Heat domes. Corn sweat. We may be — in a word — cooked. It's the hottest month of the year during the hottest time on Earth since humans have been writing down how hot it is. In addition to its effects on the planet itself — melting ice caps, drought, famine, war and the like — human-fueled climate change is making dangerous jobs deadlier, throwing the future of high school football into uncertainty and causing a record number of deaths. Thanks to climate change, even a local labor issue like national school bus driver shortages, elevates risks to kids who may be exposed to the elements longer with fewer buses running longer routes. With the Labor Day Weekend coming up, we know that many of you are heading to the beach for summer's last hurrah, so we'll keep this one short and sweet. Speaking of fire, we have another acclaimed Southern writer on Reckon True Stories this week. As always, she brought the heat. Let's talk about it. |
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Understanding long-term exposure to wildfire smoke |
As U.S. wildfire seasons escalate in length and intensity, firefighters and residents in western states face mounting threats to their long-term health due to prolonged exposure to smoke. The problem is that we don’t know much about what it does to human bodies, raising concerns for vulnerable people, like children, older people, and those with respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
Wildland firefighters are also exposed to extremely high levels of smoke for months at a time.
In our modern, high-tech world, Americans have access to troves of live data showing air quality levels in just about any location in the country and the associated risk factors. People in cities and rural environments can look at that data to make an informed choice about going outside. But there’s a major problem with this approach. The Air Quality Index, a tool created by the Environmental Protection Agency, was created using decades of research into the health effects of urban air pollution, not wildfire smoke. Chris Harress, Reckon's climate reporter and author of The Meltdown, wrote this wonderful in-depth piece explaining why science hasn't caught up to climate change when it comes to understanding how wildfire smoke affects the human body. |
117% That's the increase in the number of heat-related deaths in the U.S. from 1999 to 2023, according to new data from the Journal of the American Medical Association published this week. Researchers also looked at heat-related mortality rates adjusted for age, which saw a 63% increase over the same period. Researcher note, writing for JAMA: "As temperatures continue to rise because of climate change, the recent increasing trend is likely to continue. Local authorities in high-risk areas should consider investing in the expansion of access to hydration centers and public cooling centers or other buildings with air conditioning." |
I used to live in Illinois and covered agribusiness in the Midwest, so I thought I already knew more than I ever wanted to know about cereal grains. I was wrong. This week, I was introduced to corn sweat. No, it's not my college buddy's garage band. I'll explain: Crops, like corn and soybeans, consist of roots that draw in moisture and deliver water to the plant's leaves, stems and fruit, which many of us will be grilling this weekend. High temperatures cause that moisture to evaporate, making places where corn is king a-maize-ingly more humid. According to the Washington Post, one acre of corn can release 4,000 gallons of water per day, enough to fill a residential swimming pool in less than a week. So the next time someone complains about the mercury rising, you tell them it's not the heat — as someone quipped on Facebook — it's the corn sweat. |
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'What doesn’t leave me alone, I follow' |
On the latest episode of Reckon True Stories, Deesha and Kiese are joined by MacArthur Genius and National Book Award Winner Dr. Imani Perry to discuss genre, personal stories and the ethical commitment to those we write about, the utilization of craft to bring the reader close to the experience and the body, the body as political, Black women and silence, mobility, music, and mothering. Please rate, review and share the episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify and more. |
If you know about interesting or obscure data that illuminates America's elections and politics or general story ideas please email me at rnave@reckonmedia.com. You can also just say hello. Peace, R.L. |
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