Environmental Health

"A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda."

"Washington DC residents breathed in “unhealthy” air for hours after a 40-minute Independence Day fireworks show over the National Mall on Saturday night, with the country’s capital briefly recording the worst air quality of any major city in the world."

"As the city recovers from the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, major construction has reshaped it. New concrete businesses have opened in response. A concrete mixing plant has opened in the Cadillac Heights neighborhood, a process aided by the decisions of city officials."

"Aaron Szabo, the head of EPA’s air office who has overseen a dramatic scaling back of climate regulations, is leaving the agency."

"Belgium’s federal government is facing mounting criticism after health authorities linked last month’s record-breaking heat wave to over 1,200 excess deaths, prompting opposition parties to accuse ministers of failing to protect the country’s most vulnerable citizens."

"On a warm summer morning, two fire officials navigate an SUV along a narrow road that switchbacks high into the hills above the town of Fairfax, California, where thickets of trees conceal hundreds of homes. When the road dead-ends, they head back down through the same hairpin turns, pointing out where a wildfire would roar into the path of fleeing vehicles."

"U.S. power consumption, which hit its second straight annual record high in 2025, will rise further in 2026 and 2027, driven by AI-hungry data centers and electrification, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy ​Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday."

"The birds are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures, and France’s torrid June took a heavy toll."

"The nation is already nearing last year’s record case total, and experts say the virus is forcing doctors to relearn a disease many thought had been consigned to history."

"A federal judge overseeing nationwide litigation involving allegations that exposure to paraquat weed killing products causes Parkinson’s disease is applying pressure to plaintiffs who are not accepting settlement agreements proposed by paraquat maker Syngenta."