Environment update

United Farm Workers - The summer heat has begun and farm workers and other outdoor workers desperately need a federal heat standard. With the way the government has shifted to the right, the need is more urgent than ever. An example occurred on June 17. Texas is first in work-related heat exposure deaths and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just made it worse. He signed a bill to nullify local laws mandating water breaks for construction workers. Farm workers will surely face the same risks if conservative values overrule common sense protections in state and local government... Heat risk is real. Climate change is happening and outdoor workers are more and more in danger every year. Extreme temperatures could make thousands of workers seriously ill -- and even suffer heat stroke and die. Farm workers are as much as 35 times more likely to die from heat than any other civilian occupation. Only a handful of states -- California, Oregon and Washington -- have policies on farm work in extreme heat. This lack of regulations puts farm workers in an impossible situation where they are forced to choose between making a living and taking care of their health. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ... has no rule requiring protection from extreme heat. How to prevent heat illness and death is no mystery: Provide workers with adequate rest breaks in the shade or a cool area where they can rehydrate. But many employers will not do so unless they are forced, and unfortunately, OSHA is unlikely to require these basic protections any time soon.

Solar and wind projects are on course to make up more than a third of global energy capacity by 2030, according to a report by U.S.-based clean energy nonprofit the Rocky Mountain Institute. The report said the growth demonstrates that the energy sector will be able to take the necessary steps to meet worldwide climate targets, reported Reuters.

EcoWatch - Canada is currently experiencing its worst wildfire season ever, and on Monday smoke from the hundreds of blazes once again drifted across the border into the United States, prompting another round of air quality warnings. The new bout of smoke and haze led to air quality alerts being issued for around 70 million people in 32 states and the District of Columbia, from Montana across to Vermont and all the way down into Northern Alabama, reported CNN and The New York Times. Cities affected included New York, Cleveland and Chicago.

Nearly 50 Household Paints Contain PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Research Reveals

Dangerous levels of heat are forecast in the South, West and Midwest on Wednesday, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. About 86.5 million people — 26 percent of the population of the contiguous United States — live in the areas expected to have dangerous levels of heat.