Must-read recap: The New Lede's top stories
Petition to ban vinyl chloride; temperature swings threaten the elderly; fur farming's environmental debate; farmworker heat protections; crop losses for northeastern farmers; farm pollution scandal.
Petition urges ban on vinyl chloride, citing East Palestine incident
Environmental leaders gathered at the steps of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, DC, on July 27 to call for a ban on toxic vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical that gained scrutiny after a massive plume spread through East Palestine, Ohio after a train derailment in February.
The groups unveiled a petition signed by more than 27,000 people that calls on the EPA to protect vulnerable communities by banning vinyl chloride, which is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic for drinking water pipes, packaging, and children’s toys.
The incident in East Palestine led to the spread of more than 100,000 gallons of vinyl chloride after officials instigated a “controlled burn” as a strategy to try to prevent a dangerous explosion following the train derailment, a move that may have been unnecessary. The incident offered a “chilling warning” that the public must act now to keep communities safe from “petrochemical” products made from petroleum or natural gas, Heather McTeer Toney, executive director of the Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, said outside the EPA building. (Read the rest of the story.)
Aging Americans face deadly risk due to wide temperature swings, study says
People over age 65 face a higher risk of dying when exposed to temperatures that swing far outside the seasonal average, findings that underscore an “urgent” need to mitigate climate change, according to new research.
The study, published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives, examined how seasonal variations in temperature impacted mortality rates among older Americans. The authors include researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Emory Rollins School of Public Health.
The study concludes that the modulated temperature variability that is accompanying a changing climate “must be considered as a considerable threat to life” for people over 65 years old.
Specifically, the study determined that for every 1°C increase in temperature variability, the annual death rate increased by 1.54% in the warmer half of the year and by 0.69% in the cooler half, based on an analysis of government data on more than 72 million Medicare recipients from 2000 to 2016. (Read the rest of the story.)
An old battle over fur farming heats up with new environmental twist
Wearing fur has long been a controversial choice in the United States, with a large roster of fashion brands embracing bans on fur garments on the grounds that the practice is cruel to the animals farmed for their pelts. But a new twist on the issue has been gaining momentum and spurring debate over the impacts of mink farming on human and environmental health.
Earlier this year, California implemented the first state ban on the sale and manufacturing of fur products, including coats, trim on hooded jackets, and pompoms for hats and gloves. Many US cities and towns have banned fur sales, and in June, US Rep Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat from New York, introduced a bill that that would pay mink farmers to shutter their operations and create a nationwide ban on farming the small animals whose silky, sleek coats are coveted for use in high-end attire.
The aim of the federal bill is to reduce the chances that mink farming could trigger outbreaks of viruses that harm humans, an issue that triggered international concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic. Proponents of the measure say they hope it will be included in the upcoming Farm Bill.
Fur farming has also become a subject of intense debate over its environmental impact, with opponents arguing its practices contribute to water pollution and harmful climate change. (Read the rest of the story.)
Postcard from California: In climate crisis, farmworkers need more protection from heat
(Opinion columns published in The New Lede represent the views of the individual(s) authoring the columns and not necessarily the perspectives of TNL editors.)
It’s been over 20 years since a 24-year-old migrant farmworker named Constantino Cruz collapsed and died following a nine-hour shift picking tomatoes in 107-degree Fahrenheit heat near Bakersfield, California.
Cruz’s death helped spur then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to issue emergency regulations requiring that on hot days agricultural employers must make sure farmworkers get plenty of water, ready access to shade and rest breaks. The emergency measures were later codified into the first US state law mandating heat protections for farmworkers and other outdoor workers.
But since California’s landmark action, only three states – Colorado, Oregon and Washington – have passed similar heat safety regulations for farmworkers, and there are no federal safety rules for farmworkers or others who must toil under the sun, meaning most US farmworkers lack legal protection from heat.
The problem is not going away. Average temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley in California are projected to rise by as much as 5 degrees by 2050. And in crop-growing counties across the nation, the number of days considered unsafe because of heat is forecast to nearly double by 2050, according to a University of Washington study. (Read the rest of the opinion column.)
Farmers face steep crop losses in US Northeast amid summer storms
While much of the country suffers from extreme heat this summer, the US Northeast has seen excessive rains and extreme flooding, conditions that have decimated crops, drowned livestock, and left farmers struggling.
July has been especially wet for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Hartford, Connecticut, for instance, has seen over 400% more rainfall than the historical average. After an already wetter-than average summer, a series of strong storms have overwhelmed rivers, causing them to jump their banks and flood farm fields across the region.
“It is certainly the worst flooding we’ve had in the last century,” said Scott Waterman, a spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets. “The revenue losses are looking like they’re going to be incredibly high.
At least 7,000 acres of farmland in Vermont alone have been lost, according to Waterman. (Read the rest of the story.)
Reporting project examines the scandal of US farm pollution
(Opinion columns published in The New Lede represent the views of the individual(s) authoring the columns and not necessarily the perspectives of TNL editors.)
There’s no way to describe farm-related nutrient pollution other than what it is – a national scandal.
A tiny minority of Americans, half of one percent, is grossly fouling the waters for tens of millions of others. Corn Belt crop farmers, and livestock and poultry producers – the heart of the rich and powerful $618 billion American farm sector – have virtually unlimited opportunities within state and federal law to pollute at will.
Since January I’ve been reporting the causes, consequences, and solutions to the farm sector’s assault on American waters with financial support from the Alicia Patterson Foundation, which also helped me secure a second grant from The Fund For Investigative Journalism. See the latest story here.
The project focuses on nitrate pollution in the Corn Belt and builds on expertise I gained reporting in 2022 for Circle of Blue on phosphorus pollution in Michigan and the Great Lakes states. Early reports from this year’s project have already been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Lede, Circle of Blue, Minnpost, Investigate Midwest, Detroit Now, Michigan Radio, and my ModeShift blog. (Read the rest of the opinion column.)