The year is only half done and the United States has already been enveloped by acrid orange skies in the East, battered by winter rains and floods in California, seared by record winter temperatures in the South, soaked by a record 26-inch April deluge in Fort Lauderdale, and broiled by record spring heat in the Pacific Northwest, Texas, and Puerto Rico.
Two studies by researchers from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic have confirmed that “Cancer Alley,” a 184-mile region in Louisiana along the Mississippi River with a high number of petrochemical plants as well as high cancer rates for residents, is not only real, but that government officials helped create it.
There are currently 70 wildfires burning more than one million acres across the U.S., according to the most recent figures from the National Interagency Fire Center. While the bulk of the fires themselves are burning in the West, the smoke is projected to fill skies across the entire country, reaching as far east as New […]
By Roger Bales and Brandi McKuin Climate change and water scarcity are front and center in the western U.S. The region’s climate is warming, a severe multi-year drought is underway and groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many locations. Western states are pursuing many strategies to adapt to these stresses and prepare for the future. […]
Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin doesn’t identify as a “traditional Democrat.” She has a good reason for this: “I don’t really trust the government,” she told EcoWatch. “I haven’t trusted our government throughout how it’s responded to COVID and I don’t trust it in terms of how it’s going to respond to the climate crisis.” […]
Beijing skies turned yellow Monday as air pollution reached hazardous levels after the worst sandstorm in a decade coincided with an industrial boom following last year’s COVID lockdown. The sandstorm clouded northern China from Xinjiang in the far west to the Bohai Sea in the east, canceling flights and closing some schools, The New York […]
Smoke from wildfires may be more harmful to public health than other sources of particulate matter air pollution, according to a new study. The research, published in Nature Communications on Friday, found that wildfire smoke could be up to 10 times more harmful than other sources of air pollution, such as from vehicles or industry. […]
When countries began going into lockdown last winter and spring, clearer skies from reduced traffic and industry were hailed as a rare bright spot during a difficult time. But a study published in Geophysical Research Letters in December 2020 shows that those blue skies had an unexpected side effect: They made the Earth slightly warmer. […]
The need for clean, pure air has never been more evident. Between the current concern over the coronavirus pandemic and rising levels of air pollution and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) throughout our country, many of us have started seeking simple, effective ways to ensure cleaner air within our homes. One of the most obvious ways […]