Northeast gets hit by a Nor’easter
Late last week, more than 500,000 customers in New England were left without power as over 90 mile per hour winds hit the East Coast. According to The New York Times, meteorologists described this storm as a “bomb cyclone,” or a winter hurricane, which occurs when atmospheric pressure drops dramatically and a mass of warm air meets cold air creating a cyclonic effect. The storm strengthened as it moved up the coastline with an atmospheric pressure drop of 24.7 millibars. Other than power outages, the northeast coast also faced downed power lines, trees and other similar natural fallings of this caliber.
Chicago Teachers Union on strike
On Thursday, the Chicago Teachers Union held a rally after the union’s House of Delegates rejected the mayor’s and Chicago Board of Education’s latest proposal. The union is fighting for more influence over the direction of the school system, including base-pay raises, staffing, class sizes and prep time demands. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Public Schools announced that it has canceled classes for the day in anticipation of a walkout. CTU President Jesse Sharkey said a deal was unlikely at the time, but there is optimism for future negotiations.
Vaping study links e-liquids to lung complications
On Wednesday, a study published in the Cancer Prevention Research journal found that vaping e-liquids, especially those containing glycol and glycerin may lead to inflammation in the lungs. Dr. Peter Shields, a medical oncologist and the study’s lead author told CNN that the findings come as no surprise, but says it’s not a conclusion to the issue. “I would not make the conclusion that this shows that e-cigs are harmful to your health, but [only] one piece of evidence for that,” said Shields.
Florida policy bans sunscreens to protect coral reefs
Florida Senator Linda Stewart proposed a bill this past week that would require a prescription to use sunscreens that include oxybenzone and octinoxate in their list of ingredients. These two chemicals are linked to coral bleaching and coral reef health. According to CNN, this bill would ban sunscreens with these ingredients and “Reef-safe” sunscreens with zinc oxide, an FDA-approved chemical, would replace banned sunscreens on store shelves within the state. This ban is in an effort to protect the nearby reefs that are essential to tourism and marine diversity. This bill will be in effect by January 2021.
Photo: R. Aucott
