Last month, Facebook announced its new $750 million data center will be located in New Albany, Ohio, just north of Columbus. Why did the social media giant choose this particular spot? Apparently, Facebook likes clean energy, stating, “The availability of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar and hydro, was critical to the decision.” And Facebook […]

Written by Diane MacEachern

Most of us live in homes that suffer from some sort of indoor pollution contamination. While the situation usually isn’t dire, in this day and age, given what we know about household chemicals and how they affect our health and that of our kids, it also seems unnecessary.

Once you see the Healthy Home designed by Victoria Di Iorio, you’ll know it’s unnecessary. Di Iorio is the founder of the Healthy Home Initiative. In partnership with the American Lung Association and Dior Builders, Di Iorio has designed a model home that prioritizes wellness, energy-efficiency, and even a bit of luxury. Called Healthy Home 2017, it will be the very first home in the nation built under newly revised American Lung Association Health House™ guidelines.

The house, which will open to the public in October in Barrington, IL, uses state-of-the-art materials and methods to reduce if not eliminate indoor air pollutants, mold and moisture build-up, use of toxic chemicals, and hazardous combustion sources. Among the features that make a difference are:

• Use of FOREVERBOARD, a healthy alternative to drywall that lessens the vulnerability of the material to water, fire, insects, mold and mildew.
• Rockwool insulation
• A smart electrical system designed to avoid electromagnetic radiation
• An energy efficient HVAC system equipped with IQAir Perfect 16 Whole House HEPA filtration
• Gaggenau energy-saving appliances
• TOTO WaterSense water-saving toilets (Here’s a quick blurb on the TOTO WaterSense toilet I put in my powder room.)
• Lead-free plumbing
• GREENGUARD Gold certified cabinets and countertops
• Hard flooring (as opposed to laminate)
• Natural and organic bedding
• Non-toxic furniture

Neither the flooring nor the furniture nor the cabinets will emit formaldehyde, a carcinogen that is frequently found in the laminate wood that many cabinets and flooring are made of.

“Exposure to indoor air pollutants – smoke, radon, dust, mold and other pollutants – can pose serious health risks and can contribute to respiratory disease, asthma and even lung cancer,” says Harold Wimmer, President & CEO of the American Lung Association.

The Association’s updated Health House™ guidelines showcase indoor air pollutants besides radon, the leading cause of death in private homes, along with mold and moisture control concerns. They also address toxic combustion sources such as boilers, furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, and smoking, all of which will be considered in the construction of Healthy Home 2017.

Healthy Home Initiative Founder Victoria Di Iorio notes, “We are going beyond the notion of what is sustainable and perceived to be healthy and creating a real-life model of what a truly healthy home should be, from foundation to food.”

In addition to Di Iorio and the folks at the American Lung Association, a select group of industry professionals are working on the house because they “collectively believe that more needs to be done to create healthier living environments, especially for children, who are particularly susceptible to health risks.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetimes, 7 million of which are children. For many sufferers, asthma attacks can be triggered by indoor pollutants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that concentrations of indoor pollutants can be two to five times higher than those found outdoors. Research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, a fact that has made homeowners, especially those who battle asthma or whose kids do, increasingly concerned about indoor air quality. About one in 11 school-aged children suffer from asthma, with the rate rising more rapidly in preschool-aged children than in any other age group.

NOTE: If you’re building or renovating a home, make sure to check out the “Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Builder,” per the recommendations of the American Lung Association. The questions include “What filtration systems do you use in the houses you build?” and “What type of furnishings and finishes do you use in your houses?”

The program is also building a list of “preferred products” you can use as a reference guide and  share with your builder or contractor.

TELL CONGRESS: NOBODY VOTED TO MAKE AMERICA DIRTY AGAIN

SaveSave

SaveSave

By Richie Ahuja

By Meghna Agarwala, Post-doctoral Research Scientist of Columbia University, and Richie Ahuja, EDF Regional Director of Asia

Degraded forest in Karnataka, India

Clean-burning cookstoves powered by biogas help surrounding forests grow and regenerate, according to a new study by Columbia University scientists.

The study in India finds that forest biomass and regeneration increased significantly after 10 years of introducing biogas stoves; because the stoves run off the gas produced by decomposing cow manure, they eliminate the need for cutting down trees and lopping them for firewood.

This new finding suggests that biogas stoves, in addition to their role in improving indoor air quality, impacting household nutrition, and reducing carbon emissions, may help India reach its climate goals around improving forest cover and increasing carbon sequestration.

Cookstoves in India

About 41% households in India are dependent on fuelwood as their source of cooking, according to the 2011 Census of India survey. However, burning fuelwood for cooking increases indoor air pollution, exacerbates health issues, contributes to climate change, and destroys wildlife habitat.

Since the 1980s, aid organizations and governments have been installing biogas stoves in some regions in India to reduce the impacts from indoor air pollution and reduce carbon emissions, but these have largely failed due to poor post-installation support.

Results from study

Published in Global Ecology and Conservation, the new study compared forest biomass and regeneration in the areas around villages using biogas or wood for fuel in the Indian state of Karnataka.

The study shows that people dependent on fuelwood for cooking reduce their fuelwood use when provided with a viable alternative, the biogas stove. Switching to biogas allowed the surrounding forests to recover.

The findings have great significance for India, which committed in its national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement to increasing its forest cover to enhance carbon sequestration. India is also working on delivering clean cooking systems for people through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and biogas programs around the country.

Forest regrowth is, of course, contingent on many other factors besides how much fuelwood is taken from forests. For example, in some locations, forest may not regrow despite biogas stove use, as the ecosystem may have already been damaged so much that it needs active restoration. Also, since biogas technology is dependent on ownership of cattle, this scheme does not work for people who are too poor to own cattle, or in areas where there isn’t enough rainfall for people to own cattle.

This study can help policymakers understand how clean cooking programs can support India’s – and other governments’ – targets of improving forest cover and carbon sequestration.

If conditions are right, and if done at scale and implemented in a way that promotes long-term change, shifting households from burning fuelwood to cleaner technologies can help forests grow and can help countries such as India achieve their climate goals.

Clean-burning cookstoves powered by biogas help surrounding forests grow and regenerate, according to a new study by Columbia University scientists.

Clean-burning cookstoves powered by biogas help surrounding forests grow and regenerate, according to a new study by Columbia University scientists.

By Tom Neltner

Tom Neltner, J.D., is Chemicals Policy Director and Dr. Ananya Roy is Health Scientist

This week, Environmental Health Perspectives published an important article by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that sheds important light on the various sources of children’s lead exposure. Led by Valerie Zaltarian, the article shares an innovative multimedia model to quantify and compare relative contributions of lead from air, soil/dust, water and food to children’s blood lead level. The model couples existing SHEDS and IEUBK models to predict blood lead levels using information on concentrations of lead in different sources, intake and gut absorption. The predicted blood lead levels compared well with observed levels in the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey population. Given the variety of independent sources of lead exposure, the model provides a critical tool that public health professionals can use to set priorities and evaluate the impact of various potential standards for all children and not just those with the greatest exposure.

This peer-reviewed article builds on a draft report EPA released in January 2017 evaluating different approaches to setting a health-based benchmark for lead in drinking water. The report has provided a wealth of insight into a complicated topic. Earlier this year, we used it to show that formula-fed infants get most of their lead exposure from water and toddlers from food, while the main source of lead for the highest exposed children is soil and dust. In our February blog, we provided our assessment of a health-based benchmark for lead in drinking water and explained how public health professionals could use it to evaluate homes. The information was also critical to identifying lead in food as an overlooked, but meaningful, source of children’s exposure to lead.

The new article reaffirms the analysis in the January 2017 EPA report and highlights that evaluating source contribution to blood lead in isolation versus aggregating across all sources can lead to very different answers and priorities. A health-based benchmark for lead in drinking water could vary from 0 to 46 ppb depending on age and whether all other sources of lead are considered. For example, a health-based benchmark for infants (birth to six months old) would be 4 ppb or 13 ppb depending on whether or not you consider all sources of exposure.

Further, the model shows how the relative contribution of different sources of lead vary by age and reveals that the priority intervention for most toddlers (12 to 24 months old) would be different than for most infants. Chart A ranks infants from birth to six months of age from least to greatest exposure and groups them in deciles; each of the ten bars represent about 200,000 children. For these infants, water and soil/dust are the dominant sources of exposure. However, EPA scientists note that the exposure to lead in soil/dust is likely overestimated because, lacking other data, they assumed these infants were exposed to soil and dust at rates similar to 1 year olds. From our experience, a birth- to six-month-old infant is not yet crawling on the floor or having the same hand-to-mouth practices as a 12 to 24 month-old toddler.

Chart B does the same with toddlers from 12 to 24 months old. Each of the ten bars represents about 400,000 children. The analysis shows that food (including beverages other than tap water) is the major source for all but the 20% of children with the greatest exposure; for the most exposed children, soil and dust dominates. However, the researchers noted that the estimate for food is based on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Total Diet Study, with many non-detectable results. They showed that their method to assign values to the non-detect levels gave a reasonable estimate.

A model is only as good as the data on which it is based, and better data may soon be available. In 2014, FDA began analyzing Total Diet Study samples for lead and other heavy metals using a more sensitive method that uses ICP-MS. With a lower limit of detection, we will know more precisely how much lead is in food. FDA has not publicly released the results using this new method. In addition, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plans to update its 2005 American Healthy Homes Survey with more current estimates of lead in soil and dust. With EPA’s support, HUD will also include water sampling in the survey.

Continuing the progress made in preventing children’s exposure to lead takes vigilance, sound policies, and robust science. EPA’s scientists provide us with critical new insights into the relative contribution of sources of children’s exposure to lead. The insights are essential as EPA makes its long-overdue updates to its Lead-Based Paint Hazard Standards and its Lead and Copper Rule as well as its effort to update the federal government’s 1999 federal strategy to eliminate lead poisoning. When the new data from FDA and HUD are available, EPA will need to update its analysis.

Tom Neltner, J.D., is Chemicals Policy Director and Dr. Ananya Roy is Health Scientist This week, Environmental Health Perspectives published an important article by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that sheds important light on the various sources of children’s lead exposure. Led by Valerie Zaltarian, the article shares an innovative multimedia model to quantify […]

Tom Neltner, J.D., is Chemicals Policy Director and Dr. Ananya Roy is Health Scientist This week, Environmental Health Perspectives published an important article by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that sheds important light on the various sources of children’s lead exposure. Led by Valerie Zaltarian, the article shares an innovative multimedia model to quantify […]

Pennsylvania clean air and clean water protections are at risk--potentially exposing children and families to the dangerous effects of irresponsible fracking procedures. MCAF. C3. Regional.

Pennsylvania clean air and clean water protections are at risk--potentially exposing children and families to the dangerous effects of irresponsible fracking procedures. MCAF. C3. Regional.

Take action and stand up for coastal Louisiana today: Urge your members of Congress to protect coastal restoration funding! MRD. Regional.

Take action and stand up for coastal Louisiana today: Urge your members of Congress to protect coastal restoration funding! MRD. Regional.

Take action and stand up for coastal Louisiana today: Urge your members of Congress to protect coastal restoration funding! MRD. Regional.

By Jack Pratt

Jack Pratt is Chemicals Campaign Director

[Use this link to see all of our posts on Dourson.]

With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. Here are links to our recent blog posts documenting why we are deeply concerned about his nomination:

• EDF has deep concerns over nomination of industry consultant to lead toxics program at EPA
• EPA toxics nominee has been paid by dozens of companies to work on dozens of chemicals
• Dourson’s go-to journal for publishing his industry-funded papers is, well, also industry-funded
• Toxicologists endorsing Dourson’s nomination are birds of a feather
• Report: Widespread exposure to a risky chemical “blessed” by the Trump Administration’s nominee to head EPA’s toxics office

Starting with work he did for the tobacco industry, Dourson has made a career downplaying concerns about chemicals, from harmful pesticides to cancer-causing solvents, paid for that work by the same companies that make or use those chemicals.

In addition to his work as a toxicologist-for-hire, Dourson and his firm, TERA, have provided more public-facing services.  One of these, done with funding from the American Chemistry Council, was the “Kids+Chemicalsafety” website, now defunct, but still available online at the Internet Archive.

We wrote two earlier blog posts on that site, which can be found here and here.  Several points from those posts are worth revisiting, given that Dourson may now be in the position of speaking from a government post, rather than a private one.

As we pointed out when the website first appeared, the site presented itself as a neutral source of information: “Kids + Chemicals is your best source of balanced, scientifically accurate chemical health information. We will alert you to the latest chemical-related health concerns, but also let you know when you can relax.”

In fact, the site provided thinly disguised chemical industry spin about the safety of chemicals that sought to shift the burden of protection onto parents and consumers.

One page on toxic chemicals in toys noted: “[I]t is important to consider not just the chemical levels in the toy, but also whether they can cause an exposure above a safe level.”  The page urges parents to read the label on a toy (ignoring the fact that such labels on toys rarely if ever disclose chemical composition) and suggesting that concerned parents ensure that children keep the toys out of their mouths and wash their hands after playing with them.

The logo for the kids chemical safety website

For parents wondering just what is a “safe level,” another page offers old industry sops about risk assessment:  “All chemicals are toxic at some level. … For example, ingesting dihydrogen monoxide can cause harm to people at high exposure levels, but few people would want to ban di-hydrogen (H2) mono-oxide (O) – also known as 'water.'”

A page on asthma listed many contributing risk factors:  “pet fur and dander, dust, cigarette smoke, mold, and pollen” and notes that “other common pollutants found in the air can also cause asthma, such as ozone and car exhaust.” As to chemicals in your home?  The page goes as far as to cite some peer-reviewed studies claiming a link – but quickly dismisses them, stating “most studies cannot link one individual chemical or product to the increase in wheezing or asthma-like symptoms,” despite vociferously arguing elsewhere on the site that only peer-reviewed studies of chemicals should be deemed credible.

An entry on flame retardant chemicals noted: “Until further information on toxicity from exposures to specific flame retardant chemicals is available, parents will need to make the decision on how best to protect their children by balancing the known risk of injury or death due to fire with the potential risk of adverse health effects from exposure to these chemicals.”

As we pointed out in those earlier posts, the biggest problem with the website is its sneakiness.  EDF’s Richard Denison noted: “I would have no beef with TERA’s website if it described itself as what it is:  a source of information that reflects its own or the industry’s positions and perspective, and is intended to provide a counterpoint to what parents or consumers may be hearing from others, EDF included.”

That gets to the heart of our concerns about Dourson’s nomination to run the toxics office at EPA. After decades of living with a dysfunctional law, we desperately need a credible chemicals program at EPA—one that the public and the business community alike can trust to make difficult calls on chemical safety. By nominating someone who has deliberately muddied the waters on chemical safety issues, President Trump is doing just the opposite. Confirming Dourson would further undermine the toxics program at EPA and signal an abandonment of the progress just made through TSCA reform last year.

Jack Pratt is Chemicals Campaign Director [Use this link to see all of our posts on Dourson.] With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. Here are links to our recent blog posts documenting why we are deeply concerned about his nomination: […]

Jack Pratt is Chemicals Campaign Director [Use this link to see all of our posts on Dourson.] With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. Here are links to our recent blog posts documenting why we are deeply concerned about his nomination: […]

Written by Moms Clean Air Force

Esta es una entrevista exclusiva de Moms Clean Air Force con el músico ganador del Grammy Latino infantil, Mister G. Su octavo álbum de canciones originales, Mundo Verde/Green World, saldrá el 15 de septiembre. 

Lea la entrevista inspiradora de Mister G y vea abajo para una descarga GRATIS del nuevo álbum para los miembros de Moms Clean Air Force hasta finales de septiembre:

¿Qué te inspiró a crear este nuevo álbum de canciones infantiles sobre la naturaleza y la protección del medio ambiente?

Mundo Verde/Green World es mi octavo álbum original de música infantil, pero he estado escribiendo sobre la naturaleza y el medio ambiente desde el inicio. (Tuitear esto) Con todo lo que está sucediendo en el ámbito político y ambiental en este momento, me pareció que era el momento perfecto para componer un álbum dedicado a la protección y preservación de este planeta que compartimos. La dificultad radica en hacer la música atractiva para niños y familias de manera que el mensaje se transmita de una manera emocionante y divertida.

Mi esposa (la señora G) y yo vivimos en el oeste de Massachusetts, y nos encanta explorar los bosques, ríos y estanques justo fuera de nuestro estudio de grabación con nuestro perro, Josie. Estamos en gira por Estados Unidos y América Latina, y siempre sacamos tiempo para hacer senderismo, nadar, montar bicicleta y explorar los hermosos lugares donde nos encontremos en el mundo. Nuestros viajes a los parques nacionales en particular me dieron mucha inspiración para Mundo Verde/Green World.

¿Por qué decidiste hacer el álbum bilingüe (español/inglés)?

Tres de nuestros otros álbumes (Los Animales, ABC Fiesta, Chocolalala) son bilingües, y hemos visto de primera mano lo poderoso que es para el público escuchar música en su lengua materna. La creación de canciones en varios idiomas amplía el alcance del álbum y nos permite llevar este mensaje a muchas más familias. Escribir en dos idiomas también me dio una excusa para cantar sobre las maravillas naturales de América Latina, como el coquí, la icónica rana del bosque tropical puertorriqueño.

Mister G en el evento Play-In for Climate Action de Moms Clean Air Force

¿Cómo empezaste a colaborar con Moms Clean Air Force?

Varias madres de Moms Clean Air Force habían visto nuestra presentación en el zoológico de Filadelfia y en nuestra ciudad natal de Northampton, MA, por lo que nos invitaron a tocar en el evento Play-In for Climate Action en el capitolio  el verano pasado. Sentimos una estrecha conexión orgánica desde el principio, y fue tan emocionante ver a todos los niños y padres involucrarse para pedir a sus representantes que apoyen políticas para un planeta más seguro y más limpio. Todas las personas con las que hemos estado en contacto en Moms Clean Air Force son centradas y están plenamente comprometidas con la protección de la salud de los niños contra los peligrosos efectos del cambio climático. ¡No podríamos estar más felices de colaborar con activistas de ideas afines a los que también les encanta la música! 

¿Por qué la música es una forma poderosa de comunicarse sobre el medio ambiente y el cambio climático?

La música tiene poderes increíbles y misteriosos para unir e inspirar a la gente a través de fronteras y lenguas. De niño, admiraba a los músicos que usaban su plataforma para lograr una diferencia positiva en el mundo. Es un privilegio estar ahora en la posición de hacer música acerca de lo que creo que son los problemas más importantes que enfrenta la humanidad de hoy.

¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de cantar para niños y familias?

¡Esa es una pregunta difícil! Los niños son maravillosamente desinhibidos, y su respuesta a la música es instantáneamente contagiosa, por lo que nuestros conciertos a menudo se convierten en fiestas bailables multigeneracionales. Hay un cliché de que la música es el lenguaje universal y hemos descubierto que eso es cierto: en todas partes del mundo los niños y las familias nos devuelven toda la energía que hemos invertidos… ¡y aún más!

¿Qué pueden esperar los jóvenes y mayores que asistan a tu concierto gratuito con Moms Clean Air Force el 27 de septiembre en Washington, D.C.?

Todos pueden esperar un concierto dinámico e interactivo con canciones del nuevo álbum de Mundo Verde/Green World. Los niños y las familias serán invitados a cantar y bailar, y nos acompañarán en el escenario durante la presentación. ¡No podríamos pedir un mejor público para el estreno de nuestro nuevo CD con temática ecológica!

¡HAGA CLIC AQUÍ PARA UNA DESCARGA GRATUITA DEL MÁS RECIENTE ÁLBUM DE MISTER G: MUNDO VERDE/MUNDO VERDE!
contraseña: MCAF

¡HAGA CLIC AQUÍ PARA UNIRSE A MOMS CLEAN AIR FORCE Y A MISTER G PARA UN CONCIERTO FAMILIAR Y AMISTOSO Y UN EVENTO DE APOYO EL 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE EN WASHINGTON, D.C.!

PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN:  Mira a Mister G AQUÍ y encuentra a Mister G en las redes sociales @mistergsongs

SaveSave

Written by Moms Clean Air Force

This is a Moms Clean Air Force exclusive interview with Latin GRAMMY -winning children’s musician, Mister G. His 8th album of original songs, Mundo Verde/Green World, will be coming out on September 15th. 

Please read Mister G’s inspiring interview and see below for a FREE download of the new album for Moms Clean Air Force members until the end of September:

What inspired you to create this new children’s album of songs about nature and protecting the environment?

Mundo Verde/Green World is my 8th album of original children’s music, but I’ve been writing about nature and the environment from the beginning. With everything that’s happening politically and environmentally right now, this felt like the perfect time to write an album dedicated to protecting and preserving this one planet we share. The trick is making the music engaging for kids and families so the message comes across in a way that’s exciting and fun.

My wife (Missus G) and I live in Western Massachusetts, and we love exploring the forests, rivers, and ponds right outside the door of our recording studio with our dog, Josie. We’re on tour a lot around the US and in Latin America, and we always build in time to hike, swim, bike and explore the beautiful places wherever we happen to be in the world. Our trips to the National Parks in particular gave me a lot of inspiration for Mundo Verde/Green World.

Why did you choose to make the album bilingual (Spanish/English)?

Three of our other albums (Los Animales, ABC Fiesta, Chocolalala) are bilingual, and we’ve seen first hand how powerful it is for audiences to hear music performed in their native language. Creating songs in multiple languages extends the reach of the album and enables us to bring this message to countless more families. Writing bilingually also gave me an excuse to sing about the natural wonders of Latin America, like the coquí, the iconic little frog of the Puerto Rican rainforest.

Mr. G at Moms Clean Air Force Play-In for Climate Action

How did you start collaborating with Moms Clean Air Force?

Several mom’s from Moms Clean Air Force had seen us perform at the Philadelphia Zoo and in our hometown of Northampton, MA, so we were brought in to perform at the Play-In for Climate Action event on Capitol Hill last summer. It felt like a great, organic connection from the start, and it was so exciting to see all the kids and parents engaged in asking their representatives to support policies for a safer, cleaner planet. Everyone who we’ve connected with at Moms Clean Air Force is down to earth, and deeply committed to protecting children’s health from the dangerous effects of climate change. We couldn’t be happier to collaborate with like-minded activists who also happen to love music! 

Why is music a powerful way to communicate about the environment and climate change?

Music has incredible, mysterious powers to unite and inspire people across borders and languages. As a child, I looked up to musicians who used their platform to make a positive difference in the world. It’s a privilege to now be in the position of making music about what I think are the most important issues facing humanity today.

What do you enjoy most about performing for kids and families?

That’s a tough one! Kids are wonderfully uninhibited, and their response to the music is instantly contagious, so our concerts often become multi-generational dance parties. There’s a cliché that music is the universal language and we’ve found that to be true: everywhere we go in the world kids and families give us back all the energy that we put out…and then some!

What can concert-goers young and old expect at your free concert with Moms Clean Air Force on September 27th in Washington, DC?

Everyone can look forward to a dynamic, interactive concert showcasing songs from the new Mundo Verde/Green World album. Kids and families will be invited to sing and dance along, and join us onstage during the performance. We couldn’t ask for a better crowd to debut our new eco-themed CD!

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE DOWNLOAD OF MISTER G’S NEWEST ALBUM – MUNDO VERDE/GREEN WORLD!
password: MCAF

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MOMS CLEAN AIR FORCE AND MISTER G FOR A FAMILY-FRIENDLY CONCERT AND ADVOCACY EVENT ON SEPTEMBER 27TH IN WASHINGTON, DC!

FOR MORE: Watch Mister G HERE and find MisterG on social media @mistergsongs

TELL CONGRESS: NOBODY VOTED TO MAKE AMERICA DIRTY AGAIN

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

By Eric Pooley

The two-fisted gut punch of Harvey and Irma devastated Caribbean islands, swamped major American cities, blacked out power for millions, and exposed who-knows-how-many people to toxic soup of polluted floodwaters. But one thing these immensely powerful storms could not do was move the television networks to talk about how these storms got to be so strong.

The Sunday morning news shows, which still help determine the narrative for the Capital, failed to mention the clear connection between these more powerful storms and climate change. The hurricanes were covered, of course, but the scientifically established link between our warming climate and their increased destructive power was raised on only one of the four* major talk shows (CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper), according to the non-profit group Media Matters.

More broadly, the study found that two broadcast networks, ABC and NBC, failed to air a “single segment on their morning, evening, or Sunday news shows” on the link between climate change and the storms.

The reality is that warmer waters fuel big hurricanes, warmer air holds more water, and rising sea levels surge higher and father. In short, climate change puts storms on steroids. A point NASA drove home as Irma approached Florida with this tweet:

.@NASAEarth data shows hot water ahead for #HurricaneIrma. Warm oceans are a key ingredient fueling hurricanes: https://t.co/PeoCi4vfZh pic.twitter.com/DGcLY2r0H4

— NASA (@NASA) September 7, 2017

Without serious coverage of this connection, we are left with only political propaganda from the White House and its allies. President Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt have repeatedly denied or downplayed the facts of climate science, even though every major American scientific organization has recognized this reality.

These attempts to deny the science are, not surprisingly, backed up by voices like Rush Limbaugh, who claimed last week that the discussion of stronger hurricanes was based on a “desire to advance this climate change agenda” – and then promptly evacuated his Florida studio.

Pruitt is trying to bury the views of the scientific community on climate change generally. The latest climate assessment by government scientists sheds light on the topic of climate change and hurricanes. But Pruitt is sitting on the report because there is apparently never a time he wants people thinking about climate change.

According to the “final draft” of the report, which was provided to the New York Times by authors worried about Pruitt’s political interference, it is “likely” that hurricanes’ maximum wind speeds and rainfall rates will increase. Pruitt has said that he is going to review the report, and it hasn’t been seen since.

The failure to inform the public about the link between more climate pollution and stronger storms – along with more wildfire, droughts, increasing flows of refugees, and other climate costs – means we are more likely to continue down the path toward a more dangerous future. Already, we are paying billions to clean up and rebuild after these storms; Citigroup has estimated that the total bill for unchecked climate change will be more than $40 trillion.

The networks have a lot on their plate covering Washington these days. There’s no shortage of misinformation to correct, and many serious stories to cover. But it’s hard to think of many that are a bigger threat to public health and well-being than the continued rampage of climate change. And just as with any other big story, the causes – not just immediately visible impacts – must be part of the reporting.

*Meet the Press was pre-empted.