President Donald Trump’s health and environmental agencies are pursuing very different agendas on pollution and human health. On a Friday evening this July, the Trump administration announced it would lay off all of the health research scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency. Hundreds of investigators who try to understand how toxic pollution affects the human…
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An aerial view of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Peten Department, Guatemala. | Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images Support independent journalism and help us keep telling stories like this — become a Vox Member today. During a nasty summer heat wave — see: much of the US right now — water is a reliable source of…
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Mining of sacred ground would further exploit Native Americans With the daily drama of politics, too few of us are likely aware of how many Native Americans continue to be exploited. On July 19 and 20, a coalition of Catholic sisters, including myself, joined Indigenous elders to stand in solidarity with the Western Apache in…
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Energy infrastructure is increasingly driving higher electricity prices. Americans are paying more for electricity, and those prices are set to rise even further. In almost all parts of the country, the amount people pay for electricity on their power bills — the retail price — has risen faster than the rate of inflation since 2022,…
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Steamy. | Yury Matev/Getty Images/iStockphoto Ah, yes, late July in the Midwest: a time for popsicles by the lake, a trip to the county fair, and, of course, extreme humidity made more miserable by…corn sweat. Corn sweat. It’s a thing! The term refers to the moisture released by fields of corn during hot and sunny weather….
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A 4-year-old girl cools off while playing in a spray pool amid an extreme heat wave last year. | Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. From Texas clear to Georgia, from the Gulf Coast on…
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Public radio provides services to communities Re: “Congress approves Trump cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid,” July 19 news story In the span of a single week, KDNK Community Radio in Carbondale has gone from experiencing one of our greatest highs, celebrating the 100th birthday of our Art Ackerman, the world’s oldest DJ, to the…
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North Carolina state biologist Luke Etchison holds a French Broad crayfish he found in Little River. POLK COUNTY, North Carolina — The small section of forest before me looked as though it was clear-cut. The ground was flat and treeless, covered in a thin layer of jumbled sticks and leaves. This region, a wetland formed by…
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Library funding assures opportunities for rural, low-income people As an adult services librarian in northern Colorado, I’ve seen firsthand how federal funding strengthens our libraries and, through them, our communities. At my library, federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds help support digital literacy training, homebound delivery services, and access to job-seeking resources for…
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Readers not buying this bridge Re: “Gov. Polis’ pedestrian bridge has a long way to go,” July 13 editorial The editorial laid out great reasons that this project should be scrapped: 1) The cost is unaffordable with today’s budget constraints. 2) The design failed to follow mandated design guidelines. 3) “Undulating waves like Colorado’s white-water…
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