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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: air quality

air quality stories: 9 news summaries

 Red Dust Blankets Sydney 

Air quality 'dangerous' as limited visibility forces incoming flights to be diverted

Sep 22, 09 8:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Red dust blowing in from the Australian Outback covered Sydney today, snarling air travel and forcing locals to don masks to venture outdoors. “It’s like a nuclear winter morning,” one visitor told Bloomberg; the state government called air quality “hazardous.” Visibility was under 50 feet... More »

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Australia • Sydney • air quality • flight delays • diversions • dust storm

 IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air

But pollution readings by BBC tell a different story

Aug 7, 08 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee says there is nothing wrong with the air in Beijing and praised China's "extraordinary" efforts to clean up pollution ahead of the Games' kick-off tomorrow. But the BBC disagrees, reporting its own analysis that shows Beijing's air pollution at nearly four times World Health Organization... More »

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China • Beijing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • air pollution • International Olympic Committee • air quality • PM10 • fog

ANALYSIS

 Bejing's Clean-Air Blitz
 Falls Short 

Independent readings, photos show smog persists despite pre-Olympic crackdown

Aug 5, 08 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Chinese government’s goal of dispersing the thick smog around Beijing is not working, Wired reports after analyzing independent data. Efforts including factory shutdowns, car bans, and cloud seeding have not improved air quality, with pollution levels still far above the World Health Organization’s standards on most days.... More »

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Beijing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • air pollution • air quality

 Beijing Becomes
 Obsessed With Rain

Chinese people want some, but not too much, for Olympics

Jul 31, 08 1:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Talking about the weather isn’t just idle conversation in Beijing these days—it’s a national obsession, the Washington Post reports. The country is so anxious for a sunny Olympics—with just enough rain to clear the smog, of course—that changes in the forecast have become front-page news.... More »

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China • weather • pollution • Beijing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • air pollution • weather modification • air quality

Beijing Amps Up Anti-Pollution Measures

New cuts on factories, cars as air flunks tests ahead of Olympics

Jul 31, 08 8:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Beijing today rolled out new emergency measures to ease pollution, with the Olympics just more than a week away. The new rules will close more factories and take more vehicles off the road, in a wider radius around the capital, in the event of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions"—... More »

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China • pollution • Beijing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • air pollution • air quality

 Clean-Air Changes
 'Imperil Parks' 

Rules make allow power plants nearby

May 16, 08 4:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Clean air rules likely to be changed this summer are causing serious concerns about future pollution at some of America's most spectacular national parks, reports the Washington Post. The changes will pave the way for 28 new coal-fired power plants near ten parks, according to a report supported by some... More »

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Henry Waxman • Clean Air Act • Environmental Protection Agency • air pollution • air quality • National Park Service • Shenandoah National Park • Mesa Verde National Park • Theodore Roosevelt National Park • National Parks Conservation Association

SF Bay Area Businesses Face Penalties for Pollution

Fines would range from $1 to $195K per year

Apr 17, 08 11:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - San Francisco Bay Area businesses could face major fines—the first ever imposed by a local government—based on the amount of climate-changing emissions they produce annually, the New York Times reports. The move, which the Bay Area Air Quality Management District could make official May 21, would skirt plodding... More »

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environment • San Francisco • Bay Area • oil refineries • Shell Oil • air quality

 EPA Ignores Advisers
 on Pollution Cap

Sets higher limit than own experts' recommendations

Mar 13, 08 7:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ignoring the recommendations of its own scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday reset standards for pollution-forming ozone from cars and factories at a level critics say may cost thousands of lives. The new cap is lower than the old level but still far above the limit urged by EPA experts,... More »

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pollution • Clean Air Act • nitrogen oxides • Environmental Protection Agency • American Lung Association • smog • ozone • air quality • utilities • Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee • National Association of Clean Air Agencies • Edison Electric Institute

SoCal Bans Wood Burning on Bad Air Days

But fireplace lovers need not fret: only 24 days per year

Mar 8, 08 8:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Officials in charge of air quality in Los Angeles and surrounding counties have banned the use of wood-burning fireplaces during certain high-pollution days. The fines would only be levied on about two dozen winter days, and wouldn't affect gas fireplaces, wood-burning ovens in restaurants, or homes above 3,000 feet,... More »

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fireplaces • Los Angeles • Southern California • South Coast Air Quality Management • air pollution • respiratory problems • particulate soot • air quality

9 Stories


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