air pollution

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Clean-Air Changes 'Imperil Parks'

Rules make allow power plants nearby

(Newser) - Clean air rules likely to be changed this summer are causing serious concerns about future pollution at some of America's most spectacular national parks, reports the Washington Post. The changes will pave the way for 28 new coal-fired power plants near ten parks, according to a report supported by some...

Pittsburgh Joins LA as US' Most Polluted

Steel City is first outside California to top Lung Association's annual list

(Newser) - Pittsburgh has gone Hollywood—but not in a good way, Reuters reports. For the first time, a city outside California has topped one of three most-polluted lists in an annual “State of the Air” report, Pittsburgh ranked as the US city with the worst short-term particle pollution; Los Angeles...

Ewww! What Stinks? London
 Ewww! What Stinks? London  
Apr 19, 2008 1:37 PM CDT

Ewww! What Stinks? London

And it's not the French, despite what the tabs say

(Newser) - London was engulfed yesterday by a smell so foul that Brits worried some giant sewer had overflowed, ABC News reports. But not to worry—the smell came from Europe, officials insisted. The Daily Mail quuickly blamed the French for "le stink," but it appeared to be caused by...

IOC: Beijing Air Risky for Athletes

Competitors in endurance events

(Newser) - The air quality in Beijing poses a “possible risk” to athletes in endurance events, the International Olympic Committee announced today. After analyzing data collected in Beijing in August, the IOC’s medical commission concluded that most competitors won't be affected by the smog, but it will monitor air quality...

SoCal Bans Wood Burning on Bad Air Days

But fireplace lovers need not fret: only 24 days per year

(Newser) - Officials in charge of air quality in Los Angeles and surrounding counties have banned the use of wood-burning fireplaces during certain high-pollution days. The fines would only be levied on about two dozen winter days, and wouldn't affect gas fireplaces, wood-burning ovens in restaurants, or homes above 3,000 feet,...

Clean Air Rules Squeezing Berry Farmers

Strawberry growers rip EPA pesticide limits as 'too much, too soon'

(Newser) - California strawberry farmers fear that EPA efforts to curb pesticide pollution could kill most of this year's crops, the AP reports. Ventura County growers, who produce 25% of the nation's berries, say the pesticides are needed to increase crop output. Requirements that fumigants be cut as much as half could...

Texas Tops US in CO2 Emissions
Texas Tops US
in CO2 Emissions
Feb 29, 2008 3:35 PM CST

Texas Tops US in CO2 Emissions

Activists fight to clean things up

(Newser) - Texas—the land of big oil, big agriculture, pickup trucks, wide-open spaces, and little mass transit—not only is the biggest emitter of CO2 among states, it ranks eighth in the world, a new study says. It’s also one of the few states without any climate plan in the...

Olympians Prepare Strategies for Beijing Smog

China promises clean air for Games, but teams are taking precautions

(Newser) - With the Summer Olympics set to begin Aug. 8 in one of the world’s smoggiest cities, competitors are looking for a Beijing edge. US athletes have been asking if they should train near busy highways to simulate Beijing’s noxious air, the New York Times reports, but trainers are...

Pollution Fight Gains Star Power
Pollution Fight Gains Star Power
Dec 11, 2007 7:45 PM CST

Pollution Fight Gains Star Power

Ex-lawmaker consults on eco-friendly marketing for Amtrak, LA Metro

(Newser) - It's a push for green living, but with a uniquely Hollywood twist. The powerful William Morris talent agency has joined forces with stodgy government entities such as Amtrak and LA's public transportation system to push the eco-friendly benefits of mass transit. Advertising Age profiles the work in Hollywood of Kevin...

Gassy Kudzu Choking South
Gassy Kudzu Choking South
Dec 4, 2007 8:10 PM CST

Gassy Kudzu Choking South

Quick-spreading vine emitting greenhouse gas

(Newser) - It's nicknamed "the vine that ate the South," but experts now warn that the fast-spreading invasive plant is choking more than just power lines, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Scientists have found that the plant emits ozone, making smog worse, leading to health problems—and speeding up climate change.

Site Ranks Power-Plant Polluters
Site Ranks Power-Plant Polluters
Nov 15, 2007 11:30 AM CST

Site Ranks Power-Plant Polluters

Australia tops per capita, America absolute lists

(Newser) - A study of power-plant emissions names Australia as the lead polluter per capita in a field crowded with competition, Mother Jones reports. Aussie power plants produce 11 tons of carbon dioxide per person annually; American plants generate nine. The US produces the most cumulative emissions, though developing giants China and...

Air Pollution High in Fire's Wake
Air Pollution High in Fire's Wake
Oct 27, 2007 2:16 PM CDT

Air Pollution High in Fire's Wake

Breathing carefully, residents return to face gas, water shortages, power outages

(Newser) - Evacuees trickling home in fire-ravaged Southern California find themselves largely without power, natural gas or potable water. Perhaps worse, the barely breathable air is laden with soot and dust, raising health concerns, the AP reports. Satellite pictures show thick smoke throughout the region. “We're all at risk of the...

The Lucky Find Homes, but No Water, Power

Returning SoCal residents face weeks of hardships

(Newser) - Thousands of Southern California residents have returned to their homes—those fortunate enough to find them standing—to find no electricity and no drinking water, with town reservoirs drained to fight fires, and air choked with smoke and ash. The threat of changing weather also looms: the hot winds that...

White House Scrubbed CDC's Climate Speech

Critics say Bush team deleted portions on global warming

(Newser) - The White House halved prepared testimony the CDC director gave to a Senate committee this week, zapping sections about diseases that might result from global warming. A Bush spokeswoman said the speech was not “watered down,” the AP reports, but sentences such as “scientific evidence supports the...

Feds Pursue Fewer Polluters
Feds Pursue Fewer Polluters
Sep 30, 2007 8:15 AM CDT

Feds Pursue Fewer Polluters

EPA cuts down on criminal cases, says focus is on biggest offenders

(Newser) - The EPA has taken a decidedly less aggressive tack in criminal cases, the Washington Post reports, a trend advocates fear will embolden polluters. The number of prosecutions, new investigations, and total convictions have all dropped by more than a third. One ex-official, who resigned in protest, blamed the Bush administration,...

Calif. Town Is Nation's Smoggiest
Calif. Town Is Nation's Smoggiest
Aug 10, 2007 3:13 PM CDT

Calif. Town Is Nation's Smoggiest

Air above tiny Arvin is a magnet for pollutants

(Newser) - Arvin, Calif., proves that you don’t need factories or freeways to have America’s worst air pollution. The agricultural town’s mountain locale collects pollution, the AP reports, giving the air a toxic smell and raising health concerns. The EPA uses the ozone level to gauge smog across the...

Beijing Smog May Postpone Olympic Events

With exactly 1 year to go, China scrambles to reduce pollution

(Newser) - The air pollution in Beijing is so bad that some 2008 Olympic events may have to be postponed. IOC president Jacques Rogge is worried about participants in endurance events like cycling because air quality remains dismal despite government efforts, such as shutting down factories, to improve it. Construction for the...

In Countdown to 2008 Olympics, Beijing Besieged

Pollution, human rights, food safety issues all draw fire

(Newser) - As the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics begins tomorrow, activists and Olympic organizers alike have been vocal in their concerns about the host city. The government is under fire for press harassment: journalists were detained for several hours yesterday after a Reporters Without Borders conference, and six Free Tibet...

Smog Cloud Menaces Asia
Smog Cloud Menaces Asia
Aug 3, 2007 1:34 PM CDT

Smog Cloud Menaces Asia

Asian Brown Cloud is melting Himalayan glaciers

(Newser) - An enormous cloud of smog over southern Asia threatens 2 billion people with flooding and drought, a new study shows. The "Asian Brown Cloud" is melting Himalayan glaciers, the Times of London reports, and the resulting floods will menace heavily populated downstream areas. And the cloud's driving up temperatures...

So Cal May Ban Wood-Burning Fireplaces

Proposed regs will eliminate new fireplaces; limit current ones in winter

(Newser) - Southern Californians will be roasting their chestnuts in the oven if an air pollution plan is passed that would ban fireplaces in all new homes and prohibit wood-fueled blazes for as many as 20 days every winter. The regulations, proposed by South Coast Air Quality Management, seeks to clean up...

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