Keerti Gopal

Maui’s Mental Health Crisis Goes Far Beyond the Wildfire Burn Zone  - Inside Climate News On the day of one of the deadliest natural disasters in Hawaii’s history, Blake Kekoa Ramelb watched his hometown go up in flames.  It was Aug. 8, 2023, and Maui was burning. Ramelb, born and raised i...

Wildfire survivors throughout Maui are still facing severe mental health burdens, two and a half years after the devastating fires. Read about how the crisis intersects with housing, job loss, and struggling healthcare infrastructure here: insideclimatenews.org/news/1103202...

Could a New Illinois Bill Be a Blueprint for Curbing Data Centers’ Climate Impacts? - Inside Climate News As data centers drive up energy demand, water usage and utility bills, advocates seek to make companies mitigate their climate and economic impacts.

A new bill in Illinois is trying to curb the climate, health and affordability impacts of data centers, as residents face rising utility bills insideclimatenews.org/news/1902202...

A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response - Inside Climate News A sprawling winter storm that left hundreds of thousands without power, grounded thousands of flights and disrupted travel across the eastern half of the U.S. could be the first real test of the secon...

Days after this winter storm, thousands are still without power, digging out, and 60+ people have died.

This storm was supercharged by climate change: warmer air holds more moisture, driving heavier snow, ice, + damage. ❄️🔥

insideclimatenews.org/news/2601202...

Amid National Call to ‘Make Polluters Pay,’ Illinois Lawmakers Are Prepping a Climate Change Superfund Bill - Inside Climate News Illinois lawmakers plan to introduce a climate change superfund bill in the state legislature this session, the latest in a growing number of states seeking to make fossil fuel companies pay up for th...

A climate change superfund bill in Illinois joins a national movement to force fossil fuel companies to pay for the rising costs of climate change. Read about why communities are calling to "make polluters pay" @insideclimatenews.org

insideclimatenews.org/news/2801202...

A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response - Inside Climate News A sprawling winter storm that left hundreds of thousands without power, grounded thousands of flights and disrupted travel across the eastern half of the U.S. could be the first real test of the secon...

"A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response" by @kiley.bsky.social, @bberwyn.bsky.social, @keertigopal.bsky.social, Lee Hedgepeth & Lisa Sorg for @insideclimatenews.org: insideclimatenews.org/news/2601202...

A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response - Inside Climate News A sprawling winter storm that left hundreds of thousands without power, grounded thousands of flights and disrupted travel across the eastern half of the U.S. could be the first real test of the secon...

A team effort today on the winter storm's wide reaching impacts, climate change, FEMA cuts and the health hazards of extreme cold. Stay warm and check on your elderly and unhoused neighbors!

insideclimatenews.org/news/2601202...

States say they need more help replacing lead pipes. Congress may cut the funding instead. The U.S. House voted to cut millions promised for the work this year. The Senate will vote this week, as advocates and some lawmakers push back.

States across the country need federal support to replace toxic lead pipes. But Congress may cut $125M from funding meant to remove them, raising concerns about slowing progress to protect people from lead in their drinking water.

@keertigopal.bsky.social for @grist.org: grist.org/politics/sta...

The Real Pain of Climate Change Is Easy to Feel, but Increasingly Difficult to Study - Inside Climate News Many chronic pain patients cite the weather as a driver of their suffering, and climate change is making the torment more likely and harder to deal with. But research on the relationship is uncertain,...

Even as climate change worsens suffering for people with chronic pain, "getting funding from Washington for research at the intersection of global warming and pain is virtually impossible." Uprooter @smallthoughts.bsky.social for @insideclimatenews.org

insideclimatenews.org/news/0401202...

In Lahore’s Smog Season, This Gen Z Doctor Is Centering Climate Change - Inside Climate News Dr. Farah Waseem has advocated for climate awareness since childhood. Now, it’s a matter of life and death for her patients in Pakistan.

My hat is off to Farah Waseem, a 26 year old physician in Pakistan, who "sees advocacy (for human & planetary health) as a moral and civic duty." Every health professional, me included, should stand with Dr. Waseem.

@docsforclimate.bsky.social
@gchalliance.bsky.social
@keertigopal.bsky.social

People drinking contaminated water and living in flooded tents face kidney and gastrointestinal disease, hypothermia, starvation and more.

“This winter is going to be catastrophic,” said Lena Dajani of The Sameer Project.

Gaza Faces Another Catastrophic Winter as Environmental and Humanitarian Devastation Mount - Inside Climate News While Israel restricts lifesaving aid and multiple reports show it violating the ceasefire, Gazans suffer flooded tents, starvation, pollution and disease.

Storm Byron is making already catastrophic conditions for displaced families in Gaza even more deadly. Aid workers face staggering need, as Israel continues to restrict lifesaving aid. insideclimatenews.org/news/1212202...

Texas has no regulations to protect workers from the state’s blistering heat and overturned city ordinances that required rest breaks. What does that mean for workers in one of the hottest parts of the country? @keertigopal.bsky.social and I spent months investigating for @insideclimatenews.org (1)

Texas Workers Keep Dying in the Heat - Inside Climate News Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Eighteen-year-old Danny Nolasco died last summer working construction in the scorching Texas heat. He wasn’t the only one. As Texas continues to block heat safety labor protections, advocates call for a national standard.

Heat is the no. 1 weather-related killer in the world, but as temperatures rise, heat deaths are still severely undercounted. Meanwhile, Texas has blocked and overturned worker heat protections, and there's currently no national heat safety rule for workplaces, although OSHA is considering one.

Texas Workers Keep Dying in the Heat - Inside Climate News Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Danny Nolasco was just 18 when he collapsed and died working construction in the Texas heat. We wrote about him, and 5 other workers whose heat-related deaths OSHA investigated last summer. From me and @psskow.bsky.social @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/2411202...

Trump’s Plans to Expand Offshore Drilling Meet Bipartisan Opposition - Inside Climate News It’s not often that the governors of California and Florida are on the same page, but this week they’re aligned in opposition to the White House’s latest plan to expand offshore oil drilling near both...

Trump doubles down on fossil fuels but Republicans make it one in a row!
Trump’s Plans to Expand Offshore Drilling Meet Bipartisan Opposition. California and Florida lawmakers oppose the plan. It's a rare example of Republican pushback.
@keertigopal.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/2111202...

We are starting week two of COP30.

Want a recap? Watch @insideclimatenews.org's Sunday Morning for journalist @bberwyn.bsky.social's thoughts live from Belém.

insideclimatenews.org/news/1611202...

A Growing Number of ‘Repair Cafes’ Are Popping Up Around the World to Curb Consumer Waste - Inside Climate News Local communities are hosting events where people can bring in their broken goods for repairs—free of charge.

A timeline cleanser: My recent newsletter is about rise of "repair cafes" around the world, where communities come together to fix each other's beloved things. The goal: reduce consumer waste, and maybe make some buddies in the process 🔧👭

insideclimatenews.org/news/1111202...

‘Millions of Avoidable Deaths’: Climate Change Health Harms Reach Unprecedented Levels - Inside Climate News Heat waves, extreme drought and deadly wildfire smoke are just some of the climate-related health hazards that have reac

“It’s been repeatedly demonstrated that those who are contributing the least to climate change are often suffering the greatest impacts, and that’s particularly relevant with respect to heat stress.”
Thanks to @keertigopal.bsky.social

‘Millions of Avoidable Deaths’: Climate Change Health Harms Reach Unprecedented Levels - Inside Climate News Heat waves, extreme drought and deadly wildfire smoke are just some of the climate-related health hazards that have reached record levels of harm, according to the latest report from a global collabor...

The latest Lancet Countdown report paints a dire picture of climate change and global health. Authors summed it up as "a world in turmoil." Read more about heat waves, disease and deadly inaction — and how scientists are turning to social movements for hope

insideclimatenews.org/news/2810202...

Gulf South Residents and Green Groups Sue Trump and EPA Over Toxic Air Pollution Exemptions - Inside Climate News The lawsuit fights a White House proclamation exempting 50 chemical manufacturing plants from hard-won restrictions on cancer-causing pollutants.

Activists are suing Trump over a proclamation that gives 50 chemical manufacturing facilities, mostly in Texas and Louisiana, a 2-year exemption from limits on cancer-causing pollutants
insideclimatenews.org/news/2210202...

Extreme heat is harming our health, and we need to strengthen awareness among patients, providers, and our communities. Thank you @keertigopal.bsky.social for uplifting this critical topic and expert voices like @lisapatel.bsky.social.

What Extreme Heat Is Doing to Your Body - Inside Climate News As climate change intensifies, heat health risks from accelerated aging to bad decision-making grow worldwide. Here’s what you need to know.

Faster aging. Trouble focusing. Dementia. From our brains to our DNA, extreme heat is wreaking havoc on our bodies — and we're experiencing it more and more. Here's what you need to know: insideclimatenews.org/news/0210202...

Israel has just arrested Greta Thunberg and many others.

Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:

“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
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After Decades of Shattered Trust, Chicagoans Demand Transparency on South Side Quantum Computing Development - Inside Climate News The multi-billion-dollar project is slated to develop a long-vacant former steel mill site, with the potential for thousands of jobs. But residents fear further contamination and displacement in a com...

I wrote more about the context around this project and community pushback in March, read it here: insideclimatenews.org/news/2903202...

As Chicago Quantum Campus Breaks Ground, Residents Call for Community Benefits - Inside Climate News Developers and lawmakers say the project will be an economic boon, but concerns about contamination and displacement persist.

A quantum computing project broke ground yesterday in Chicago, but community members are voicing concerns about potential displacement and environmental harm

insideclimatenews.org/news/0110202...

Since 2023, the city has drawn between $70 million and $90 million of an approximately $325 million federal loan for lead service line replacements that expires next year

via @keertigopal.bsky.social and @juanpab.bsky.social grist.org/economics/ch...

Climate Change-Driven Floods Continue to Displace Millions in Pakistan - Inside Climate News More than 2 million people have been displaced in Pakistan since June of this year, as floods continue to cause destruction across a country still reeling from the devastation of relentless climate sh...

Monsoon floods that have killed more than 950 people and evacuated millions in Pakistan this summer were intensified by climate change. The climate crisis is here and now, more @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/1209202...

We got big project out today about Chicago’s lead pipes. The news is we mapped them all. The big idea is that Chicago residents are living through a public health crisis, and we wanted to help them visualize their place in it.
@grist.org @wbez.org @insideclimatenews.org @chicago.suntimes.com

Lead City - Inside Climate News Digging into Chicago's massive lead pipe problem

This is the latest in our ongoing series on Chicago’s lead pipe problem. Check out the other stories here + resources on how to stay safe!

insideclimatenews.org/project/chic...