16 hours agoWe, as a Nation, Are Failing Black Children: A Call to ActionBy Jacqui Patterson and Nsedu Obot Witherspoon We are mamas, aunties, and sisters. We are public health practitioners, racial justice activists, and social justice champions. And we are raising the alarm about the plight of Black children in these United States. To this end, today, we announce the release of…Racism4 min read
Published in Island Press·6 days agoCalls to boost natural gas can’t ignore fuel combustion’s deadly impactsby Shelley Robbins Natural gas is in the headlines as the war in Ukraine continues, cementing the U.S. as the world leader in gas exports. At home, groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce argue for more gas-fired power, citing the need for reliability in advance of the summer cooling season. Not…Natural Gas4 min read
Published in Island Press·6 days agoIs It Time to Reimagine the American Schoolyard?by Rochelle Davis and Gerald W. Adelmann Harold Washington Elementary School in the Burnside neighborhood on the south side of Chicago got a new schoolyard in 2020. It features a running track, sports fields and playground equipment — but what Washington’s Principal Sherri Walker likes best are the little conversational groupings of rocks. “It’s so special for…Schools5 min read
Published in Island Press·6 days agoPlastic is littering our environment and our bodiesby Pragya Rai You may have seen the now-iconic video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw lodged in its nose. It is well known that plastic has invaded every corner of the planet, from Mt. Everest, the tallest peak on Earth, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean. …Plastic4 min read
Published in Island Press·May 9Lead in Water Harms Red States, Tooby Maureen Cunningham Lead in drinking water is an urgent national problem, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to certain members of Congress. This neurotoxin known to cause devastating cognitive and behavioral problems is especially harmful for infants and children. Today, there are an estimated 10 million lead pipes carrying — and…Water3 min read
Published in Island Press·Apr 25How to help communities step back from the coast as sea levels riseby Jeff Peterson The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released a discouraging new assessment of sea-level rise along the American coast. Press reports focused on the near-term estimates of up to 2 feet of sea-level rise by 2050. Hundreds of thousands of homes and parts of hundreds of communities will be…4 min read
Published in Island Press·Apr 14How the Justice40 Accelerator Builds Community Groups’ Capacity to Receive Federal Fundingby Laurie Mazur The Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative was created with communities like Highland Park, Michigan, in mind. Launched in 2021, Justice40 aims to deliver 40% of federal investments in climate resilience and clean energy to “disadvantaged communities.” By some definitions, Highland Park qualifies as “disadvantaged.” A municipality outside the City of Detroit…Policy6 min read
Published in Island Press·Apr 13Building a culture of health in the era of climate changeby Samantha Hamilton Climate change affects all Americans, but people of color and low-income communities are hit first and worst. For Emma Woods of Springfield, Massachusetts, this wasn’t news. Woods’ working class, predominantly African American and Latinx neighbors already suffer from higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and diabetes than those in whiter…Health6 min read
Published in Island Press·Apr 12To fight climate change, education is keyby Vihaan Mathur and Odessa Zhang On the day he was sworn into office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared he would pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate effort to cap carbon emissions from power plants. The question is: Does anybody care? Why has Youngkin faced so little resistance, especially from young people…Climate Change3 min read
Published in Island Press·Apr 11Infrastructure funding offers unprecedented opportunity to build community-level climate resilienceby Mark Rupp Last month, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report. At the core of the report is a stark warning that, to date, our efforts to adapt to the changing climate are not enough to protect people and ecosystems around the globe. But here in the…Infrastructure5 min read