Chemicals

Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics

Biodiversity loss can seem like a remote and abstract problem that pales in comparison to climate worries. But award-winning author David Quammen sees them as coequal threats, along with emerging diseases, and encourages journalists to illuminate the relationships between them. His advice includes getting out of big cities to see the extinction crisis firsthand and weaving humor and hope into your writing.

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"Ranchers Are Using Toxic Herbicides to Clear Forests in Brazil"

"A destructive cocktail of herbicides, including a key compound in the lethal defoliant Agent Orange, is being used to chemically deforest huge areas of Brazil as ranchers there seek new, less detectable ways to clear forests for grazing cattle."

Source: Inside Climate News, 09/20/2024

NY State Lets Dangerous Chemical Foul Niagara Falls’ Air

"For at least 15 years, a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. chemical plant in Niagara Falls, New York, has been sending a pollutant that causes bladder cancer into the air at levels 1,000 percent higher than what state regulators now consider safe for the public to breathe, documents show."

Source: Public Health Watch, 09/19/2024

EPA Scientists Said They Were Pressured to Downplay Harms From Chemicals: IG

"Three reports issued by the agency’s inspector general detailed personal attacks suffered by the scientists — including being called “stupid,” “piranhas” and “pot-stirrers” — and called on the EPA to take “appropriate corrective action” in response."

Source: ProPublica, 09/19/2024

"How A California County Got PFAS Out Of Its Drinking Water"

"Yorba Linda is a small, sunny city southeast of Los Angeles. It’s perhaps best known for being the birthplace of President Richard Nixon. But in the past few years, Yorba Linda has picked up another distinction: It’s home to the nation’s largest per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) water treatment plant of its kind, according to the city."

Source: NPR, 09/18/2024

"The Mayflies Are Sending Us A Warning About Urban Wildfires"

"A tiny, vibrant world thrives along the rocky bottom of most streams. As sunlight filters through the water, mayfly nymphs, no larger than your fingernail, cling to algae-coated cobbles. Six spindly legs anchor them against the current, while feathery gills wave gently, drawing oxygen from the flowing water."

Source: Washington Post, 09/17/2024

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