Category: News

A new study connects present-day emissions burdens with historic discrimination in the U.S. housing market more than 80 years ago. Between the lines: It’s no secret that environmental health hazards aren’t equally distributed, with Americans of color disproportionately exposed to air pollution, but the mechanisms fueling some of these systemic inequities are typically less quantified. Driving the news: A study published Thursday in the journal Nature Energy measures the influence of redlining, a discriminatory housing practice, on fossil…

Continue reading “Historic redlining has enduring impact on power plant siting”

Eris Eady was scrolling through social media this week when she saw a news headline linking hair-straightening chemical products to an increased risk for uterine cancer. She paused. In the early 2000s, she worked as a cosmetologist and frequently used the products to straighten her hair and other women’s as well. Back then, she says, cosmetology schools rarely offered lessons in how to take care of Black women’s natural hair…

Continue reading “When it comes to their hair, Black women face a difficult choice”

Growing up in neighborhoods perceived as unsafe is linked to disordered sleep in adulthood, in new findings that suggest improving neighborhood safety can have long-term benefits on sleep quality. “Our study expands upon previous findings by demonstrating a possible link between neighborhood environments in childhood and sleep health during adulthood,” lead author Symielle Gaston, PhD, MPH, research fellow with the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS), Durham, North Carolina,…

Continue reading “Growing Up in Unsafe Neighborhoods Tied to Poor Sleep in Adults”

Workmen have invaded Flora Dillard’s house on the east side of Cleveland. There’s plastic over everything and no place to sit, but Dillard doesn’t seem to mind. “A couple of days of inconvenience is nothing, compared to the results that you get,” she says. She’ll benefit, and so might the climate. The workers have plugged cracks around the foundation and rerouted an air vent to reduce the risk that mold…

Continue reading “What’s The Best Way To Help The Climate And People, Too? Home Improvement”

Dow Chemical is working with Suez Water to devise a groundwater testing procedure that will continue for at least the next five years. After that, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees Reich Farm, will decide if more testing is needed. Read more.

As the fight for environmental justice intensifies in the Washington area, a new breed of community activist has emerged: the citizen scientist. They are ordinary residents using a basic understanding of civics and science in service to the health of their communities. Read More