air pollution

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EPA Warns of Global Warming, Spurs New Policy

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency sent the White House a message today that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are detrimental to human health, Reuters reports. The "endangerment finding" may open the door for Washington to curb emissions that cause global warming. "I think it's historic news," one...

Farmers Raise a Stink Over Fees for Flatulence

EPA brands livestock odor air pollution

(Newser) - Farmers' noses are out of joint over proposed regulations that would fine them for their  livestock's flatulence, reports AP. Operations with herds over a certain size would be charged per animal to offset the amount of greenhouse gasses contained in their rather voluminous belching and farting, according to the EPA...

EPA to Loosen Clean-Air Rules in National Parks

Bush moves to allow coal-fired plants nearer US land preserves

(Newser) - Polluting facilities like coal-fired power plants could soon be allowed to operate closer to national parks, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Rules being finalized by the EPA—against strong objections from several officials—will weaken Clean Air Act protections by averaging out emission counts over a year,...

Smog Costs California $28B a Year
Smog Costs California
$28B a Year
Nov 13, 2008 2:40 AM CST

Smog Costs California $28B a Year

Toxic air kills more than car crashes in some areas, researchers find

(Newser) - Health problems caused by pollution choke $28 billion out of California's economy every year, according to a new study. Most of the cost is linked to 3,000 smog-related deaths each year, along with days of work missed by workers with respiratory problems aggravated by pollution spewed from tailpipes and...

Smog Bad for Your Appendix: Study

Researchers saw more cases of appendicitis on days with poor air quality

(Newser) - Pollution may boost your chances of getting appendicitis, the BBC reports. A Canadian study suggests that human tissue—such as the appendix—gets more inflamed on days when the ozone level is high; patients were 15% more likely to be hospitalized on bad-air days, researchers found. Infections can cause appendicitis—...

IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air
 IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air
Aug 7, 2008 1:50 PM CDT

IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air

But pollution readings by BBC tell a different story

(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee says there is nothing wrong with the air in Beijing and praised China's "extraordinary" efforts to clean up pollution ahead of the Games' kick-off tomorrow. But the BBC disagrees, reporting its own analysis that shows Beijing's air pollution at nearly four times World Health Organization...

Delirious Throngs Greet Torch in Beijing

But Yank, Brit protesters busted for 'Free Tibet' banner

(Newser) - After a beleaguered relay dogged by Tibet protesters in many of its legs around the world, the Olympic flame finally reached Beijing today. Ecstatic crowds under smog-choked skies shouted "Go Olympics, go Beijing" to greet torchbearers in Tiananmen Square, with Chinese basketball sensation Yao Ming holding the torch above...

Bejing's Clean-Air Blitz Falls Short
 Bejing's Clean-Air Blitz
 Falls Short 
ANALYSIS
Aug 5, 2008 1:49 PM CDT

Bejing's Clean-Air Blitz Falls Short

Independent readings, photos show smog persists despite pre-Olympic crackdown

(Newser) - The Chinese government’s goal of dispersing the thick smog around Beijing is not working, Wired reports after analyzing independent data. Efforts including factory shutdowns, car bans, and cloud seeding have not improved air quality, with pollution levels still far above the World Health Organization’s standards on most days....

Beijing Becomes Obsessed With Rain

Chinese people want some, but not too much, for Olympics

(Newser) - Talking about the weather isn’t just idle conversation in Beijing these days—it’s a national obsession, the Washington Post reports. The country is so anxious for a sunny Olympics—with just enough rain to clear the smog, of course—that changes in the forecast have become front-page news....

Beijing Amps Up Anti-Pollution Measures

New cuts on factories, cars as air flunks tests ahead of Olympics

(Newser) - Beijing today rolled out new emergency measures to ease pollution, with the Olympics just more than a week away. The new rules will close more factories and take more vehicles off the road, in a wider radius around the capital, in the event of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions"—...

Seattle Starts 'Car-Free' Sundays
 Seattle Starts 'Car-Free' Sundays
Jul 31, 2008 2:07 AM CDT

Seattle Starts 'Car-Free' Sundays

City closes streets in three neighborhoods

(Newser) - Seattle is about to stage a series of "Car-Free Sundays" to encourage people to drive less, save money and combat global warming, reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer. The city will close streets in three neighborhoods in August and September, and the mayor aims to expand the program next summer...

Heavy Smog Greets Olympians
 Heavy Smog Greets Olympians
Jul 27, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Heavy Smog Greets Olympians

Despite traffic restrictions, skies hazy as always

(Newser) - Beijing has just 12 days left to clear its skies before the start of the Summer Olympics and things are still looking mighty smoggy, reports the AP. Visibility was a mere half-mile in some parts of the city and the Athletes’ Village was invisible from the nearby Olympic Green, despite...

Beijing Forces Half of Drivers Off the Road

Move to clear noxious air in countdown to Olympics

(Newser) - Half of Beijing's drivers left their cars at home today and took public transportation on the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear the city's notoriously polluted skies before the Olympics. Under the plan that kicked in yesterday, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed...

US Athletes Weigh Wearing Masks in Beijing

Specially designed masks would blunt smog—and irk hosts

(Newser) - To protect its athletes from Beijing’s polluted air, the US Olympic Committee has secretly developed a mask for them to wear during next month’s Games, the Wall Street Journal reports. But if the 600-plus American Olympians decide to wear the high-tech filter, they risk insulting their Chinese hosts—...

Calif. Mulls Pay-as-You-Drive Insurance to Cut Costs, Miles

Option available in 34 states seen to help costs, environment; invasiveness an issue

(Newser) - An alliance of insurance companies and environmentalists are pushing to bring  pay-as-you-drive auto-insurance, available from a handful of companies in other states, to California in a big way, the Los Angeles Times reports. The system, which charges premiums based on mileage, as recorded by a GPS tracking device, gives drivers...

Global Warming Caused by ... Cleaner Skies: Study

Pollution crackdown has let more sunlight in, making Europe toastier, scientists say

(Newser) - Reducing aerosols and other pollutants has been a major part of Europe’s campaign to reduce global warming, but a new study turns conventional thinking on its head, New Scientist reports. "The decrease in aerosols probably accounts for at least half of the warming over Europe in the last...

China Falls Behind on Olympic Promises

Despite vows, not much change on air quality, political freedom

(Newser) - With exactly a month to go before the Olympics, China has not delivered on promises to improve Beijing’s air quality or allow foreign journalists open access, the BBC reports. The government vowed to bring Beijing’s air up to WHO standards when bidding for the Games, but a BBC...

EU Will Make Airlines Pay to Pollute

Deal to cap and trade carbon emissions could drive fares up

(Newser) - The European Union struck a landmark deal yesterday to regulate carbon emissions from airplanes, requiring carriers to buy pollution credits for all flights entering or leaving airports in the EU. The agreement, which should go into effect in 2012, marks the first time that airlines will have to pay to...

The New Generational Shift: Suburban Flight

After 50 years of sprawl, suburbanites gravitate toward cities

(Newser) - Changes in lifestyles, economic conditions, and demographics are leading to a reversal in urban flight, The Wall Street Journal reports. Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline and the subprime crisis have driven many to cities from suburbs, where commutes are longer and houses have lost the most value. Boomers are simplifying their lives with...

Calif. Smog Kills 24K Each Year
 Calif. Smog Kills 24K Each Year 
May 22, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Calif. Smog Kills 24K Each Year

Pollution deaths three times higher than earlier estimates

(Newser) - Air pollution is responsible for the deaths of 24,000 people in California annually—three times higher than previous estimates, according to new research. Rates of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious disease increase exponentially after even minimal exposure to particles of metal, dust, or other pollution from vehicles and...

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