Heat waves pose deadly threats to incarcerated people and more environmental headlines.

[View this email in your browser]( Thursday, August 18, 2022 “We’re poisoning the land, we’re poisoning animals, and I truly believe we’re poisoning ourselves.” – Jane Goodall Children Living Near Fracking Sites Face Higher Leukemia Risks, Study Finds Pennsylvania children who grew up near oil and gas fracking sites are at higher risk for leukemia, a study published Wednesday in [Environmental Health Perspectives]( finds. The study’s findings are consistent with a [plethora]( of [research]( on [health risks]( associated with fracking. Yale researchers using Pennsylvania cancer registry data, found children between the ages of 2–7 years-old who lived near (within 2km, or 1.25 miles of) a fracking site were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Children born to pregnant people who lived near fracking sites are at triple the risk. [Read More]( Related: [Living Near Fracking Sites Increases Risk of Early Death, Study Finds]( Atlantic Hurricane Season (Unofficially) Starting Earlier, Study Finds Tropical storms are increasingly forming and making landfall before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season as ocean temperatures warm, a new study published in [Nature Communications]( finds. The study’s publication comes as NOAA considers moving the official June 1 start date up to May 15. [Read More]( Related: [Scientists Develop Wind Turbines Resistant to Hurricanes]( Heat Waves Pose Deadly Threats to Incarcerated People, Prison Staff Extreme heat is [taking an increasing toll]( across the U.S. in summertime. People who are incarcerated are [among society’s most vulnerable groups]( and have been especially affected. More than a [dozen states]( do not have air conditioning in all of their prison units, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. In Texas, where I work, only [about 30% of prisons are fully air-conditioned](. Many of these states also face some of the [highest heat risks in the U.S.]( according to recent studies. [Read More]( Related: Heat Belt’ Will Affect Much of the U.S. by 2050, Study Finds]( Emerald Green Hummingbird Deemed ‘Lost to Science’ Reemerges in Colombia In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. “This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only the second time the critically endangered hummingbird has had a documented sighting since 1946. The last bird was spotted in 2010. [Read More]( Related: [Hummingbirds Live in a More Colorful World, Study Confirms]( Indigenous-Led Solutions Essential to Reversing Plastic Pollution, Researchers Say Plastic pollution is an international problem, as trillions of pieces of plastic have made their way into the ocean from commercial and household waste, blown from landfills and trash cans into sewers and rivers and out to sea. Marine animals can ingest and become entangled in [ocean plastic]( leading to sickness, starvation and death. Plastic leaches toxic chemicals and doesn’t biodegrade naturally in the environment. [Read More]( Related: [Indigenous People Reclaim Hundreds of Acres of California Redwood Forest]( Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2022 EcoWatch, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for EcoWatch Top News of The Day Our mailing address is: EcoWatch 1122 Oberlin RoadRaleigh, NC 27605 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](