Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Water Shortage On The Colorado River Forces Cuts For Arizona Farms
Politico: Drought Forces First Water Cuts On The Colorado River. They're Just The Beginning
A two-decade-long megadrought along the Colorado River is pushing seven Western states and parts of Mexico into a formal shortage declaration, forcing water delivery cuts to the Southwest that are just the beginning of the pain climate change promises to bring to the region. Climate scientists and water managers have long seen this declaration coming, but what's alarming them is the speed with which the hot and dry conditions over the past four years have shrunk the river’s two main reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, to levels not seen since they were first filled. (Snider, 8/16)
The New York Times: In A First, U.S. Declares Water Shortage On Colorado River
The declaration triggers cuts in water supply that, for now, mostly will affect Arizona farmers. Beginning next year they will be cut off from much of the water they have relied on for decades. Much smaller reductions are mandated for Nevada and for Mexico across the southern border. But larger cuts, affecting far more of the 40 million people in the West who rely on the river for at least part of their water supply, are likely in coming years as a warming climate continues to reduce how much water flows into the Colorado from rain and melting snow. (Fountain, 8/16)
In other environmental health news —
NPR: Heat Exposure In U.S. Has Led To Hundreds Of Worker Deaths Since 2010
As the temperature in Grand Island, Neb., soared to 91 degrees that July day in 2018, two dozen farmworkers tunneled for nine hours into a thicket of cornstalks, snapping off tassels while they crossed a sunbaked field that spanned 206 acres — the equivalent of 156 football fields. When they emerged at the end of the day to board a bus that would transport them to a nearby motel to sleep, one of the workers, Cruz Urias Beltran, didn't make it back. Searchers found the 52-year-old farmworker's body 20 hours later amid the corn husks, "as if he'd simply collapsed," recalled a funeral home employee. An empty water bottle was stuffed in his jeans pocket. An autopsy report confirmed that Beltran died from heatstroke. It was his third day on the job. (Shipley, Edwards, Nickerson, Benincasa, Chavez and Thompson, 8/17)
E&E News: 'People Can Die': Texas Bill Would Strip Worker Water Breaks
A Republican push meant to prevent Texas municipalities from protecting workers from the coronavirus pandemic also threatens to eliminate bare-bones requirements in two cities giving construction workers time to hydrate in the heat. Dallas and Austin require employers to provide construction workers 10-minute water breaks every four hours. That’s seen by many as minimal protections in a state where summer heat routinely rises above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and where the number of dangerously hot days is expected to increase with climate change.S.B. 14 would erase those requirements as Texas Republicans, angered by local ordinances requiring mandatory sick leave during the coronavirus pandemic, push to eliminate municipalities’ ability to protect workers from other hazards. The bill is supported by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and has already passed the Senate. Its fate now lies in the hands of House Democrats who fled the state this spring to prevent passage of a bill that would limit voting rights in Texas. (Wittenberg, 8/17)
Reuters: Billionaire Kraft's Paper Mill Causes Pollution Crisis In South Carolina
A South Carolina paper mill, whose foul smell has triggered more than 30,000 complaints, has become one of the dirtiest polluters in the United States since being acquired by an investment group led by Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots football team. The complaints over large releases of hydrogen sulfide, a gas that smells like rotten eggs and causes headaches and even death in concentrated doses, from the New-Indy paper mill in Catawba, South Carolina, have resulted in federal and state orders to reduce its emissions. Three federal civil lawsuits have been filed against the company, alleging the odor is harming families. (Mclaughlin, 8/17)
