U.S. Primed for Climate Troubles, Burning Sugarcane Pollutes Communities of Color, and Troubling Trend of Fewer Babies

Because of its unique geography, the United States is particularly vulnerable to nearly every kind of natural disaster: tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, blizzards, and more. And these natural disasters are getting an unnatural boost with climate change. Also, some Florida sugarcane growers near the Everglades still use the archaic method of burning fields to remove the tops and leaves before harvesting the sweet cane stalks. Communities of color nearby assert they bear a disproportionate burden of the smoke and ash pollution with adverse health effects. And over the past four decades, sperm levels among men in Western countries have dropped by more than 50%, and female fertility is also declining. Some chemicals that disrupt hormones are key culprits, including those found in plastics, cosmetics and fracking solutions. -- Join us on September 14th for a Living on Earth Book Club event with author Dorn Cox about regenerative agriculture! Find out more at loe dot org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices