Toxic Algae in Drinking Water: What the Evidence Shows
In 2014 about 400,000 people in Toledo were told not to drink their tap water. What research shows about toxic algae in drinking water and how to protect your household.
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Cold Weather Deaths: What the Evidence Shows
Cold is linked to about 4.6 million deaths a year, far more than heat. What the evidence shows about cold-related deaths and where researchers disagree.
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Hurricane Deaths: What the Official Count Misses
Official statistics record about 24 deaths per US hurricane. Excess-mortality studies find far more, in the months and years after the storm. What kills people directly, who dies later, and how much weight the biggest estimates can carry.
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Twelve Inches of Water Carries Away a Car. More Than Half of Flood Deaths Are People Who Drove Into It.
Six inches knocks an adult down and twelve carries away most cars — and over half of flood drownings are drivers. Meanwhile the official maps miss about six million American properties.
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Houses Do Not Usually Burn From the Flames. They Burn From What Lands in the Gutter.
Embers are the leading cause of home ignition in wildfire, and they arrive miles ahead of the fire. An ember-resistant buffer halves a home ignition risk, and clearing perimeter vegetation nearly doubles survival odds. Why the first five feet matter more than the next ninety-five, and which measures have evidence behind them.
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In a Modern Building, the Earthquake Is Not What Hurts You. The Room Is.
A magnitude 5.9 near Tokyo in August 2026 injured 37 people and knocked down no buildings — almost all of them hurt by furniture, doors and falls. In Northridge, deaths came from collapse but hospitalisations came from falling objects. Here is what the injury data says about securing a room, why the “Triangle of Life” is wrong, and the eight fixes that matter — four of which are free.
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Nine Million Homes Still Drink Through a Lead Pipe
The EPA gave water systems until 2034 to replace up to nine million lead service lines. How to find out in one minute whether yours is one of them, which filter specification actually matters, and why boiling makes lead worse rather than better.
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Heat Kills More Americans Than Hurricanes. Almost Always Indoors.
Recorded US heat deaths rose from 297 in 2004 to 1,714 in 2022. In New York City records, none of the at-home heat-stress deaths had air conditioning in use — and a quarter had only a fan. Why a fan is not cooling, and what actually works.
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The Safe Level of Air Pollution Keeps Moving Down
The EPA cut the PM2.5 standard from 12 to 9 in 2024 because studies kept finding harm below the old limit. Meanwhile wildfire smoke has reversed clean air progress in 35 states. What a HEPA filter measurably does — and what it cannot touch.
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Your Gas Stove and the Air in Your Kitchen: What the Measurements Found
Gas stoves raise indoor nitrogen dioxide by about 4 ppb — roughly three quarters of the WHO annual guideline on their own. What the peer-reviewed indoor air quality measurements found, why kitchen size matters more than the appliance, and which fixes actually work.
