June Spector
May 7, 2022
Consensus approach proposed to protect human health from intentional and wild forest fires
![Prescribed forest fire](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/04/28143640/Image_1-2019-05-06_22-12-39-150x150.jpeg)
All forest fire smoke is bad for people, but not all fires in forests are bad. This is the conundrum faced by experts in forest management and public health: Climate change and decades of fire suppression that have increased fuels are contributing to larger and more intense wildfires and, in order to improve forest health…
December 17, 2021
Deforestation-fueled heat already affecting millions of outdoor workers in the tropics
![series of maps](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/12/17143147/1-s2.0-S2590332221006643-gr4_lrg-150x150.jpg)
New research from an interdisciplinary team at the University of Washington, Duke University and The Nature Conservancy shows how local temperature increases in the tropics – compounded by accelerating deforestation – may already be jeopardizing the well-being and productivity of outdoor workers.
November 11, 2021
Deforestation, climate change linked to more worker deaths and unsafe conditions
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Outdoor workers in the world’s lower-latitude tropical forests may face a greater risk of heat-related deaths and unsafe working conditions because of deforestation and climate warming, according to a study led by The Nature Conservancy, the University of Washington and Indonesia’s Mulawarman University. In the study, researchers found that increased temperatures of 0.95 C (1.7…
April 28, 2020
Agricultural pickers in US to see unsafely hot workdays double by 2050
![pickers in field](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/04/27210601/Blueberry_Pickers-150x150.png)
A new study looks at temperature increases in counties across the United States where crops are grown. It also looks at different strategies the industry could adopt to protect workers’ health.