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Farmworkers are making — and enforcing — the strongest heat protection rules in the country

Feb 29, 2024
Farms that participate in the Fair Food Program ensure workers have access to things like shade and water. In return, they're first in line to sell to big buyers.
Farms participating in the Fair Food Program ensure farmworkers receive certain heat protections, including access to shaded areas and water.
Photo Courtesy of Eva Marie Uzcategui for The Washington Post

For animal shelters, higher temperatures mean higher volume and higher stress

Aug 15, 2023
Record heat in Arizona has brought an influx of mouths to feed at Liberty Wildlife along with high water and electricity bills.
A hawk receiving aid at Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix. Heat waves are a threat to animals as well as people.
Courtesy Laura Hackett

How climate change is impacting where and when tourists want to travel

Aug 11, 2023
After a hot summer, some travelers are expressing more concern about heat waves, wildfires and other extreme weather events that might affect their plans.
A heat advisory sign is shown along US highway 190 during a heat wave in Death Valley National Park. Tourism patterns have started to change in the area thanks to climate change.
Ronda Churchill / AFP via Getty Images

More “hottest day evers” mean changing the way we work

Extreme heat affects our health, our morale and our productivity. Employers will need to adapt.
Contractor Prince Xavier Biabo, who's renovating a townhouse in Baltimore, says hydrating is key to getting through the heat.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Fuel oil used to heat homes costs 68.5% more than this time last year

Nov 10, 2022
That's one of the standout numbers from the latest consumer price index, and it will mean an expensive winter for many Americans.
"Unfortunately, we're going into this season with lower [fuel oil] inventories than typical," says UC Berkeley’s Severin Borenstein.
koinseb/Getty Images

"We just can't function in the same way": Extreme heat and worker productivity

Aug 19, 2022
Extreme heat isn't just uncomfortable. It can hurt workers' health and make them prone to errors, one expert says.
The threshold where heat starts to really affect how well people can focus and work is roughly 90 degrees, says Amir Jina at the University of Chicago.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

Biden administration launches Heat.gov as extreme heat becomes more common

Aug 1, 2022
The government also boosts funding for a FEMA program to help communities prepare for extreme heat and other climate-related disasters.
While the government is taking steps to address the impacts of extreme heat, climate experts worry that the problem could worsen.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Energy is getting more expensive. More middle-income families are struggling to pay.

May 16, 2022
Between a quarter and a third of U.S. households are said to be energy insecure, and many don't qualify for aid.
Energy costs should take up about 6% of household income, energy experts say. But many low- and middle-income families are spending  multiple times that.
Photo illustration by George Frey/Getty Images

Rural Americans brace for more expensive propane

Oct 29, 2021
Heading into winter, the price of residential propane is higher than it's been in 10 years.
Propane is at its highest price in a decade.
Go Nakamura via Getty Images

Heat exposure can be deadly for farm workers. Now, advocates are asking the feds to step in

Sep 18, 2018
Over the past three decades, about 800 workers have died from heat exposure; almost one in five worked in agriculture.
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images