Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
AMHERST, Mass. – A University of Massachusetts Amherst cancer epidemiology researcher will explore for the first time how women’s breast tissue is affected by exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances that have been widely used in consumer products with non-stick, water- and stain-resistant coatings. “Our overall goal is to understand if PFAS contribute to … Read more
If you drive a car, SUV or pickup truck, how do higher gas prices affect your driving habits – if at all? In America right now, gas prices are some of the highest they’ve been in recent history, if not the highest they’ve ever been. Across the country, according to one source, the price for … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today [Aug. 21, 2023] that it is pulling the plug on its reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, commonly referred to as smog and starting a lengthy, slow full review. As a result of today’s decision, if the EPA doesn’t pick up … Read more
We all have to eat, right? What we put in our bodies intentionally or enters via an involuntary process as is the case with breathing, all has an influencing effect in terms of the way our health or physical well-being shakes out over time. So, why is it that, generally speaking, we seem to treat … Read more
Lots of exciting developments on the U.S. passenger-train front. Before year’s end, Brightline service will be inaugurated between Miami and Orlando International Airport. Top speed on the section between West Palm Beach and the latter, 125 miles per hour. This will be the second such domestic operation whose passenger trains will travel that fast. Quite … Read more
As an environmental journalist more broadly and an air-quality (and climate) correspondent more narrowly, on matters dealing with such issues, only the facts will do. Anything less and it’s nothing more than hearsay. Therefore, I am obliged to stay informed on matters dealing with such issues, which would be impossible without me first doing my … Read more
“Since the 1970s, U.S. scientists and environmental regulators made significant strides in reducing air pollution by cleaning up tailpipe and smokestack emissions. Yet levels of two of the most harmful types of pollution, ground-level ozone and fine particulates, have decreased only modestly in recent years. Both still contribute to the premature deaths of more than … Read more
Scientists from NOAA, NASA and 21 universities from three countries are deploying state-of-the-art instruments in multiple, coordinated research campaigns this month to investigate how air pollution sources have shifted over recent decades. Since the 1970s, U.S. scientists and environmental regulators made significant strides in reducing air pollution by cleaning up tailpipe and smokestack emissions. Yet … Read more
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif.― The Bureau of Land Management late Wednesday ordered an oil company to permanently close and remove 11 long-dormant oil wells inside the Carrizo Plain National Monument, a unique landscape in central California famous for its vibrant springtime wildflower displays and rare wildlife. The order was part of a legal agreement … Read more
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) released a notice of intent announcing the first in a series of funding opportunities to monitor and reduce methane emissions, one of the biggest drivers of the climate crisis, from the oil and gas sector and … Read more