How Climate Change Affects the Spread of Lyme Disease

The warming world can be a hospitable place for blacklegged ticks, which carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. They thrive in temperatures at or above 7.2º C (45º F) and at 82% or greater humidity (the warmer and wetter, the better). As climate change steadily bakes the planet—with shorter, milder winters and longer, hotter … Read more

Less Than 1% of Earth Has Safe Levels of Air Pollution, Study Finds

It’s no secret that air pollution is a serious problem facing the world today. Just how serious? A new study on global daily levels of air pollution shows that hardly anywhere on Earth is safe from unhealthy air. About 99.82% of the global land area is exposed to levels of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) — … Read more

Keto vs. Vegan: What to Eat if You Want to Save the Planet and Your Health

Debates over the benefits and pitfalls of different diets have been around as long as, well, the diets themselves. Is the ketogenic diet a good way to lose weight, or a carb-free trip to bad health? Are vegetarians missing out on vital vitamins? What, exactly, is the omnivore’s dilemma? Can vegans eat sugar? And do … Read more

Extreme Heat is a Health Crisis, Scientists Warn. And Climate Change Is Making It Worse

The record-breaking heat Earth endured during the summer of 2022 will be repeated without a robust international effort to address climate change, a panel of scientists warned Monday. Heat-related deaths, wildfires, extreme rainfall, and persistent drought are expected to become increasingly severe as both ocean and atmospheric temperatures continue to rise, the experts said. Even … Read more