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How Rust Belt company towns evolve in the age of e-commerce

Thursday, August 25, 2022 - 3:40pm


When Bethlehem Steel closed more than 20 years ago, a big chunk of the region's high-paying blue-collar jobs went with it. Back then, no one envisioned e-commerce, CBS News reports. Today, there are nearly as many warehouse jobs in the region as manufacturing positions, which some say has reached an "inflection point," especially for air pollution. Breena Holland, professor of political science and the Environmental Initiative, measures the amount of black carbon particles in the exhaust from passing trucks. "What we're trying to do is measure lung-level episodic exposures - what people are exposed to on the street when the trucks are driving by," she said.