Josh Voorhees
@joshvoorhees.bsky.social
2.3K followers 970 following 130 posts
muckraker @fieldnotes.co, an oil & gas watchdog | past: senior writer @slate.com + (an!) organizer @slateunion.bsky.social | MPH, Johns Hopkins | climate, labor, public health | DM for Signal then hit me w/tips on pipelines, petchem, plastics, PFAS, etc
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joshvoorhees.bsky.social
For you visual learners: Here's how new EPA chief Lee Zeldin got paid by both sides in the ESG fight—he simultaneously was working for BlackRock AND for the right-wing forces waging war *against* BlackRock. Check out the full @fieldnotes.co investigation: fieldnotes.co/investigatio...
A flow chart showing how Lee Zeldin was paid to take both sides in the ESG fight between BlackRock and its right-wing critics.
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
drdavidmichaels.bsky.social
Extreme heat at work strains the body and the mind.

We geocoded 845,000 work injuries reported by employers and found that injury risk increases with heat.

But these injuries are preventable! Risk is lower in the 5 states (CA, CO, MN, OR, WA) with OSHA heat standards. 1/2
tinyurl.com/8x2j66cj
A nationwide analysis of heat and workplace injuries in the United States - Environmental Health
Background Exposure to heat leads to physiological and cognitive impairments that increase the risk of workplace injuries. This study estimates the number and proportion of work injuries reported to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that can be attributed to heat exposure. These estimates contribute to the calculation of the benefits of standards, policies, and programs that reduce workplace exposure to extreme heat. Methods We analyzed all 2023 injury cases reported to OSHA's Injury Tracking Application by establishments with 100 or more employees, primarily in high-hazard industries. Each injury was geocoded and matched with high-resolution weather data for the specific injury date. Using a case-crossover design, we compared heat index on each injury day (case) with matched non-injury control days for the same worker. Conditional logistic regression was applied separately for summer-only and year-round periods with a non-linear term for heat index to estimate the odds ratios for injury occurrence. We additionally examined heat-injury patterns by industry sectors and in states with/without workplace heat standards. Results The odds of work injury increased non-linearly with a rising heat index: the pooled national estimate showed a clear upward trend starting around 85°F and accelerating above 90°F. Our results were consistent across nearly all industry sectors, including those that are predominantly indoors. Using a heat index of 80°F as reference, odds ratios (OR) of injuries at or above 90°F, 100°F and 110°F were 1.03 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.02, 1.04), 1.10 (1.07, 1.13), and 1.20 (1.13, 1.26), respectively. At a heat index of 110°F or higher, the odds increased by 22% in states without occupational heat rules (OR=1.22; 1.15,1.29) versus 9% in states with rules (OR=1.09; 0.84, 1.41), suggesting a protective effect, although confidence intervals overlapped. Overall, we estimate 1.18% (95% empirical CI: 0.92%, 1.45%) of all injuries were attributable to heat exposure on days exceeding a heat index of 70°F. Conclusion Heat exposure increases the overall risk of work injury, an effect consistent across nearly all major industries.
tinyurl.com
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
justinhendrix.bsky.social
"The hundreds of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year... In a way, then, America has become one big bet on AI."
America is now one big bet on AI
It’s seen as the magic fix for every threat to the US economy
www.ft.com
joshvoorhees.bsky.social
me right before I’m about to put my phone down and try to go to sleep: oh, look, another article about why I shouldn’t read my phone before trying to go to sleep, gotta read that
joshvoorhees.bsky.social
my bedtime routine consists almost entirely of reading articles on my phone about either a) why I should not read on my phone before trying to fall asleep or b) how I can stop reading on my phone before trying to fall asleep
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
laurahelmuth.bsky.social
In 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and *Prevention* (at least until the fascists change the name) highlighted the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. Trump's people are undermining ~all~ ~of~ ~them~. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview...
Ten Great Public Health Achievements -- United States, 1900-1999
www.cdc.gov
joshvoorhees.bsky.social
“We are saddled with an addiction to disposability so deep that tackling it will require a wholesale rewriting of the rules that have governed business and consumption for the past 70 years.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/06/o...
Opinion | Throwaway Plastic Has Corrupted Us
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
shannonosaka.bsky.social
For the last several months, I've been digging through endless scientific literature on what happens when pregnant mothers are exposed to plastic chemicals in their food, water, and everyday household products.

The result is this story.

I hope you'll take the time to read.
wapo.st/4g3ZoFc
The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about
Researchers have linked phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, to premature birth, infertility and ADHD.
wapo.st
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
fieldnotes.co
One group behind the deregulatory push is IPAA, an oil & gas lobbying org. Records obtained by @fieldnotes.co reveal that a Texas oil company led by IPAA’s then-chair, Steve Pruett, increased flaring by 692% in 2023. At the same time, IPAA was crusading against methane regs.
An email sent by Steve Pruett to University of Texas School of Law Professor Melinda E. Taylor, along with others, reads: “The quantities are all by EPA’s spreadsheet formulas except for the flared volumes, produced volumes and sold volumes which are metered. The high level of flaring was undersized gathering compression which is P66’s, our gas purchaser’s responsibility. Elevation provided P66 increasing gas forecasts but they failed to get the capital approved in time to expand their gathering compression facility. The plant had adequate capacity and all of or separation facilities were tied into the gathering system prior to the wells coming online.Well “venting” from HF (hydraulic fracturing) is improperly labeled by the EPA. We do not vent wells during flowback-that’s not legal without a permit and it is a frowned upon practice. Operators cannot do that in NM and permits should be hard to obtain in TX. We have a temporary flare until the new wells produce enough gas to flow to the production separation facility. If the facility is already in place with other wells, we do not flare the new wells at all as they are flowed to the prod. facility day one.I hope that helps. Not sure about other operators’ capabilities, but most operators do not file a subpart W report as they are either below 25,000 mt/yr of CO2e emissions, they don’t know what their emissions are as they don’t measure or complete the form, or they are simply out of compliance. Audit and enforcement is a big open question for the EPA and the state agencies like the TCEQ.”
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
lizessleywhyte.bsky.social
Four major HHS leaders have been ousted this summer. One was rehired.

Meanwhile, the MAHA movement backing Kennedy is impatient for bolder action on vaccines, pesticides and more.

Natalie Andrews and I take you inside it all 👇
The Turmoil Inside MAHA Is About More Than Just Vaccines
Disparate factions are sparring over some of RFK Jr.’s biggest priorities. A top FDA scientist is hired, ousted, then hired again.
www.wsj.com
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
karenzraick.bsky.social
I was the only reporter in the courtroom in Beaumont, Texas recently as lawyers for Exxon, California AG Bonta, the Sierra Club and other nonprofits sparred over dueling lawsuits, free speech and plastics recycling. Read free here: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/c...
Exxon and California Spar in Dueling Lawsuits Over Plastics
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
laurarouth.bsky.social
When natural gas “comes out of the ground, it also contains a host of other compounds, including carcinogens. The exact mix varies by location, and also changes as it moves through the oil and gas supply chain.”

Take a look at the mapping tool!
emilypont.bsky.social
Methane-hunting satellites are driving attn to super-emitters as a climate problem. But those plumes also contain hazardous air pollutants. An impressive new mapping project uses the satellite data to illuminate the public health risks from super-emitters. Story here: heatmap.news/climate-tech...
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
billmckibben.bsky.social
we must counter the existential threat of reduced Big Oil profits
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
juliakane.bsky.social
Big oil corporations want the Trump EPA to keep the veneer of methane regulation while gutting provisions that require real transparency and accountability (like third party reporting on super emitter events and the methane fee).

Great reporting by @emdashsanders.bsky.social:
With methane rules on the chopping block, where does Big Oil stand?
The Trump EPA could do away with methane regulations that major oil companies and their trade associations have strategically claimed to support.
www.exxonknews.org
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
sharonkelly.bsky.social
Big tech and big oil say AI can help cut climate-changing pollution.🌍

Meanwhile, they're mostly using AI to drill more oil🛢️, while handing it the keys to the ⚡ power grid.

My latest, for @desmog.com, on the race to use AI for fossil fuels underneath the greenwashing: www.desmog.com/2025/08/13/c...
Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production, Profits Instead
DeSmog reveals that Big Oil says they’re using AI to produce more fossil fuels, while utilities are exploring how “AI agents” could take over key power grid functions.
www.desmog.com
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
cwarzel.bsky.social
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event
Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.
www.theatlantic.com
Reposted by Josh Voorhees
fieldnotes.co
Great reporting from @emdashsanders.bsky.social highlighting the hypocrisy from the oil & gas industry around methane rules. Industry has publicly claimed to support the rules while working behind-the-scenes to weaken measures that would hold them accountable. www.exxonknews.org/p/with-metha...
With methane rules on the chopping block, where does Big Oil stand?
The Trump EPA could do away with methane regulations that major oil companies and their trade associations have strategically claimed to support.
www.exxonknews.org