personal narratives compliment scientific data

Credit: Sarah Kanouse/Flickr

Medical anthropologist in Arizona enhances environmental science using local narratives

Researcher Denise Moreno-Ramirez utilizes oral histories to deepen environmental science research, highlighting community impacts from neglected toxic sites.

Emma Peterson reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

Denise Moreno-Ramírez, growing up in Nogales, Arizona, faced unrecognized health crises in her community, linked to historical contamination.
Her PhD project, "Voices Unheard," collected firsthand accounts from locals, enhancing scientific data with personal stories and emphasizing overlooked community histories.
This approach reclaims the value of oral histories in scientific research, countering the trend of depersonalized data analysis.

Key quote:

“The answer isn’t just in science. It’s in people.”

— Rib Davis, Chief of the Oral History Society.

Why this matters:

Understanding environmental health impacts through community stories adds human context to scientific data, promoting informed policy decisions. Inclusivity in scientific research has the potential to shape healthier futures for marginalized communities.

Read Moreno-Ramírez's essay for our Agents of Change program, A love note to brown women facing beauty injustices.

insideclimatenews.org

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.

A pile of old discarded clothing in a waste heap with the sun peeking out from behind.

Credit: Photothèque AT/Flickr

Where fast fashion’s cast-offs really end up

Think your old clothes find a new home after you drop them in a donation bin? Think again. An investigation tracking 15 geolocated garments reveals a global trade that buries the Global South in textile waste, feeding pollution, exploitation, and an unsustainable fashion industry.

Ana Carbajosa, Patricia R. Blanco, and Beatriz Lecumberri report for El País.

Keep reading...Show less

Read the Full Article on

english.elpais.com

Medical anthropologist in Arizona enhances environmental science using local narratives

A cargo ship collision in the North Sea raises fears of toxic contamination

US Supreme Court clears way for climate lawsuits against Big Oil

Trump administration withdraws from two major global climate programs

Where fast fashion’s cast-offs really end up

The rain is cleaner, but now it’s full of plastic and forever chemicals

House spending bill could lead to government shutdown

Trump administration sued over frozen climate funds

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

LISTEN: Reflections on the first five years of the Agents of Change program

The leadership team talks about what they’ve learned — and what lies ahead.

Study shows $1 billion in lost tax revenue in Houston area from industry tax breaks

Top polluters are benefiting the most from tax breaks.