Environmental Health

"California has sharply cut its enforcement of heat-protection laws for outdoor laborers while extreme heat has intensified in recent years — endangering farmworkers, construction workers and others who toil in scorching temperatures — an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and Capital & Main has found."

"A US foundation associated with the oil company Shell has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to religious right and conservative organizations, many of which deny that climate change is a crisis, tax records reveal."

"British energy giant Drax Global, already under scrutiny for running afoul of environmental laws in multiple states, has disclosed to the state of Louisiana that its wood pellet production facilities emit hazardous air pollutants above their permitted limits."

"Deaths from heat are notoriously difficult to quantify because of how complex and subjective the process is. It leaves officials with an incomplete picture of who heat kills."

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it will expand bird-flu testing of beef entering the food supply as part of its response to the ongoing outbreak among dairy cattle, adding that U.S. beef and dairy products remain safe to consume."

"A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit from petrochemical manufacturers against an EPA rule that targets cancer-causing emissions from chemical plants."

"In Gaza, the sky is full of menace. As well as the missiles that rain down on schools and shelters, the brutal rays of the sun have made the summer unbearable for those struggling to survive in a ravaged landscape of ruins and rubble."

"After Donald Trump asked the oil industry to contribute $1 billion to his presidential campaign in April, oil baron Harold Hamm immediately started working the phones."

"As this year’s temperatures continue to break records, farmworkers who toil in the heat remain one of the groups most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses. But another element of their jobs is making extreme heat even more dangerous: pesticide drift."

"Drought-driven drinking water contamination is disproportionately affecting members of California’s Latino communities, a new study has found."