At around 9 p.m. local time on Friday, Feb. 3, a freight train transporting 20 cars worth of hazardous materials derailed in the town of East Palestine, Ohio, near the state’s border with Pennsylvania. The derailment sparked a fire and forced 1,500 to 2,000 people to evacuate. It also raised concerns about the lingering public […]
The crackle and glow of a wood stove may be comforting, but the pollution it produces is pretty frightening. Burning wood releases high levels of toxins into the environment, creating localized pollution hot spots. Even in newer wood stoves that are certified, many of the harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke are emitted by wood […]
Zero-waste refers to principles of minimizing waste production as much as possible. Béa Johnson of Zero Waste Home calls the framework for zero-waste the 5 Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot.
Los Angeles County banned new oil drilling and set a 20-year phase-out of existing wells in late January. The unanimous Board of Supervisors vote followed similar ordinances passed by Culver City in 2021 and Los Angeles City in 2022. Oil and gas wells are located near more than a million people throughout LA county and […]
Urban planners could save lives by planting more trees. A new study published in The Lancet Tuesday found that increasing the tree cover to 30 percent in 93 European cities could have prevented 2,644 heat-related deaths over a summer period. “We already know that high temperatures in urban environments are associated with negative health outcomes, […]
In a pilot program in the Bronx, New York, a switch from gas stoves to induction stoves led to a 35% decline in nitrogen dioxide, as well as a decrease in average carbon monoxide concentrations. Additionally, controlled cooking tests found higher amounts of air pollution for apartments with gas stoves. The pilot program, conducted by […]
In basic terms, plant-based diets are composed mostly or entirely of plants: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. Contrary to its colloquial usage, “plant-based” doesn’t automatically mean “vegan.”
As awareness grows of the spread and health impacts of the toxic forever chemicals known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), more and more U.S. states are taking steps to regulate them.