Explain air pollution

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Air pollution is a serious matter. Who wants to visit a city only to end up walking its streets breathing acrid smells and harming your health? But air pollution doesn’t just mean the smog we can see – the really dangerous stuff is invisible to the naked eye. A 2022 report by the World Health Organization cites that 99% of the entire global population is breathing polluted, health-harming air. And with more than 6,000 cities across 117 countries now monitoring air quality, the data set is comprehensive and compelling. To try and clarify that into something usable, the air experts at HouseFresh have mapped 480 cities around the world, calculating the average air pollution level of the first nine months of 2019 against the first nine months of 2022 to see where air pollution has increased and where it has decreased. Using aqicn.org’s World Air Quality Index data for each city, they measured average levels of particulate … [Read more...] about Mapped: New Survey Shows Air Pollution Changes In Cities Around The World

Denver boasts one of the country’s fastest-growing economies and expects to add tens of thousands of new residents by the end of the decade. The city’s rapid and continued expansion comes at a cost, though. Air quality on the Front Range languishes , pollution threatens the city’s most vulnerable populations and experts worry for the region’s water supply . Whoever voters elect to run Denver and to sit on its council can take action most directly, experts say, by relying on new technology, tweaking building and zoning codes, partnering with nearby governments and state lawmakers and even limiting the types of lawn care equipment residents can use. Already Denver officials set a goal to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 65% by 2030 and by 100% over the next decade. The city’s goal is also to hit net-zero energy use by 2040. Perhaps the biggest piece of Denver’s air-quality problem would be solved by expanding the city’s public transit options, Jill Locantore, … [Read more...] about Air quality, transportation and water: How Denver’s next mayor and City Council can protect the environment

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin At the end of the annual Reno National Championship Air Races this September, a 60-year tradition of closed-course pylon air racing will end in northern Nevada and with it an invaluable piece of American tradition. The hope is that air racing may carry on elsewhere but it’s a tough ask. A fortnight ago, the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) announced that 2023 will be the final year that the Reno-Stead Airport (north of the City of Reno) will host the National Championship Air Races from September 13-17. The end of the six-decade event came with a decision by the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority ( RTAA ) - which runs Reno-Stead Airport where the Races have been held since 1964 - not to renew a contract with RARA to hold the event based on concerns including “rapid area development, public safety and the impact on the Reno-Stead Airport and its surrounding areas.” “They gave a variety of reasons,” RARA COO, Tony … [Read more...] about One More Lap Around the Pylons -The Last Reno Air Races Are This Fall

Photo by @jamboree08 via Facebook/ JS100 Radio According to a report released by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) , 1,449,716 people in Thailand and 31,695 people in Bangkok are suffering from diseases caused by PM2.5 pollution . Skin irritation, stroke, and eye inflammation were the most commonly reported illnesses. The Inspector-General of the MOPH, Pathomporn Siraprapasiri, disclosed the results of a survey last week that was conducted between January 1 and March 10 this year at state hospitals in Thailand. Pathonporn said 1,449,716 individuals in Thailand and 31,695 individuals in Bangkok were affected by air pollution-related illnesses. The diseases are further categorized as follows 2,252 patients suffered from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which causes airflow blockage and breathing-related issues 129 patients had asthma 1,770 patients had pneumonia 144 patients had the flu 1,830 patients had pharynx inflammation or sore throat … [Read more...] about Over 1.4 million people in Thailand suffers diseases related to PM2.5

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When it comes to issues around sustainability and energy, there are few subjects less controversial than biomass. Often hailed as a lower carbon option for heating or generating electricity, biomass involves the burning of wood pellets, chips or logs. Its proponents argue that biomass has a key role to play in the road to net zero, using wood that is unsuitable for other products and would otherwise go to waste. But critics have pointed out that biomass still involves burning natural materials, which can pollute the atmosphere. The campaigning group Cut Carbon Not Forest recently published a new survey, which shows 73% of respondents are concerned that burning trees in power stations could be making air pollution worse and harming people's health. The survey also found almost two thirds of those surveyed (64%) agree that it is misleading to call biomass green. And only 3.4% believed burning wood from other … [Read more...] about Is Biomass A Friend Or Foe Of The Environment?

Yellow dust blankets Seoul on Thursday as weather authorities warned of bad air quality through Friday. [YONHAP] Yellow dust descended on Korea on Thursday and was expected to linger through Friday, pushing fine dust levels up in the Seoul metropolitan area and some southern regions. The Air Quality Forecasting Center, run by the Environment Ministry’s National Institute of Environmental Research, blamed China for the air pollutants, saying that the yellow dust affecting Korea this week originated from northeast China on Wednesday. Korea's northwestern coastal areas were the hardest hit on Thursday, with fine dust levels in Incheon reaching 163 micrograms per cubic meter, which is considered “very bad” on the government’s four-tier air quality system. On Friday, fine dust levels in the Seoul metropolitan area — referring to Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi — Gangwon, South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, North Jeolla, Busan, Daegu, Ulsan and North Gyeongsang are expected to be … [Read more...] about Yellow dust expected to continue Friday

Several advocacy groups are urging Malacañang to amend an existing executive order granting import incentives to include electric motorcycles as an affordable alternative for Filipinos to shift to zero emission commuting. Think tank Stratbase ADR Institute president Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit in a posted statement said “EO 12 as it is now , excludes motorcycles from import tax exemptions but covers vehicles with four wheels – which are afforded only by higher-income individuals.” “Millions of working Filipinos opt for two and three-wheel vehicles because of their income limitations. They are the most vulnerable to the increase in prices of fuel and other basic commodities. Making electric motorcycles more affordable means no more worries on spiking petroleum prices and pollution free transportation for the masses,” Manhit said. According to Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) secretary general Felix Vitangcol,   Executive Order 12, which grants tax … [Read more...] about EO 12 coverage expansion to include electric motorcycles pushed

Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued Norfolk Southern on Tuesday over a train derailment that set off a massive chemical disaster that has residents concerned about the well-being of their community. The 106-page lawsuit intends to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for covering all financial costs associated with the Feb. 3 derailment that resulted in hazardous chemicals polluting the air and water, according to the text . The lawsuit cites 58 counts against Norfolk Southern for violating several federal and state environmental laws including state hazardous waste, water pollution control, solid waste and air pollution control laws. (RELATED: Yet Another Norfolk Southern Train Derails As CEO Testifies Before Congress On East Palestine) Yost accused Norfolk Southern of several Common Law violations including public nuisance for the chemicals released into the environment, negligence for the operational defects and trespassing for contaminating natural resources. … [Read more...] about Ohio Sues Norfolk Southern Over Toxic Train Derailment

It is quite apparent that the number-coding scheme is not working in Metro Manila. It is just the best car-demand promoter in the country, with well-to-do families buying additional cars or not selling their old cars when they upgrade (with different coded days). This means it is (almost) antipoor! Thus you find in many areas, parked cars (usually coded ones) in the neighborhood clogging the streets, making it impossible to use side streets to get to one’s destination, thus adding to the travails of the motoring public. It is time to introduce congestion charging (CC). It is almost the same as number coding but with a couple of big pluses: You can still go if you must. In other words, you can opt to go or not to go, not totally strangle you to submission; and Authorities can design where it can be applied to (specific roads, or specific stretches of specific roads) and at what time (like only on specific crunch times). Having the option to go or not to go means that you can … [Read more...] about Congestion charge: Why it’s time to introduce it in Metro Manila

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Researchers reported in a news article by Sergio Queiroz for Reuters the discovery of plastic-rocks on Trindade, a remote island located 1.140 kilometers (708 miles) off the coast of Brazil. Trindade Island is one of the world's most important conservation spots for the endangered green turtle, or Chelonia mydas , with thousands of animals arriving each year to lay their eggs. The only human inhabitants on Trindade are members of the Brazilian navy, which maintains a base on the island and protects the nesting turtles. The plastic rocks are found along the beach and form as plastic debris washed ashore breaks down and mixes with the island's volcanic rocks. "We identified (the plastic debris) mainly comes from fishing nets, which is very common debris on Trinidade Island's beaches," Fernanda Avelar Santos , a geologist at the Federal University of Parana, explains. "The (nets) are dragged by the marine … [Read more...] about Scientists Discover ‘Rocks Made From Plastic’ On Remote Island