Tag: public health

• July 15, 2024

  Beat the Heat: How US Workers Are Winning Fans, AC, and Even Heat Pay

  

  In 2022, the latest year for which we have data, 43 U.S. workers lost their lives to heat on the job. That’s up from 36 in 2021, and we can expect this cruel number to keep climbing. But from warehouses to coffeehouses to construction sites, workers using solidarity and creative action—even without the protection of a union…
• August 2, 2023

  How to stay cool in hot weather

  

  Though access to air conditioning helps prevent deaths from heat, relying mainly on AC may not be an ideal solution. In urban areas with a lot of AC use, waste heat from the units can make the local environment even hotter. And the carbon pollution caused by running AC can fuel further climate change, leading…
• August 1, 2023

  Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave

  

  Extreme heat disasters like this are becoming increasingly common in regions where high heat used to be rare. Blackouts during severe heat waves can also leave residents who believe they are protected because they have in home air conditioners at unexpected risk. To prepare, cities, neighborhoods, companies and individuals can take steps now that can…
• March 1, 2023

  Seven ways to protect your health when cooking with gas

  

  By Prashant Kumar, University of Surrey for The Conversation Cooking can pollute the air inside your house to such an extent that breathing in your kitchen may be as safe as breathing by a busy roadside. A poor supply of oxygen can prevent gas or solid fuels burning properly, which produces harmful pollutants such as…