Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Today is Earth Day, a time to ring the bell,

yet again, about the environmental crisis we're currently living through. And it's bad out here,

you know, it's a big, big problem that isn't just going to be solved by using a paper straw to drink

your iced coffee, right?

But in a bit, we'll get a little bit of inspiration from the writer David Wallace Wells,

who wrote the book, The Uninhabitable Earth.

Now, I know that title doesn't necessarily scream hopefulness, but trust me, he does offer a way of thinking of this problem that offers some sense of agency.

First, though, back in 2019, the writer Harriet A. Washington wrote this book called

A Terrible Thing to Waste Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind. And in it,

she makes this unique argument. It's pretty clear that environmental crises will hurt people of color more.

But what exactly do we think of when we think of crises?

Sure, there are hurricanes and storms and floods and such,

but she told NPR Sarah McCamond about the slow, quiet,

and long-term damage environmental issues can have on brain development.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Polluted water in Flint, Michigan, Puerto Rico's slow recovery from Hurricane Maria.

These are just a couple of examples of the ways that mostly poor people

of color often suffer disproportionate harm from environmental crises. But how does the environment

shape intelligence and IQ? A new book by Harriet Washington looks at this issue. It's called

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