• Health

Study Finds Half of all U.S. and Canadian Cosmetics Contain PFAS

• Chemicals
• Forever Chemicals
• PFAS

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer You may have thought the days of lead, mercury, and even radioactive makeup were long gone, but a new study from the University of Notre Dame has found that over half the cosmetics sold in the U.S. contain PFAS, a class of chemicals linked to health conditions like cancer and reduced birth weights. […]

• Health

“Tick Time Bomb” to Explode in California This Summer

• Lyme disease
• ticks
• vector borne disease

by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer The Weather Channel broadcast that this summer, the U.S will be a “tick time-bomb,” in that ticks will afflict much broader swathes of the country than in years previous. Even in dry states like California, which is in a historic drought, researchers have been seeing more ticks than ever, […]

• Health

Infrastructure Could Include Bike and Pedestrian Paths As Well As Highways

• American Jobs Plan
• bicycle
• bike paths
• green infrastructure
• Greenway
• health and fitness
• pedestrian paths

Greenways are bike paths that often serve as multi-use, car-free ways to navigate a city. Right now, the U.S. network “comprises a similarly haphazard collection of park-like bicycle- and pedestrian-oriented paths,” as CityLab reports, but that could change if environmental and transportation advocates can land $10 billion for a Greenway Stimulus in the infrastructure deal being negotiated in Congress right now.

Why This Matters: Getting people out of cars and into other modes of getting around is one of the best ways to ramp down carbon emissions in the transportation sector as well as ramp up health and fitness.

• Health

Interview of the Week: Dr. Neil Vora

• #COVID
• biodiversity
• infectious diseas
• nature
• zoonotic diseases

Preventing and preparing for pandemics is now a crucial task for world leaders. A crucial part of preventing pandemics is the protection of nature and the conservation of biodiversity. This week we had a chance to ask Conservation International’s new pandemic prevention fellow, Dr. Neil Vora, about why safeguarding our natural world is so important […]

• Health

AI, Citizen Science Helps Fight Mosquito-Borne Disease

• mosquitos
• vector borne disease

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Mosquito season is here, and with it, worry about diseases like Zika and West Nile. At the same time, it’s tricky to track and monitor mosquitos and the diseases they spread.  But a new approach using artificial intelligence could finally help researchers better understand how and where the insects are making […]

• Health

New Bill Addresses Public Health Impacts of Climate Change, Prevents Future Pandemics

• #COVID
• adaptation
• climate change
• health
• health risks
• heat
• zoonotic disease

On Monday, lawmakers introduced the Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Act to help improve the nation’s response to health threats presented by climate change. Experts have reported that as climate change worsens and temperatures rise, viruses and pandemics like COVID-19 will become more common. 

Why This Matters: Rising deforestation and accelerating biodiversity loss are driving humans and animals closer together than ever before.