In addition to the devastating death toll and widespread destruction of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the ongoing conflict has brought extensive climate damage to the planet. New research reveals that the first 24 months of the Ukraine war had a climate cost greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 175 individual countries, adding to […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized clean air standards that will limit the toxic pollutants released by chemical plants. According to the agency, the new standards will reduce the number of people with increased cancer risks in vulnerable communities near these chemical plants by 96%. The rule sets out to limit toxic air […]
In another landmark climate decision, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that an individual’s “right to life” includes protection against the impacts of climate change. The verdict reflects fundamental rights stated in Article 21 of the country’s constitution, reported The Independent. “Without a clean environment which is stable and unimpacted by the vagaries of […]
A series of research articles published in the scientific journal The Gerontologist collectively outline several risks that climate change poses for aging well. The journal’s special issue, titled “Climate Change and Aging,” presents multiple links between climate change and human health, particularly for aging adults. In one of the forum articles included in the special […]
In a historic move, the Biden administration has announced new tailpipe emissions regulations, which call for a 56% reduction in the average carbon dioxide emissions of passenger cars, medium-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks by 2032. The new rules will apply to vehicles with model years from 2027 to 2032 and beyond, a press release from […]
Swiss air quality monitoring company IQAir has released its sixth World Air Quality Report, detailing 2023’s most polluted countries and territories in the world. In compiling the report, more than 30,000 monitoring stations in 134 nations, territories and regions were examined by IQAir scientists, a press release from IQAir said. Of these, 124 — 92.5 […]
A new study led by researchers at the University of Surrey in England has identified methods that, when applied together, could reduce air pollution in classrooms by up to 36%. Researchers tested air purifying methods for two classrooms in a school located about 10 meters from a highway that has an average of 31,067 cars […]
The National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have completed an air tour management plan for Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. As part of the plan, commercial air tours will be banned in and around the national monument. Commercial air tours are a type of flight that visitors can pay to […]
Indigenous communities in California are exposed to disproportionate levels of particulate matter in amounts much greater than previously thought, a new study has found. Using a new technique of measuring prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke, the researchers discovered that the Indigenous communities were exposed to an average of roughly 1.7 times the smoke that would […]