Keerti Gopal

Texas has no regulations to protect workers from the state’s blistering heat and overturned city ordinances that required rest breaks. What does that mean for workers in one of the hottest parts of the country? @keertigopal.bsky.social and I spent months investigating for @insideclimatenews.org (1)

Texas Workers Keep Dying in the Heat - Inside Climate News Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Eighteen-year-old Danny Nolasco died last summer working construction in the scorching Texas heat. He wasn’t the only one. As Texas continues to block heat safety labor protections, advocates call for a national standard.

Heat is the no. 1 weather-related killer in the world, but as temperatures rise, heat deaths are still severely undercounted. Meanwhile, Texas has blocked and overturned worker heat protections, and there's currently no national heat safety rule for workplaces, although OSHA is considering one.

Texas Workers Keep Dying in the Heat - Inside Climate News Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Danny Nolasco was just 18 when he collapsed and died working construction in the Texas heat. We wrote about him, and 5 other workers whose heat-related deaths OSHA investigated last summer. From me and @psskow.bsky.social @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/2411202...

Trump’s Plans to Expand Offshore Drilling Meet Bipartisan Opposition - Inside Climate News It’s not often that the governors of California and Florida are on the same page, but this week they’re aligned in opposition to the White House’s latest plan to expand offshore oil drilling near both...

Trump doubles down on fossil fuels but Republicans make it one in a row!
Trump’s Plans to Expand Offshore Drilling Meet Bipartisan Opposition. California and Florida lawmakers oppose the plan. It's a rare example of Republican pushback.
@keertigopal.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/2111202...

We are starting week two of COP30.

Want a recap? Watch @insideclimatenews.org's Sunday Morning for journalist @bberwyn.bsky.social's thoughts live from Belém.

insideclimatenews.org/news/1611202...

A Growing Number of ‘Repair Cafes’ Are Popping Up Around the World to Curb Consumer Waste - Inside Climate News Local communities are hosting events where people can bring in their broken goods for repairs—free of charge.

A timeline cleanser: My recent newsletter is about rise of "repair cafes" around the world, where communities come together to fix each other's beloved things. The goal: reduce consumer waste, and maybe make some buddies in the process 🔧👭

insideclimatenews.org/news/1111202...

‘Millions of Avoidable Deaths’: Climate Change Health Harms Reach Unprecedented Levels - Inside Climate News Heat waves, extreme drought and deadly wildfire smoke are just some of the climate-related health hazards that have reac

“It’s been repeatedly demonstrated that those who are contributing the least to climate change are often suffering the greatest impacts, and that’s particularly relevant with respect to heat stress.”
Thanks to @keertigopal.bsky.social

‘Millions of Avoidable Deaths’: Climate Change Health Harms Reach Unprecedented Levels - Inside Climate News Heat waves, extreme drought and deadly wildfire smoke are just some of the climate-related health hazards that have reached record levels of harm, according to the latest report from a global collabor...

The latest Lancet Countdown report paints a dire picture of climate change and global health. Authors summed it up as "a world in turmoil." Read more about heat waves, disease and deadly inaction — and how scientists are turning to social movements for hope

insideclimatenews.org/news/2810202...

Gulf South Residents and Green Groups Sue Trump and EPA Over Toxic Air Pollution Exemptions - Inside Climate News The lawsuit fights a White House proclamation exempting 50 chemical manufacturing plants from hard-won restrictions on cancer-causing pollutants.

Activists are suing Trump over a proclamation that gives 50 chemical manufacturing facilities, mostly in Texas and Louisiana, a 2-year exemption from limits on cancer-causing pollutants
insideclimatenews.org/news/2210202...

Extreme heat is harming our health, and we need to strengthen awareness among patients, providers, and our communities. Thank you @keertigopal.bsky.social for uplifting this critical topic and expert voices like @lisapatel.bsky.social.

What Extreme Heat Is Doing to Your Body - Inside Climate News As climate change intensifies, heat health risks from accelerated aging to bad decision-making grow worldwide. Here’s what you need to know.

Faster aging. Trouble focusing. Dementia. From our brains to our DNA, extreme heat is wreaking havoc on our bodies — and we're experiencing it more and more. Here's what you need to know: insideclimatenews.org/news/0210202...

Israel has just arrested Greta Thunberg and many others.

Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:

“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
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After Decades of Shattered Trust, Chicagoans Demand Transparency on South Side Quantum Computing Development - Inside Climate News The multi-billion-dollar project is slated to develop a long-vacant former steel mill site, with the potential for thousands of jobs. But residents fear further contamination and displacement in a com...

I wrote more about the context around this project and community pushback in March, read it here: insideclimatenews.org/news/2903202...

As Chicago Quantum Campus Breaks Ground, Residents Call for Community Benefits - Inside Climate News Developers and lawmakers say the project will be an economic boon, but concerns about contamination and displacement persist.

A quantum computing project broke ground yesterday in Chicago, but community members are voicing concerns about potential displacement and environmental harm

insideclimatenews.org/news/0110202...

Since 2023, the city has drawn between $70 million and $90 million of an approximately $325 million federal loan for lead service line replacements that expires next year

via @keertigopal.bsky.social and @juanpab.bsky.social grist.org/economics/ch...

Climate Change-Driven Floods Continue to Displace Millions in Pakistan - Inside Climate News More than 2 million people have been displaced in Pakistan since June of this year, as floods continue to cause destruction across a country still reeling from the devastation of relentless climate sh...

Monsoon floods that have killed more than 950 people and evacuated millions in Pakistan this summer were intensified by climate change. The climate crisis is here and now, more @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/1209202...

We got big project out today about Chicago’s lead pipes. The news is we mapped them all. The big idea is that Chicago residents are living through a public health crisis, and we wanted to help them visualize their place in it.
@grist.org @wbez.org @insideclimatenews.org @chicago.suntimes.com

Lead City - Inside Climate News Digging into Chicago's massive lead pipe problem

This is the latest in our ongoing series on Chicago’s lead pipe problem. Check out the other stories here + resources on how to stay safe!

insideclimatenews.org/project/chic...

Chicago Has a Huge Lead Pipe Problem—and We Mapped It - Inside Climate News Lead water service lines are all over the city. But majority Black and Latino neighborhoods bear the biggest burden, our analysis finds.

Chicago has the most lead service lines of any city in the county. We mapped out which neighborhoods are hit hardest. Mega collab out today from me, @peteraldhous.com @juanpab.bsky.social @compatibilism.bsky.social + @amyqin.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/2808202...

"[Drummond] shouldn’t be shipping coal to the state of Israel in the first place, given Israel’s persistent human rights record,” one protester told @insideclimatenews.org near the company's corporate campus on Friday. Full story: insideclimatenews.org/news/2208202...

Canyon Wildfire in Los Angeles Forces Thousands to Evacuate - Inside Climate News It’s among the wildfires that are raging in North America and Europe as climate change creates dangerous conditions, posing immediate and long-term dangers to human health.

Thousands are being forced to evacuate in Southern California as the Canyon Fire grows rapidly, fueled by extreme heat and dry conditions.

Dismantling of EPA’s Scientific Research Arm Fulfills Key Chemical Industry Goal - Inside Climate News Companies feared rules and lawsuits based on the Office of Research and Development’s assessments of the dangers of formaldehyde, ethylene oxide and other substances.

The petrochemical industry didn’t like the science that the EPA was putting out on chemical risks. Now, the office responsible for that work has been eliminated by the Trump administration and the future of agency risk assessments is uncertain.

Chicago residents: tell the city what heat interventions you want prioritized here! northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

30 Years After Chicago’s Deadliest Heat Wave, Systemic Racism Is Still the Root Problem - Inside Climate News CHICAGO—Cheryl Johnson was watching the news during the worst heat wave in her city’s history when she learned that a man she’d known since she was a child had been found dead on the steps of a church...

In the neighborhoods where Black residents were hit hardest by Chicago's 1995 heat wave, many systemic disparities remain unaddressed.
insideclimatenews.org/news/1707202...

Chicago Was Supposed to Warn Residents About Toxic Lead Pipes. It’s Barely Started - Inside Climate News This story is a partnership between Grist, Inside Climate News and WBEZ. This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropo...

Eight months past a federal deadline, >90% of at-risk Chicagoans haven't been warned that their water may be contaminated with lead. 2nd story in our summer lead pipes series is out @insideclimatenews.org @grist.org @wbez.org, from me + @juanpab.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/1407202...

EPA Employees Called on the Agency to Stop Undermining Public Health. The Trump Administration Put Them on Leave - Inside Climate News The 139 employees signed a petition dissenting with recent EPA actions, saying they endanger the public.

139 EPA employees were put on administrative leave today for signing a petition (on their own time) that expressed disagreement with the administration. Very important unpacking here from @lisasorg.bsky.social and @shamaan.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/0307202...

NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers - Inside Climate News Research from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, an agency beleaguered by funding cuts and censorship, finds that particulate matter pollution impacts lung cancer at the DNA level.

Air pollution is making the gene-level mutations in lung cancer tumors of nonsmokers look a lot like those in smokers' lungs. New research from NIH today @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/0207202...

For Unhoused People in Chicago, There’s No Escaping This Heat People experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to the health ramifications of extreme heat, which is worsening due to climate change. Finding a cool place at night is a particular challe...

“It’s like you got a mask on,” Curtis Hackett said. “It’s just like you got a fan on and it’s blowing hot air, that’s exactly how I feel.”

insideclimatenews.org/news/2606202...

Chicago’s Plan to Replace Lead Pipes Puts It 30 Years Behind the Federal Deadline - Inside Climate News Banking for now on an outdated EPA rule from the first Trump administration, the city with the most lead service lines in the country doesn’t plan to finish replacing them until 2076.

Chicago has the most lead service lines of any city in the country, and its current plan to replace them is lagging behind a federal mandate. This story kicks off our summer series on lead pipes in Chicago, with @insideclimatenews.org, @wbez.org and @grist.org

insideclimatenews.org/news/2606202...