Knowledge Center

As our climate changes, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather is increasing. These events include hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall, floods, severe winter weather, hail, and tornadoes.

Americans generate a lot of trash and most of it is picked up at the curb and then dumped in municipal solid waste landfills (MSWL). Landfills receive common household garbage, including our stinky food scraps and worn-out personal belongings, such as beds and clothes, as well as nonhazardous wastes. There were 1,908 municipal landfills in the U.S. in 2009, according to the EPA.

Interest in electric vehicles is strengthening , especially among younger generations. New government incentives designed to spur consumers to buy EV – including tax breaks and infrastructure spending to install high-power, faster-filling EV stations across the nation – are expected to boost the market considerably in years to come.

Particle pollution, also called particulate matter (PM), consists of tiny particles of solids and liquids in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and drops of liquid. Breathing particle pollution can be harmful to your health.

On December 2022, researchers from the National Ignition Facility achieved fusion ignition for the first time in history. The energy potential of nuclear fusion is superior to all other sources of energy that we know on Earth. Controlled nuclear fusion releases nearly four million times more energy than the chemical reactions that occur when burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, or gas.

Indoor air quality is important for a healthy home. Even the most expensive homes may have issues. Homes that are well sealed for energy-efficiency, for example, may trap unhealthy air. Even common appliances, such as gas stoves, can lead to poor-quality indoor air.

Radon is a naturally occurring invisible gas that can cause lung cancer. A lot of people think radon is only a problem in older, single-family homes, but radon can affect everything from small houses to public housing projects. Learn how to test levels, monitor and reduce indoor radon.

The damage caused by climate change doesn’t just stop with damage to the environment. Climate change also can cause significant damage to human health. Climate change directly and indirectly affects our health in several major ways.

Electricity generation in the United States comes from power plants running on fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, coal), nuclear, and renewable sources of energy (hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass).

We've put together a list of home safety and natural disaster preparedness gifts for friends and family moving to a new place. These emergency preparedness gift ideas give you peace of mind knowing your loved ones have the essentials they might need in an emergency situation.

There are many types of air purifiers on the market. Which one should you buy? We’ll help you decide the best products for improving indoor air quality at home.

Smog is a mixture of pollutants made up mostly of ground-level ozone that can damage the respiratory system.  They form through chemical reactions among nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).  Most of the air pollutants come from vehicles, power plants, refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial sources that create combustion from fossil fuels,  which chemically react with sunlight to form ozone.  

The Toxics Release Inventory Program tracks facilities that use, manufacture or process toxic chemicals above thresholds set by the Environmental Protection Agency and provides information important to understanding potential impacts to the environment and public health.

Heat waves are becoming more common in many parts of the United States. A heat wave is defined by NOAA as ‘a period of unusually hot weather that typically lasts two or more days’. To be considered a heat wave, these high temperatures would have to be outside the historical averages of a given area.

Extreme climate and weather-related events, including prolonged droughts, scorching wildfires, severe storms, and floods, are on the rise across the United States. Damaging hurricanes happen more frequently; 100-year floods occur with regularity; wildfires spread to places once thought beyond the reach of flames.

Drought is a lack of precipitation that results in a water shortage. In the US, drought is the second most costly form of natural disaster and can have far-reaching health and safety consequences including reduced air quality, reduced quantity and quality of water, and an increased risk of...

Wildfires can move and burn large areas at an incredible speed, leading to significant damage to both natural areas and property. In the United States, they are becoming more frequent and intense in some areas, and proximity to wildfires may reduce property values.

Earthquakes are caused by the movement of one tectonic plate against another and can also be induced through human activity including the disposal of liquid waste from oil and gas wells.

There are about 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines in the U.S. linking production and storage sites with consumers. Within this network, there are nearly 500 natural gas pipeline incidents per year including explosions, fires, and leaks that lead to loss of life, injury, and property damage.

To sum up the state of science, after several decades of studies, there is no evidence of a clear link to health consequences of living near high-voltage power lines, but research continues because none have demonstrated it is entirely safe, either.

Tornadoes are narrow rotating columns of air and can be the most violent of all atmospheric storms. The most powerful tornadoes can cause injury, loss of life, widespread damage, and the complete destruction of homes.

Cell towers are increasingly common throughout the US. Close proximity to cell towers has been found to reduce property values and the health effects of RF radiation exposure emitted from cell towers remains unclear.

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges normally dry land. The floods included in this analysis caused personal injury or loss of life, property damage, and/or disruption to commerce or transportation.

Severe Winter Weather often involves cold temperatures, icy roads, utility power failures, loss of Internet and other services, and can be sufficiently impactful to cause personal injuries or loss of life, significant crop or other property damage, and/or disruption to commerce or transportation.

Brownfields are often abandoned or unused property that might be contaminated. Although they can be dangerous to your health and bad for nearby property values when cleaned up and redeveloped they have the potential to become a community asset.

A location becomes a federal Superfund Site if it is determined to be heavily contaminated. There are potential health risks associated with Superfunds and clear impacts to property value if your property is within a 3-mile radius of a problem area while it remains significantly contaminated.

Whether or not a well or facility near you could pose a risk to your health or property value depends on many factors, including the location, type of extraction process, level of activity, quality of construction and long-term management of the site itself.

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power generator that produces electricity by splitting atoms to create steam, which is then used to power up steam turbines. Statistically, nuclear power plants are extremely safe, but there have been incidents where various malfunctions led to serious problems and safety risks.

Breathing polluted air can be risky. Keep track of the Air Quality Index (AQI) in your area and follow the guidelines in your area to protect yourself when air quality is unhealthy.

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities. Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into the natural environment.

Hurricanes are storms that form over tropical or subtropical water and have the potential to produce devastating winds and flooding from storm surge and extreme rainfall. Both flooding and high winds are dangerous safety risks and cause significant property damage.

Exposure is preventable. Reliable testing kits are widely available and there are steps you can take to stop radon from concentrating at unhealthy levels in your home or business, usually by sealing cracks and increasing airflow.