Alaska Drilling Project Blocked, Chemicals and Breast Cancer Risk, Finding the Mother Tree and more

A major Alaska drilling project to tap 600 million barrels of oil has been blocked. A federal judge ruled in favor of Indigenous and environmental groups, finding that the permitting process has yet to fully consider impacts on the climate and polar bears. Also, higher levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone lead to a greater risk of breast cancer. Researchers at the Silent Spring Institute have shed new light on how chemical exposure can raise those hormone levels in women, and found that nearly 300 chemicals increased one or both hormones. And an intricate web of roots and fungi connects life in an old growth forest, allowing ancient “mother trees” to nourish and protect their kin. A forest ecologist shares her research findings and reflects on how mother trees helped her through the challenges of motherhood and a cancer diagnosis.