As the effects of climate change continue to unfold, all communities across the U.S. will face a wider range of risks. However, some communities will be more affected by those risks due to greater exposure and limited ability to recover from their effects.   For two neighboring communities in Detroit, the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, a […]

Our new website, Community Voices in Energy — a collaboration with Chicago-based Blacks in Green — equips frontline communities to participate as experts in climate and energy proceedings and influence energy investments. By ensuring that community members are able to share their direct experience on the record in public utility commission hearings, the site helps […]

Pulling in 184 sets of data to rank more than 70,000 U.S. Census tracts, the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index helps you see which communities face the greatest challenges from the impacts of a changing climate.

EDF co-authored study published in the journal Environmental Health evaluated Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) notices that food manufacturers voluntarily submitted to FDA and found that 1) no GRAS notices followed FDA's draft guidance, and 2) there were high risks of bias and conflicts of interest.

By Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals, Klara Matouskova, PhD, Consultant, and Maricel Maffini, PhD, Consultant What Happened? In our new study, we evaluated Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) notices—a total of 403 between 2015-2020—that food manufacturers voluntarily submitted to FDA for review. Our goal was to determine whether industry was adhering to FDA’s Guidance on Best Practices for […] The post Broken GRAS: Companies ignore FDA draft guidance; Bias & conflicts of interest prevail in safety determinations first appeared on EDF Health.

Research co-authored by EDF uses hourly weather reanalysis data to examine the evolution of ambient climate conditions in the continental United States, focusing on high social vulnerability index (SVI) regions. Study finds that there are regions that experience hundreds to thousands of hours per year that are too hot for safe fan use.

Report from EDF and La Isla Network details what is needed to protect farm labor from dangerous heat.

More than 2 million farmworkers are an integral part of the U.S. food system, contributing to the countless fruits and vegetables that line our local grocery store aisles.

Air pollution can be deadly. Learn how to combat it using scientific research and local emissions data to improve health where you live. Join us in securing cleaner air, climate action and healthier communities.

By Adam Peltz & Kate Roberts This week, the Department of the Interior announced nearly $660 million in grant funding to plug orphan wells across the U.S., adding to $560 million in initial funding from last summer. The news comes on the heels of new research led by researchers at McGill University and EDF experts […]

Report prepared for EDF by Marine Taxonomic Services, Ltd. (MTS) seeks to understand the extent to which telecom and power cables running through rivers, streams, and lakes that serve as drinking water sources may have been constructed using lead pipe and which may now pose a public health risk.

Sergio Sanchez talks about a groundbreaking new partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that aims to improve air quality across 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

EDF paper demonstrates who is at risk from diesel trucks serving warehouses, summarizes the new science about health impacts from air pollution generated by these trucks, and points to solutions that can protect community health.

In its annual justification of budget estimates to Congress, FDA describes its activities and tracks its performance. One of those performance measures is the percentage of food- and color-additive petitions (FAPs/CAPs) the agency has reviewed and completed within 360 days of receipt.[1] We analyzed FDA’s reports to Congress published from 2016 to 2023 and found […] The post Alternative Figures: FDA’s food chemical reports to Congress don’t add up first appeared on Deep Dives: Environmental Health Policy.

Key Findings and Recommendations  Air pollution results in a large burden of childhood asthma across the country, and this burden is disproportionately borne by people of color. More than $100 million in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency is available for environmental justice initiatives, but targeting programs to alleviate the health impacts of air pollution to […] The post Health data needs to inform targeted environmental justice initiatives first appeared on Deep Dives: Environmental Health Policy.

Deep Dives is a new blog that will offer our readers in-depth scientific analyses, hard data, and practical policy prescriptions from Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) top environmental health experts. Our authors are specialists in air quality, chemistry, epidemiology, law, public health, and more. We will continue to offer information for broader audiences on EDF’s Safer […] The post Introducing Deep Dives—EDF’s New Platform for In-Depth Scientific & Policy Analyses on Environmental Health first appeared on Deep Dives: Environmental Health Policy.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative Note: This is the first of three blogs in this series. Click here for Blog 2 or Blog 3. On January 24, 2023, FDA released draft action levels1 for lead in foods intended for babies and young toddlers.2 This proposal is a key step in implementing the agency’s […] The post Unleading Baby Food: FDA needs to tighten its proposed action levels first appeared on Deep Dives: Environmental Health Policy.

EDF’s Clean Beauty Justice Roadmap is a step-by-step guide that companies can use to develop chemical policies that ensure that everybody has access to safer products.

Study co-authored by EDF scientists identified and integrated available public health, social, economic, environmental, and climate data in the United States to develop a Climate Vulnerability Index composed of four baseline vulnerabilities (health, social/economic, infrastructure, and environment) and three climate change risks (health, social/economic, extreme events).

Water utilities are increasingly posting interactive maps online to help residents identify whether their homes are connected to lead service lines (LSLs). EDF's new blog series, Mapping Lead Pipes, will explore how utilities are approaching maps, evaluate which map features are most and least effective, and share best practices to help guide future efforts.

Sarah Vogel, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President, Healthy Communities Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest, most effective ways to stabilize the climate. It can also improve public health.    Today, 130 countries are committed to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030 as part of the Global Methane Pledge. As countries work to meet these […] The post Another reason to reduce methane emissions: Saving lives  first appeared on EDF Health.