Virginia Gewin

2 weeks ago | eos.org | Adityarup Chakravorty |Grace van Deelen |Virginia Gewin |Katherine Kornei

President Donald Trump’s EPA is considering a rule that would weaken regulations limiting chemicals harmful to human health in consumer goods, The Guardian reports. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of chemicals added to consumer products, oftentimes for their water- and stain-resistant properties. Exposure to PFAS is known to raise the risk of certain cancers, kidney and liver disease, and complications surrounding reproductive health.

1 month ago | eos.org | Virginia Gewin

Wind erosion and dust may be invisible hazards, but in the United States, they have an eye-popping $154 billion annual price tag, according to the first comprehensive cost assessment in 3 decades. On the basis of 2017 data, the best available for the contributing factors assessed, the total is 4 times greater than the 1995 estimate. When compared to other billion-dollar disasters in 2017, dust’s cost was second only to tropical cyclones.

2 months ago | civileats.com | Virginia Gewin

Farmers use the herbicide paraquat, often sold under the brand name Gramoxone, to clear fields before planting. One of the most popular herbicides in the U.S., paraquat is cheap and effective, able to rapidly kill grasses and perennial weeds, but a growing body of research has connected it to Parkinson’s disease, thyroid cancer, and harm to birds, amphibians, reptiles, and plants.

2 months ago | science.org | Virginia Gewin

Amid the flurry of executive orders issued last week on the first day of President Donald Trump’s administration, one targeted at diversity programs is reverberating throughout federal science agencies. Many that have incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion work as a central part of their mission in recent years are now closing DEI offices and doing away with DEI-focused language and initiatives.

Dec 19, 2024 | nature.com | Virginia Gewin

“When I was a child living on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, my parents would take me to see golden-mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata palliata) in the forest most weekends. Howler monkeys are like big, hairy gardeners, spreading seeds from many trees. I understood at an early age that if we preserve the forest, we preserve the species in it.