Forrest Smith was forced to step down last month as the sole employee at the National Park Service responsible for cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells at national parks across the U.S. He wasn't replaced. Now, the wells are at risk of spewing planet-warming gases and contaminating groundwater.

It was such an honor to be recognized last week by the place that changed the direction of my life. Thank you to university president and former Nevada governor Brian Sandoval for presenting me with 2025’s Distinguished Alumna award from the Univ of Nevada School of Medicine.

Having a great time in Denver at the AAP NCE! It was wonderful to see @lisapatel.bsky.social in person yesterday!

Looking forward to being part of this fascinating panel on Monday! #ClimateWeekNYC www.climateweeknyc.org/events/air-t...

Zahra is doing amazing work, please read her latest:

Do you know what the latest research shows about fossil fuel emissions and autism? Or childhood asthma? Join us during Climate Week NYC to learn how recent environmental rollbacks endanger the developing lungs and brains of babies & children—and why those organs depend on clean air to form properly.

This Friday in Las Vegas—one of the fastest-warming and hottest cities in the country.

I am looking forward to this conversation in Las Vegas on Friday at 9 a.m. PT. Please join us!

It was wonderful to meet Dr. Mollie Grow and her colleagues at Seattle Children’s Hospital this week, where I gave Grand Rounds on the latest research on wildfire smoke and children’s health. Thank you to Dr. Grow, Dr. Elliott Weiss, and the entire Climate Care Committee at UW Pediatrics!

Thank you to PBS News Hour for having me on to discuss the threat that repeal of the Endangerment Finding poses to children. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

This talk has been rescheduled for August 20, looking forward to it!

Thank you to KFYR in Bismarck, ND! Parents, please submit comments to the EPA to uphold the Endangerment Ruling and stand up for our kids’ future. www.kfyrtv.com/video/2025/0...

Please join me on Aug 13! I’ll be focusing especially on what the latest research tells us about the short- and long-term risks of wildfire smoke to children.

Check out this webinar for parents on extreme heat, this Thursday, July 31 at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET!

The paperback of my book is out today! A new Afterword addresses the recent assault on climate action—and our children’s future—by the Trump administration, arguing that nihilism cannot defeat the love of millions of parents.

It’s weird that the GOP wants China to dominate the future of energy.

The two greatest public health advances in human history are regulations/ technologies to protect the safety of #water and #food, and the discovery and roll out of #vaccines. It boggles the mind that Trump, RFK Jr. and the GOP want to eliminate them. If successful, a lot of people are going to die.

In the state with the nation’s two fastest-warming cities, most believe in climate change and think officials should do something, polling from @yaleclimatecomm.bsky.social found. Story @reviewjournal.com, with input from UNR and @debrahendrickson.bsky.social: www.reviewjournal.com/news/politic...

Thanks to the Parents' Climate Community, @climatefamsnyc.bsky.social, @forourkidscanada.bsky.social and others for hosting @debrahendrickson.bsky.social!

🌎 👩🏼‍⚕️ May 13 Online Event about the intersections between children's health and climate change. Our children are already facing the tangible impacts of climate change. 🩻 This event will give you the knowledge and motivation for more action. ✳️ www.forourkids.ca/theairtheybr...

Looking forward to it!

The wonderful folks at Our Kids’ Climate have produced this great video explaining how air pollution from dirty fuels like oil, coal, and gas is hurting children right now, every day—and why a switch to clean energy is vital for their health and future. Please watch & share!

#wildfires may happen in the west but spread everywhere. One of the more visible, tangible & smellable portions of #cliamtechange Children are some of the most vulnerable and bear the burden of disease. Great talk by @debrahendrickson.bsky.social #cliimatehealth #pediatrics @azhpca.bsky.social

The EPA’s proposed rollbacks threaten children's health. Pediatricians @lisapatel.bsky.social & @debrahendrickson.bsky.social break down what’s at stake & what we can do. "If you have anything you can give to this effort to fight back, I would say do it now because your kids' future depends on it."

Thank you to Anna Robertson of The Cool Down for covering what @lisapatel.bsky.social and I had to say about the threat EPA’s recent deregulatory moves pose to children—and why we all need to speak up and push back.

The single most important laboratory in climate science, the tool that is telling us the story of our time, is now in the MAGA crosshairs. Not surprising. But sad, stupid, and tragic in the saddest and stupidest and most tragic way.

The measles outbreak in Texas is reminding me of the public letter Roald Dahl wrote about losing his daughter to measles in 1962, just before the vaccine was publicly available.

This (and how a child’s health is inextricably linked to the Earth’s) is the major theme of my book.

If Trump & RFK Jr want to know why autism rates are rising, they might look at their friends in the petrochemical industry. The evidence that air pollution causes neurodevelopmental problems is strong & growing, and micro- & nanoplastics (also “gifts” of the industry) are being implicated as well.

Talking about climate change is one of the most powerful actions we can take to protect the people and places we love. Help me keep the conversation going by sharing this film. #ScienceMoms @ScienceMoms Learn more at sciencemoms.com

I had a wonderful time lecturing and meeting with students at Brown University last week! It was uplifting to speak with so many thoughtful and engaged young people who are passionate about creating a better world.

To friends and followers in the Tucson area, I will be at Barnes & Noble this afternoon (competing with the Super Bowl—no problem)! stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...

We can think of more important things... Like actually dealing with plastic pollution and #microplastics 😡

Thanks to Jenn White and NPR’s 1A program for the great discussion today! the1a.org/segments/lis...

The news getting you down? I invite you to stare at this chart of solar and wind deployed capacity in China. They blew past their ambitious 2030 target... last July.

One question about wildfire smoke has been whether short-term but intense exposure to particulates is as harmful to children as the chronic, daily exposure seen in traffic-polluted neighborhoods, which is also known to stunt & stiffen young lungs. This is not good news.

I warn of the dangerous doomer/geoengineering nexus in #NewClimateWar: www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Heat pumps are vastly more efficient than gas heating systems. With the right policies they can also be significantly cheaper from a total cost of ownership perspective. Our new paper on how to make heat pumps the cheapest option.👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Visual @ember-energy.org

With respect, suspending electric building codes for homes that burned down in LA so people can rebuild with highly flammable fossil gas is a terrible policy. This doesn't protect neighbors next time. And it worsens the climate crisis. Do better, Mayor Bass. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Looking forward to appearing at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA tomorrow at 11 a.m. for a book reading & signing! Hoping to connect with like-minded folks in these troubling times. www.bookpassage.com/event/debra-...

It’s really sad how many resident showed up against it and the voices that won were the ones interested in more money despite the price infants and children will pay in their health and well being.

LA is in a high fire risk region & fire weather conditions are complex. So we @wwattribution.bsky.social looked at many lines of evidence. All show: our burning of fossil fuels increased the likelihood of such extreme fire weather conditions www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...

"I believe that in 2025, the harms to children will become so clear and immediate that parents—the sleeping giant in the climate fight—will wake up to what the fossil fuel industry has done" 👉 Powerful article by @debrahendrickson.bsky.social on fighting for clean air: www.wired.com/story/fossil...

I profiled kids like this who’d survived climate-fueled disasters, and the implications for their long-term mental and physical health, in my book, The Air They Breathe.

Another terrible decision for America’s children.

Getting fossil fuels out of my life as much as possible is my quiet, personal rebellion. Hope others will join.

Wildfire smoke is an incredibly complex mix of pollutants that varies depending on what’s being burned. A new monitoring program is giving us data on toxins in the LA smoke, & raising worries about kids. ohttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/climate/los-angeles-wildfires-lead-chlorine-air-quality.html

The US just revoked an executive order aimed at making EV sales 50% by 2030. “The US will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity,” Trump said. But China is already stomping the US in EV sales. This decision will widen the gap. Source: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Even if they weren’t causing climate change and wildfires, fossil fuels cause incalculable damage to our health—and stopping their use will yield immense benefits.