"In back-to-back victories for Johnson & Johnson, the courts have reversed two judgments against the consumer products giant totaling nearly $500 million. The money had been awarded to women who said that they developed ovarian cancer after using the company’s talcum powder for decades."
"When Jeremy Boutor moved to a master-planned community in Houston’s booming energy corridor, he saw it as idyllic. ... Then, Hurricane Harvey changed everything. As the downpours began and Boutor studied maps flashing on his TV screen, he realized that his home wasn’t at risk of flooding just because of record rainfall; it was also located inside one of two massive reservoirs that had been built west of Houston decades ago to protect the city."
"Federal regulators urged manufacturers [last] Thursday to stop using hazardous flame retardants that are known to cause health problems."
"Johnson & Johnson trained its employees to reassure anyone concerned about whether the company’s talcum powder contained asbestos that the cancer-causing substance 'has never been found and it never will' in its iconic baby powder, according to an undated memo unsealed in a lawsuit against the drugmaker."
"A conversation between two former Coke executives reveals some of the tricks of the trade. "
Tick populations are on the rise in the United States, bringing higher risk of serious tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease and a host of others. That offers a chance to tell the story of the environmental factors behind the spread, such as climate change and rising deer populations. The latest TipSheet explains.
Mosquitoes are not just annoyances. They also bring disease. But is the current patchwork of mosquito-control efforts effective? Or are the remedies, particularly pesticide spraying, worse than the problem? This week's Tipsheet has resources to help you report on balancing the risks of disease against those of spraying.
"If human civilization were to be destroyed and its cities wiped off the map, there would be an easy way for future intelligent life-forms to know when the mid-20th century began: plastic."
Writer David Owen's “Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River” tells the story of the Colorado, while exploring water issues ranging from drought and climate degradation to cross-state and cross-border legal complexities.
Author Lisa Palmer tackles a question many experts in the natural and social sciences are also pondering: How can we feed a growing world population in the coming decades when climate change is stressing global food production systems?
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