"Coal-fired power plants across the country released more mercury last year as power demand surged, reversing a yearslong downward trend in the emissions of a toxic metal that impairs brain development."
Today’s teens are growing up in a world of conspicuous climate change, often directly affected by its consequences. Despite their youth, some are at the forefront of the fight against this threat. Freelance journalist and author Meera Subramanian — co-creator of a new nonfiction graphic novel about young climate campaigners — on teens as sources, activism as a topic and the pleasures of collaboration. See a sample of the book.
"In Benin, mangroves are said to be protected by the Zangbéto. In the Vodun belief, this deity forbids wood cutting, under penalty of a curse. As a result, in 10 years, more than 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of mangroves have been preserved thanks to this spiritual practice, which protects fragile and vital ecosystems."
"Warming ocean waters are priming beaches and raw shellfish for Vibrio even as scientists are trying to stay one step ahead"
"Thousands of Milwaukee children are growing up with poison in their blood. It courses through their veins, cements in their bones and threatens to rob them of impulse control, learning ability and physical health."
"The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official."
"A recent Supreme Court decision allowing a soldier to sue a military contractor in state court undercuts the Trump administration’s efforts to erase state climate laws, New York state and a coalition of environmental groups contend."
"Microsoft Corp. may shelve one of the industry’s most ambitious clean-energy targets as it tries to remove hurdles that could hold it back in the race to power data centres, according to people with knowledge of the matter."
"The U.S. Geological Survey announced a massive lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains, large enough to replace years of imports of the mineral." "While the figure is an official USGS estimate, extracting the mineral poses major technical and environmental challenges."
"More than 12 million people now have Parkinson’s Disease, nearly double the number from just six years ago. From kids who pedaled behind mosquito trucks in the 1950s and ‘60s to veterans exposed to Agent Orange to landscapers and farmers who attribute their Parkinson’s to pesticides, a generation of elders–and increasing numbers of young-onset patients–now suffer from what we didn’t know about chemicals in the 20th Century. "
