Category: Health
-
Extreme heat + air pollution can be deadly, with the health risk together worse than either alone
Erika Garcia, University of Southern California; Md Mostafijur Rahman, University of Southern California, and Rob Scot McConnell, University of Southern California On the morning news, you see the weather forecast is for high heat, and there is an “excessive heat watch” for later in the week. You were hoping the weather would cool down, but…
-
Food security ‘experts’ don’t have all the answers: community knowledge is key
Scott Drimie, Stellenbosch University and Michelle Eichinger, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam South Africa is in the grips of a food system paradox. It’s a country known for its agricultural production and has a sophisticated policy framework. Yet, millions of its residents are malnourished. Nearly one in four children are stunted as a result of their mother’s…
-
World Food Systems are in Crisis, and Big Agribusiness is at its Heart
By Lorena Cotza & Ouafa Haddioui, originally posted on OpenDemocracy, CC BY-NC 4.0 Article also available in Portuguese Public finance has a key role to play in agriculture. Instead of propping up corporate interests, it should learn from local producers In 2017, the people of Zagora, Morocco, took to the streets in what became known…
-
What Can Unions Do Now to Defend Abortion Rights?
By Sarah Hughes, originally posted on LaborNotes The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on June 24 overturned the Roe v. Wade precedent, erasing the constitutional right to an abortion. Already for years, large parts of the U.S. have severely restricted abortion—especially hurting those least likely to have resources to travel for care, including poor, Black,…
-
How to destroy a ‘forever chemical’
scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn’t going away soon A. Daniel Jones, Michigan State University and Hui Li, Michigan State University PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets…
-
As heat waves intensify, tens of thousands of US classrooms will be too hot for students to learn in
Paul Chinowsky, University of Colorado Boulder Rising temperatures due to climate change are causing more than just uncomfortably hot days across the United States. These high temperatures are placing serious stress on critical infrastructure such as water supplies, airports, roads and bridges. One category of critical infrastructure being severely affected is the nation’s K-12 schools.…
-
Hot and getting hotter – 5 essential reads on high temps and human bodies
Leah Samuel, The Conversation Launching the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) and the heat.gov site on July 26, 2022, the Biden administration cited heat waves and the warming climate as serious health threats. As the new initiative promises a “science informed response” to hotter conditions, five stories from The Conversation’s archive explain what…
-
Knowing our history means being able to continue the struggles
Originally published on komun-academy.com (now defunct), CC BY-NC-SA The Initiative “History and Resistance” introduces itself Who are the democratic forces in the history of the German-speaking world? What traces have they leave us? How did people live and organise before the emergence of the national state, which happened here comparatively late? These and many more…
-
Earth’s Ecological Boundaries have been Violated. Here are 5 Steps toward Healing.
Article by Liz Kimbrough, originally published on Mongabay According to experts, we have passed the planetary boundary for land systems change — the human-caused loss of forest — and risk destabilizing Earth’s operating systems. Scientists calculate we must retain 85% of tropical and boreal forests, and 50% of temperate forests, to stay within Earth’s “safe…
-
‘Children Are Not Little Adults’ and Need Special Protection During Heatwaves
By Emmarie Huetteman, published originally at Kaiser Health News After more than a week of record-breaking temperatures across much of the country, public health experts are cautioning that children are more susceptible to heat illnessthan adults are — even more so when they’re on the athletic field, living without air conditioning, or waiting in a parked…
MASSolidarity.org 