Community resilience for climate change-related natural disasters

By Leila Waid. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1 and will end on November 30, has already produced many storms and hurricanes that have left a trail of devastation in the U.S. Florida was hit by back-to-back hurricanes, Helene and Milton, within a two-week span. Experts warn that these repeated traumatic exposures to natural disasters can have a tremendous impact on mental health and emotional well-being. In May 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)predicted the 2024 hurricane season would be “above-normal,” in part due

Read More »

Environmental Costs of Artificial Intelligence

By Stephen Lester. A recent article in the Washington Post painted a very clear picture of the enormous amount of energy being used by data centers to fuel the exploding world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to the article, roughly 25% of all Americans have used ChatGPT (an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI) since it was released in 2022. These chatbots use massive amounts of energy to respond to questions on-line. Keeping these computers operating means keeping them cool and that is taking a significant toll on the environment.

Read More »

Climate Migrants & Hurricanes

By Sharon Franklin. Before recent hurricanes that have reduced towns and cities in the Southeast, there was a trend for Americans most affected by the climate crisis to move to the Midwest.  Now, the question is.. Will there be more?   In a recent article by Stephen Starr, Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/22/climate-crisis-americans-move-midwest he noted that the 65,000 person city of Muncie, Indiana may not be the most exciting place in the world,  because it doesn’t have beaches, or year-round warm weather, it is now home to Laura Rivas, a former resident of

Read More »

Climate Change and the Impact on Maternal Health

By Leila Waid. Climate change is already having an enormous impact on our world. All individuals are at risk from the debilitating effects of climate change due to an increase in events such as heat waves, flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters. However, some individuals are more at risk than others and face higher disparities, such as pregnant women and neonates.  One of the most significant consequences of climate change already being felt are the overbearing heat waves that roll in summer after summer. And every year, it just seems

Read More »

A Compensation Program for First Responders, Cleanup Workers and Others Impacted by the Toxic Cloud Released by the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers in New York

By Stephen Lester. Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the horrific attacks on the United States that resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and 6,000 injuries when al-Qaida hijackers crashed four jetliners into the twin towers in New York City, the Pentagon and a field in southwest Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.  The legacy of the events from that day continues for the first responders, volunteers and nearby residents in New York City who were exposed to the toxic cloud that resulted when the two World Trade Center buildings collapsed. These

Read More »

“A National Sacrifice Zone” Radioactive Waste Problems In St. Louis

By Sharon Franklin. Reporters have found an increased cancer risk for some people who, as children, played in a creek contaminated with uranium waste.  This has caused a grade school to close amid radiation concerns. A landfill operator is spending millions to keep underground smoldering from reaching nuclear waste illegally dumped in the 1970s, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press.  Both the federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis. Missouri area in the mid-20th century were aware

Read More »
Blog Roll
Greenpeace’s The Witness
Grist
Groovy Green
Healthy Child Healthy World
Inside Prevention
It’s Getting Hot in Here
Moms Rising
Pharos
Safe Mama
Safer Chemicals Healthy Families
The Soft Landing
Treehugger
Zero Waste World