Air Pollution News

September 9, 2016

Air Pollution a Risk Factor for Diabetes: Study

Earth's Oxygen Began Much Earlier

Smoke Waves To Affect Millions in Coming Decades

Laundry Adds Flame Retardants to Surface Waters

Latest Headlines

updated 12:27am EDT

Aerosol Emissions in East Asia Driven by Consumption in Developed Countries

Sep. 6, 2016 — Much of the influence on climate from air pollution in East Asia is driven by consumption in the developed countries of Western Europe and North America, according to research by atmospheric ... read more

London Air Pollution Policies Are Starting to Have Impact, but More Work to Be Done

Sep. 2, 2016 — Air pollution from London's roads is improving overall but more work may be needed to tackle some sources of traffic pollution, which continue to ... read more

Plants Found to Regulate Leaf Temperature to Boost Carbon Uptake

Aug. 30, 2016 — A new study has found that plants regulate their leaf temperature with some independence from the surrounding air temperature, a trait that increases carbon uptake ... read more

Research Priorities for the Field of Atmospheric Chemistry

Aug. 26, 2016 — Increasing energy demands and expanding industrial and agricultural activities worldwide are changing the composition of the atmosphere and contributing to major global challenges like climate change ... read more

New 'Greener' Method Developed for Producing Some Metals

Aug. 25, 2016 — While trying to develop a new battery, researchers find a whole new energy-efficient way to produce some metals without creating ... read more

Climate Change May Extend Ozone Season in the Southeastern US

Aug. 22, 2016 — Extreme weather conditions associated with climate change may extend the ozone season in the Southeastern United States as drought-stressed trees emit more of the precursor ... read more

Study Reveals Surprising Role of Haze in the Warming of Chinese Cities

Aug. 23, 2016 — A new study suggests that regional variations may cause the phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect, and that the impacts of haze pollution in the US and China vary ... read more

How Cars Could Meet Future Emissions Standards: Focus on Cold Starts

Aug. 22, 2016 — Car emissions is a high-stakes issue, as last year's Volkswagen scandal demonstrated. Wrongdoing aside, how are automakers going to realistically meet future, tougher emissions requirements to reduce ... read more

Cloth Masks Offer Poor Protection Against Air Pollution

Aug. 19, 2016 — Inexpensive cloth masks worn by people who hope to reduce their exposure to air pollution vary widely in effectiveness and could be giving users a false sense of security, especially in highly ... read more

Discovery of Sunlight-Driven Organic Chemistry on Water Surfaces

Aug. 11, 2016 — Fatty acids found on the surface of water droplets react with sunlight to form organic molecules, a new study reports, essentially uncovering a previously unknown form ... read more

Water Contamination in New Zealand Leaves Thousands Ill

Is It Safe To Store Carbon Dioxide Deep Underground?

Brazil Pollution Woes Spark Warning for Olympic Athletes

Betting on a Toxic Cleanup Promise in Brooklyn

Tighter Air Pollution Standards May Save Thousands of Lives, Greatly Improve Public Health

Aug. 10, 2016 — Reducing outdoor concentrations of two air pollutants, ozone and fine particulate matter to levels below those set by the US Environmental Protection Agency would likely save thousands of lives each ... read more

Accounting for Ozone: Study First to Quantify Impact of Oil and Gas Emissions on Denver's Ozone Problem

Aug. 8, 2016 — A new study is the first to directly quantify how emissions from oil and gas activities influence summertime ozone pollution in the Colorado Front Range confirms that chemical vapors from oil and gas ... read more

Carbon-Financed Cookstove Fails to Deliver Hoped-for Benefits in the Field

July 27, 2016 — A study of the the first clean cookstove intervention in India financed through the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism found expected benefits from newer, more 'efficient' ... read more

Watering Solar Cells Makes Them Grow in Power

July 27, 2016 — Perovskite solar cells are the rising star in the photovoltaic landscape. Since their invention, less than ten years ago, their efficiency has doubled twice and it is now over 22% -- an astonishing ... read more

Cleaner Air May Be Driving Water Quality in Chesapeake Bay

July 26, 2016 — A new study suggests that improvements in air quality over the Potomac watershed, including the Washington, D.C., metro area, may be responsible for recent progress on water quality in the Chesapeake ... read more

Silicon-Air Battery Achieves Running Time of Over 1,000 Hours for the First Time

July 26, 2016 — Silicon-air batteries are viewed as a promising and cost-effective alternative to current energy storage technology. However, they have thus far only achieved relatively short running times. ... read more

Chemical Pollution Gets to Antarctic Marine Bird Colonies

July 21, 2016 — Latitude is the main factor which determines the organic pollutant concentration in Antarctic giant petrels – emblematic species in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions – according to a new ... read more

Fracking Industry Wells Associated With Increased Risk of Asthma Attacks

July 18, 2016 — People with asthma who live near bigger or larger numbers of active unconventional natural gas wells operated by the fracking industry in Pennsylvania are 1.5 to four times likelier to have asthma ... read more

Tropical Cyclones on Track to Grow More Intense as Temperatures Rise

July 14, 2016 — Powerful tropical cyclones like the super typhoon that lashed Taiwan with 150-mile-per-hour winds last week and then flooded parts of China are expected to become even stronger as the planet warms. ... read more

Increase in Childhood, Adult Asthma Linked to London's 1952 Great Smog

July 8, 2016 — London's Great Smog of 1952 resulted in thousands of premature deaths and even more people becoming ill. The five December days the smog lasted may have also resulted in thousands more cases of ... read more

Bees' Ability to Forage Decreases as Air Pollution Increases

July 6, 2016 — Air pollutants interact with and break down plant-emitted scent molecules, which insect pollinators use to locate needed food, according to a team of researchers. The pollution-modified plant odors ... read more

Air Pollution Linked to Increased Rates of Kidney Disease

June 30, 2016 — While air pollution is known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, a new study indicates that it also likely causes damage to the ... read more

New Mid-Infrared Laser System Could Detect Atmospheric Chemicals

June 28, 2016 — Researchers have found a way to use mid-infrared lasers to turn molecules in the open air into glowing filaments of electrically charged gas, or plasma. The method could make possible remote ... read more

Household Fuels a Major Contributor to Beijing's Infamous Air Pollution

June 27, 2016 — Because of uncontrolled and inefficient combustion of solid fuels in household devices, emission reductions from the residential sector may have greater air-quality benefits in the North China Plain, ... read more

Acoustics Researcher Finds Explanation for Auroral Sounds

June 22, 2016 — In 2012, a research group proved that the source of sounds associated with the Northern Lights is located close to the ground at an altitude of approximately 70 meters. Now, by combining his ... read more

Odors Can Be Measured by Analytical Chemistry

June 21, 2016 — For the first time scientists have developed a convincing model able to measure odors from pig farms by means of precise measurements of the content of odorants in the atmosphere. The model is based ... read more

Fossil Fuel Combustion Endangers Children's Health in Two Significant Ways: Scientist Reviews the Evidence

June 21, 2016 — Fossil fuel combustion and associated air pollution and carbon dioxide has been identified as the root cause of much of the ill health of children today. Because of their inherent biological ... read more

Global Ethane Concentrations Rising Again, Says Study

June 14, 2016 — Global emissions of ethane, an air pollutant and greenhouse gas, are on the uptick again, according to a new study. The air samples for the study were collected from more than 40 sites around the ... read more

Air Purification: Plant Hemoglobin Proteins Help Arabidopsis Thaliana Plants Fix Atmospheric Nitric Oxide

June 13, 2016 — Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions are mainly caused by combustion processes in industrial facilities and engines. In humans, the gaseous pollutants particularly irritate the mucous membranes in the ... read more

For the First Time, Air Pollution Emerges as a Leading Risk Factor for Stroke Worldwide

June 9, 2016 — Air pollution -- including environmental and household air pollution -- has emerged as a leading risk factor for stroke worldwide, associated with about a third of the global burden of stroke in ... read more

Wednesday, August 10, 2016