS exposure and gestational age at birth outcomes in the newborn dried blood spot metabolome among 267 African American dyads in Atlanta, Georgia between 2016 and…
Toxic Tides and Environmental Injustice: Social Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise and Flooding of Hazardous Sites in Coastal California
Sea level rise (SLR) and heavy precipitation events are increasing the frequency and extent of coastal flooding, which can trigger releases of toxic chemicals from hazardous sites, many of which are in low-income communities of color. We used regression models to estimate the association between facility flood risk and social vulnerability indicators in low-lying block groups in California. We applied dasymetric mapping techniques to refine facility boundaries and population estimates…
Air Pollution in Africa and the African Diaspora
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section “Environmental Health“. This special issue “Air Pollution in Africa and the African Diaspora” sheds light on the severe air quality challenges faced in African countries, emphasizing the significant health risks associated with high levels of air pollution and underscoring the need for increased air quality monitoring, research capacity building, and international…
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Black Bodies and Green Spaces: Remembering the Eminence of Nature During a Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed not only the true value of nature and open public spaces, but it reified the presence and persistence of racism in and throughout American institutions. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials encouraged people to visit parks and green spaces as a way to be safe against COVID-19 transmission, the toxic presence and persistence of racism experienced by Black,…
New Article: What Does Chelsea Creek Do for You? A Relational Approach to Environmental Justice Communication
Historically, academic and government environmental justice (EJ) research and communication efforts have centered on quantifying, mapping, and visualizing the environmental harms faced by EJ communities (communities facing disproportionate levels of environmental harm). Unangax Education scholar Eve Tuck critiques such frameworks as “damage-centered” because they cast entire communities—predominantly low-income, BIPOC communities—as lacking or lesser. In this case study, we identify three core pitfalls of damage-centered research in government agency EJ projects—reification,…
New Article: Petro-Security State Power and the Imaginaries of Extremism: An Analysis of U.S. Critical Infrastructure Trespass Bills Targeting Anti-Pipeline Advocacy Movements
Petrochemical pipelines have taken center stage in public debates about the impacts of resource extraction dependencies and calls for greater participation in environmental governance. However, these concerns can run counter to the interests of the petrochemical industry and state security imaginaries that frame critics as threats. These imaginaries are evident in a suite of critical infrastructure (CI) trespass bills introduced by U.S. state legislatures implicating the activities of anti-pipeline protest…
New Article: Frontlining energy justice: Visioning principles for energy transitions from community-based organizations in the United States
“We review over 60 “visioning documents” authored by non-profits and frontline community members in the United States. These visions of energy justice – authored by the actors and communities that have historically organized energy justice programming – are largely absent in the energy justice literature, but they provide guidance on research and policy gaps. This article provides a review and thematic coding of visions for a just energy future, which…
New Article: Transit justice: community perceptions and anticipations of a new light rail transit line in Prince George’s County, Maryland, United States
Transit-oriented developments are increasingly important as they address many modern urban environment problems such as urban sprawl, pollution, and rising rates of non-communicable diseases. However, their implementation is difficult as cities are complex systems. Urban health improvements is a labyrinthian process as enhancements in one area often leads to several unintended side effects, such as transit-induced gentrification or injustice. The Purple Line Impact on Neighborhood, Health and Transit (PLIGHT) study…
Invited Perspective: What Do We Know about Fetal–Maternal Health and Health Care Needs after Wildfires? Not Nearly Enough
Although wildfires have always been a natural and necessary element of many ecosystems, they are becoming more frequent and more severe.1 This shift can be attributed to a combination of factors, including historical fire suppression, climate change, modifications to fuel loads across the landscape, and greater development at the wildlife–urban interface, which provides more opportunities for humans to ignite fires.2 Several studies show that exposure to wildfire smoke can increase premature…
New Article: Fisheries co-management in a digital age? An investigation of social media communications on the development of electronic monitoring for the Northeast US groundfish fishery
isheries regulators have increasingly incorporated video monitoring systems, also known as electronic monitoring, intoprograms for fisheries data collection and documentation of bycatch. Electronic monitoring has recently emerged as one potentialsolution for fisheries monitoring and catch accounting in the Northeast United States, where fisheries regulators will soon require all commercial groundfish trips to be monitored either by electronic monitoring or human observers. Fisheries managers, scientists, and industry stakeholders have cooperated to…