Toxics abound in many building materials, creating indoor environmental hazards for workers and residents alike. To help report the story, Reporter’s Toolbox details a massive database of chemicals and building materials, and explains how to use it to assess their presence in buildings in your community. Plus, story ideas to get you started.
"You can now see how coronavirus lockdowns have changed air pollution, hospital lights and even white asparagus harvests."
"Last fall, European Space Agency satellites detected huge plumes of the invisible planet-warming gas methane leaking from the Yamal pipeline that carries natural gas from Siberia to Europe."
"A massive plume of dust whipped up from the Sahara desert will hover over the U.S. Southeast this weekend, forecasters say, shrouding the region in a brown haze and raising more health concerns in states where the coronavirus crisis is worsening."
"Bayer AG agreed to spend more than $12 billion to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits and deal with future claims, taking its biggest step so far in resolving headaches the German chemical giant inherited in its acquisition of Monsanto Co."
"For the first time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has included climate change in its annual report laying out what events cause refugees to flee. It signals a growing consensus around the risks climate poses, even if it doesn’t change much for the people actually forced to flee their homes after a cyclone or hurricane hits."
"A vast cloud of Sahara dust is blanketing the Caribbean as it heads to the U.S. with a size and concentration that experts say hasn’t been seen in half a century."
"In 2013, an 18-month old boy got sick after playing near a hollow tree in his backyard, in a remote West African village. He developed a fever and started vomiting. His stool turned black. Two days later, he died."
"The world is struggling to deal with the spread of another medical problem created by the coronavirus -- a deluge of contaminated waste."
In the aftermath of the pandemic, the so-called built environment is likely to get a thorough reexamination, whether it’s to reconsider commuting, shopping, recreation, eating out or taking in sporting events. Our latest Issue Backgrounder looks at the top ways coronavirus will force us to rethink our cities and how we live in and travel through them.
