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“Fumes Across the Fence Line” – Causes and Effects of Environmental Racism

"Fumes Across the Fence Line” - Documenting the Causes and Effects of Environmental Racism, and Asking: What are the Next Steps?

A study released in November of 2017 produced by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and the National Medical Association (NMA) “Fumes Across the Fence-line” shows for the first time with empirical data that pollution disproportionately affects communities of color. The 36-page study links pollutants emitted by gas or oil facilities near communities of color to high rates of asthma … [more…]

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Water: How farmers meet the challenge of too little, too much

Water: How farmers meet the challenge of too little, too much

Leslie Dyment, at Crow Hill Farm in Cameron.

Farmers have been concerned about water issues for as long as human beings have been growing crops. From the irrigation ditches of the ancient near east, to the flooding of ancient Egypt, the lack of water, or too much of it, has shaped the rhythms of farming life.

As a result, farmers throughout history have developed various strategies related to water.

Some … [more…]

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U.S. drinking water supply mostly safe, but that’s not good enough

The US drinking water supply is mostly safe, but that’s not good enough

Most Americans take clean drinking water for granted as a convenience of modern life. The United States has one of the world’s safest drinking water supplies, but new challenges constantly emerge.

For example, on May 6 researchers at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University reported that 43 states have sites where water is contaminated with toxic fluorinated compounds known as PFAS. And many farm workers in California’s Central … [more…]

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The battle for the rights of nature heats up in the Great Lakes

The battle for the rights of nature heats up in the Great Lakes

Photo: Algae floats on the surface of Lake Erie’s Maumee Bay in Oregon, Ohio, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. (AP/Paul Sancya)

In February, the voters of Toledo, Ohio, passed a ballot initiative that gives Lake Erie and those who rely on the lake’s ecosystem a bill of rights. The idea is to protect and preserve the ecosystem so that the life that depends on it — humans included — can

… [more…]