Asphalt is a near-ubiquitous substance—it’s found in roads, on roofs and in driveways—but its chemical emissions rarely figure into urban air quality management plans. A new study now finds that Continue Reading
U.S. regulators are investigating whether a massive methane release over Florida they say likely occurred during maintenance on a natural gas compressor station this spring violated the nation’s Clean Air Continue Reading
The Trump administration is expected in the coming days to lift Obama-era controls on the release of methane, a powerful climate-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in Continue Reading
It was 12 miles wide, invisible to the naked eye and traveled across six counties to Florida’s largest city. And it’s still unclear who — or what — was responsible. The Continue Reading
Nestled in a valley in central Chile, near lakes and snowcapped mountains, sits one of the world’s most polluted cities. Every winter, sleepy Temuco plunges to the bottom of global air Continue Reading
A new study finds that automated pollution monitors in China led to more accurate readings and that citizens used this information to protect themselves better against the harms of air Continue Reading
During the 2018 Camp Fire, which lasted 17 days and killed 85 people, residents of nearby Northern California communities breathed in enough smoke to equal half a pack of cigarettes. Continue Reading
Air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people every year. Tiny soot and dust particles found in city air and biomass-fueled kitchens are the main culprits. Scientists call it PM2.5, meaning particulate matter Continue Reading
European Union carbon dioxide emissions this year are set to fall to a level not seen since the late 1950s. The fallout from the coronavirus that saw industry shut down, businesses Continue Reading
For once in California’s fight against climate change, lower greenhouse gas emissions aren’t cause for celebration. The recent drop in pollution as many factories sit idle is temporary, but it Continue Reading
Cars, power plants, and some buildings are subject to fuel and energy efficiency standards in the United States. Believe it or not, up until now, the nation’s aviation industry has Continue Reading
An early study from Harvard University linking dirty air to the worst coronavirus outcomes has quickly become a political football in Washington. Presidential candidates, agency regulators, oil lobbyists and members of Congress Continue Reading
The International Energy Agency expects carbon dioxide emissions to decline by 8 percent this year due to the devastation the coronavirus wreaked on energy demand. The agency said in the Continue Reading
Methane emissions from the Permian basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, one of the largest oil-producing regions in the world, are more than two times higher than federal Continue Reading
The travel restrictions and economic unraveling triggered by the coronavirus have led to an unprecedented drop in carbon emissions worldwide. That may feel like a rare bit of silver lining—and Continue Reading
Despite the objections of public health advocates and even the U.S. electric industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency April 16 released a final rule rescinding the legal basis for the Continue Reading
By taking advantage of a “natural experiment” brought on by the closure of one coal-fired power plant and the addition of new pollution controls at others in the area, health Continue Reading
Airborne methane levels rose markedly last year, according to a preliminary estimate published today by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The results show a dramatic leap in concentration of the second most-powerful Continue Reading
People continuously exposed to air pollution are at increased risk of dementia, especially if they also suffer from cardiovascular diseases, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the Continue Reading
Air pollution in some of Europe’s major cities has dropped dramatically since governments ordered citizens to stay home to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Readings from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P Continue Reading
A chemical plant owned by Houston-based Ascend Performance Materials emitted 33,046 metric tons of nitrous oxide in 2018. That’s equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 2.1 million automobiles. Continue Reading
Indians breathed easier on Monday as lockdowns ordered to combat the spread of the coronavirus in India’s megacities kept cars off the road and closed factories, improving air quality and Continue Reading
A new study published in Nature may have ended a long scientific debate about the key source of rising methane levels in the atmosphere. It found that methane emissions from Continue Reading
More than half of all air-quality-related early deaths in the United States are a result of emissions originating outside of the state in which those deaths occur, MIT researchers report Continue Reading
Cleaning up dirty air might sometimes make things worse Imaginechina Limited/Alamy Cities tackling one major air pollutant risk inadvertently making things worse by fuelling the growth of another, potentially more Continue Reading
Before it exploded last June, Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) — the largest crude oil refinery on the East Coast — was processing 335,000 barrels of oil each day. It was Continue Reading
Ten U.S. oil refineries, including six in Texas, released the cancer-causing chemical benzene in concentrations that exceeded federal limits last year, according to government data published by the green group Continue Reading
Greenhouse gas emissions from EU power plants declined more sharply in 2019 than in any year since at least 1990, German think-tank Agora Energiewende said Wednesday. Receive daily email alerts, Continue Reading
Cleaning up dirty air might sometimes make things worse Imaginechina Limited/Alamy Cities tackling one major air pollutant risk inadvertently making things worse by fuelling the growth of another, potentially more Continue Reading
A multi-billion dollar boom in petrochemical plants proposed along the U.S. Gulf Coast could pump as much greenhouse gas into the air as 131 coal-fired power plants by 2030, according Continue Reading
The second-largest city in the UK, Birmingham, unveiled on Monday a plan to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions by limiting access of private cars to the city center. Under Continue Reading
JetBlue announced this week that it plans to go carbon-neutral on all domestic flights starting in July, a first for a major U.S. airline. The company’s plan involves both taking steps Continue Reading
New methods of testing and simulating air quality should be considered in order to help policy makers have a more accurate understanding of how emissions affect air pollution levels, new Continue Reading
London’s average level of pollution is above recommended limits Exposure to air pollution is linked to a greater risk of depression and suicide, the first overview of studies on the Continue Reading
A natural gas well operated by Exxon that blew out in 2018 released a lot more methane than previously believed, a study by a team of U.S. and Dutch scientists Continue Reading
Although drillers in North America’s biggest oil field are burning off more natural gas than ever before, industry advocates say it’s not as bad as it looks. Methane-emissions intensity in Continue Reading
The first satellite designed to continuously monitor the planet for methane leaks made a startling discovery last year: A little known gas-well accident at an Ohio fracking site was in Continue Reading
Do you see the methane leak billowing from this tank? Vast amounts of methane are escaping from oil and gas sites nationwide, worsening global warming, even as the Trump administration Continue Reading
Reductions in air pollution yielded fast and significant impacts on health-outcomes, as well as decreases in all-cause morbidity, according to new open-access research published in Annals of the American Thoracic Continue Reading
Hospitalizations for several common diseases—including septicemia (serious bloodstream infection), fluid and electrolyte disorders, renal failure, urinary tract infections, and skin and tissue infections—have been linked for the first time with Continue Reading
Higher natural gas consumption due to extreme summer and winter weather and increased petroleum demand in transportation in a strong economy resulted in the United States reversing in 2018 several Continue Reading
Women in their 70s and 80s who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution experienced greater declines in memory and more Alzheimer’s-like brain atrophy than their counterparts who breathed Continue Reading
People in Sydney woke up to a city shrouded in smoke on Tuesday, as scores of bushfires rage across the region. Strong winds overnight brought smoke from fires inland, pushing Continue Reading
California state agencies will stop buying gas-powered vehicles from a number of carmakers after the latter joined the White House in their opposition to the state’s new, stricter emissions rules. Continue Reading
Greater exposure to ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs, <0.1 µm) produced by fuel burning could increase people’s chances of getting brain cancer according to a new study by a team of Continue Reading
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday plans to relax rules that govern how power plants store waste from burning coal and release water containing toxic metals into nearby waterways, according Continue Reading
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been handing out masks to school students Five million masks are being distributed at schools in India’s capital, Delhi, after pollution made the air Continue Reading
Long-term residential exposure to locally emitted black carbon (BC) from traffic exhaust increases the risk of stroke even in low-pollution environments, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet Continue Reading
The Trump administration is expected to roll back an Obama-era regulation meant to limit the leaching of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury into water supplies from the ash of coal-fired Continue Reading
New data reveals that damaging air pollution has increased nationally since 2016, reversing a decades-long trend toward cleaner air . An analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data published this week Continue Reading
