Category: Public health
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EPA Issues Emergency Order to Stop Use of Pesticide Dacthal to Address Serious Health Risk
WASHINGTON – Today, Aug. 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the emergency suspension of all registrations of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This is the first time in almost 40 years EPA has taken this type of emergency action, following several years of unprecedented efforts…
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STANFORD NEWS: A new approach to the problem of water affordability
Soaring water utility bills force many households to ration water use for essential needs while still falling behind on payments. Stanford scientists offer a new approach to measuring water affordability that could help utilities and government agencies identify and aid those most at risk. Rising water prices are forcing many households in the United States…
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The Uneven Distribution of AI’s Environmental Impacts
Summary: The training process for a single AI model, such as an LLM, can consume thousands of megawatt hours of electricity and emit hundreds of tons of carbon. AI model training can also lead to the evaporation of an astonishing amount of freshwater into the atmosphere for data center heat rejection, potentially exacerbating stress on…
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What’s the Deal With Toxic Algae?
Algae Blooms on the Farmington River, Connecticut | Farmington River Watershed Association It’s summer, prime season to play in rivers and lakes. Unfortunately, summer is also toxic algae season, which impacts our ability to enjoy our public waters. Toxic algae are actually a type of bacteria often referred to as “algae” because it looks similar.…
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Debate flares over how quickly to replace many lead service lines
Workmen prepare to replace older water pipes with a new copper one in Newark, N.J., on Oct. 21, 2021. Seth Wenig/AP With the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest — and strictest — plan to minimize the risk of Americans drinking lead-contaminated water on the horizon, the debate over whether the agency’s proposed rules go too far…
