Another deadly consequence of climate change: The spread of dangerous diseases

By Brian Deese and Ronald A. Klain 30 May 2017 (The Washington Post) – With President Trump’s decision on U.S. participation in the Paris climate accords expected in the next few days, there has been widespread discussion of the many consequences that climate change will have for us and our children, including extreme weather events, […]

Act before time runs out, urges UNICEF, as Yemen grapples with unprecedented cholera outbreak – Cholera cases in Yemen may reach 130,000 in two weeks

2 June 2017 (United Nations) – With about 70,000 cholera cases reported with nearly 600 fatalities in Yemen, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that an already fire situation for children is turning into a disaster.“Cholera doesn’t need a permit to cross a checkpoint or a border, nor does it differentiate between areas […]

Trump’s EPA moves to dismantle programs that protect kids from lead paint

By Chris Mooney and Juliet Eilperin 5 April 2017 (The Washington Post) – Environmental Protection Agency officials are proposing to eliminate two programs focused on limiting children’s exposure to lead-based paint, which is known to cause damage to developing brains and nervous systems.The proposed cuts, outlined in a 64-page budget memo revealed by The Washington […]

Amid ‘alarming rise’ in obesity, UN study finds one in three European adolescents overweight

17 May 2017 (United Nations) – Citing eating habits, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours, the United Nations health agency launched a new publication today at the European Congress on Obesity in Portugal which revealed a rising number of obese adolescents in many countries across Europe. “Despite sustained efforts to tackle childhood obesity, one in three […]

The Mystery of the Wasting House-Cats – Feline hyperthyroidism was virtually nonexistent, but now it’s an epidemic, and some scientists think a class of everyday chemicals is to blame

By Emily Anthes16 May 2017 (The New York Times Magazine) – Most days, the back room of the Animal Endocrine Clinic in Manhattan is home to half a dozen cats convalescing in feline luxury. They lounge in their own individual “condos,” each equipped with a plush bed, a raised perch and a cozy box for […]

The plant next door: A Louisiana town plagued by pollution shows why cuts to the EPA will be measured in illnesses and deaths

By Sharon Lerner24 March 2017 (The Intercept) – When the Environmental Protection Agency informed people in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, last July that the local neoprene plant was emitting a chemical that gave them the highest risk of cancer from air pollution in the country, the information was received not just with horror […]

All the trees will die, and then so will you – Fusarium dieback is on track to kill 26.8 million trees across Southern California

By Adam Rogers9 May 2017 (Wired) – The polyphagous shot hole borer, a brown-black beetle from southeast Asia, never gets bigger than a tenth of an inch. It breeds inside trees; pregnant females drill into trunks to create networks of tunnels where they lay their eggs. The beetles also carry a fungus called Fusarium; it […]

Wasting disease devastates Alaska sea star populations – “The spread of the disease may be related to the unprecedented warm waters in the Gulf of Alaska in the past two years”

By Lauren Frisch5 May 2017 (UAF) – In one year, sea stars have almost disappeared from Kachemak Bay, Alaska. This is likely the aftermath of a sea star wasting disease episode. The disease causes lesions, and may result in the loss of arms, making a sea star look as if it is melting or decomposing. […]

Anti-vaccine activists spark a state’s worst measles outbreak in decades

By Lena H. Sun 5 May 2017 MINNEAPOLIS (The Washington Post) – The young mother started getting advice early on from friends in the close-knit Somali immigrant community here. Don’t let your children get the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella — it causes autism, they said. Suaado Salah listened. And this spring, her 3-year-old […]

Study finds there are four ways to reduce economic inequality: state collapse, pandemic, revolution, and “mass mobilization warfare”

By Ana Swanson 19 April 2017 (The Washington Post) – Rising economic inequality in the United States has been a major animating force on both the political left and the right. Whether it is Sen. Bernie Sanders promising to rebuild blue-collar communities or President Trump pledging to “make America great again,” today’s political platforms often […]

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