As schools (and many other institutions) around the United States relax mask mandates, questions remain about how they will keep indoor air clean and safe. The latest TipSheet takes a look at the often-underestimated risks of indoor air pollution, as well as well-known practices to clean it up. Get story ideas and resources for reporting on schools in your community.
"Scientists have figured out why vampire bats are the only mammals that can survive on a diet of just blood. They compared the genome of common vampire bats to 26 other bat species and identified 13 genes that are missing or no longer work in vampire bats."
"Planting more trees is one of a combination of solutions to combating climate change, but some trees are far better than others. Which ones though? Scientists have designed an experimental forest in England to work out the best formula for achieving ambitious tree planting targets."
"In a dramatic enforcement action, Maryland regulators moved Sunday to take over Baltimore’s troubled Back River sewage treatment plant after a weekend inspection found that city officials had failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to correct pollution violations and worsening maintenance problems found in an inspection late last week."
"More than 200 odor complaints poured in to air quality regulators Thursday after a bag containing a chemical used to make plastic sheeting broke open at a Compton plant in the early morning, prompting investigations."
"As many as 27 LNG terminal facilities in the United States could emit as much as 117 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, an amount equal to nearly all the cars in California."
"In the journal Science Advances, a team of environmental scientists found that fire frequency has tripled in some parts of the United States — and that in the 2000s, wildfires grew up to four times the size of fires in previous decades."
"EPA career scientists raised concerns about pesticide-laced collars linked to pet deaths, but agency managers instructed them to avoid documenting those worries in publicly accessible records, according to internal emails."
"An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday."
"At every step of his political career, Joe Manchin helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business. Along the way, he blocked ambitious climate action."
