By Erik D. Olson and Lena Brook We live in partisan times, as anyone who had to sit through Thanksgiving dinner with distant relatives can probably attest. But even your crazy uncle would agree that the safety of our food shouldn’t be a partisan issue. No one wants their child to get sick from eating […]
By Clara Chaisson The people of Rotterdam know a thing or two about living with water. In fact, it’s right there in the name—the Dutch city dates back to the 13th century, when the Rotte River was dammed, making it possible to safely settle nearby. “When I was a boy, I wasn’t even allowed to […]
By Patrick Rogers The fact that nature and nation share a common root—the Latin verb nasci, “to be born”—might rate as trivia to most people. But in the context of early American art, at least, the connection has profound cultural meaning. Paintings of natural vistas, from New York’s Hudson Valley to the purple mountains and […]
As he’s wont to do, President Donald Trump on Monday tweeted a World Health Organization (WHO) map of particulate pollution and said that the U.S. has the “cleanest air in the world – BY FAR!” Trump’s tweet “shows how maps can be used to misrepresent facts and conclusions,” as John Walke, director of a clean […]
By Patrick Rogers Lizzie Carr was navigating a stretch of the Hudson River north of Yonkers, New York, recently when she spotted it—a hunk of plastic so large and out of place that she was momentarily at a loss to describe it. The sloping side helped her put her finger on it: It was an […]
Two days after World Food Day, an innovative nonprofit has launched a website to help you reduce the environmental impact of the food you eat. FoodPrint, designed by GRACE Communications Foundation, was created to educate consumers about everything that goes into common food items, from farm to fridge, so that they can make sustainable choices. […]
Total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 2.7 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to a report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on Wednesday. Andrew Wheeler, the acting administrator of the EPA, touted that the report shows that regulations are unnecessary to slash carbon emissions. “Thanks to President Trump’s regulatory reform […]
By Lena Brook Less than two weeks ago, JBS USA, one of our country’s largest meat processors, announced a high-risk recall of nearly 7 million pounds of its raw beef, over concerns it may be contaminated with Salmonella Newport. Nearly 60 patients in 16 states have so far been made sick. This recent outbreak of […]
Under pressure from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and other environmental and public health groups, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned seven substances used in artificial flavors that have been linked to cancer in animals. “Chemicals that could cause cancer should never have been allowed in our food in the first place, especially […]