All posts tagged "Environmentalhealth"

NEW YORK — As the air quality rapidly deteriorated and a thick layer of smoke descended on New York City these last days, Mayor Eric Adams called for people to stay indoors. Not everyone could. Not unlike during the days of COVID-19 lockdowns, those who deliver food, respond to 911 calls and sell lunches on the street pushed through the public health emergency amid smoky haze and dangerous air. “People have been really struggling, said Mohamed Attia, executive director at the Street Vendor Project. “We’re seeing people working, like the vendors that are out there. I haven’t seen any area where......

Would you rather be buried or cremated when you die? If you feel the way I do, the answer is neither. I cringe at the thought of my body burning up at well over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit or being pumped full of toxic chemicals and spending the rest of eternity in a cramped box 6 feet underground. So here’s another question: How do you feel about having your body reduced to compost and used to plant a tree, grow flowers, or repair depleted soil in a forest? Human composting doesn’t mean you’re tossed into a bin with potato peels, crushed eggshells, and coffee grounds. Rather, you’d be placed in ......

VISALIA, Calif. — Bryan Ruiz moved his family into a newly built home in this Central Valley farming center seven months ago and almost immediately found they were under assault. Mosquitoes bit and harassed them in broad daylight. He looked around, trying to find a water source where they were breeding, and noticed a freshly dug pipe, meant to drain water from the backyard to the front. He lifted its cap and inside found a small puddle in the drainage line, which didn’t have enough slope to fully empty. He grabbed a turkey baster and drew water, already knowing what he would find: the larvae o......

PORTLAND, Ore. — Don Myron is probably best known as the guy who survived one of the deadliest fires in Oregon’s history by sheltering overnight in a river with a patio chair. So there was never any question that Myron would rebuild his home in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon after the house was destroyed in the Labor Day wildfires of 2020. The well Myron shared with nearby homeowners was no longer available, which meant one of his first tasks was to drill his own new source for drinking water. “It's hard to rebuild without water,” Myron said. “It's hard to do anything without water. It was a priority......

This story also ran on U.S. News & World Report. It can be republished for free. San Francisco restaurant owners, already simmering over covid-19 restrictions, are ready to boil over because of a city ban on natural gas stoves in new buildings that takes effect in June. The ban, which also affects other gas appliances, is part of a statewide campaign aimed at reducing climate change-feeding carbon emissions as well as health hazards from indoor gas exposure. A similar ban went into effect in Berkeley in 2020; Oakland and San Jose recently passed similar measures, and other California cities ar......