Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: smog

Obama Dumps New Smog Rules

He says standard will change anyway in 2013

(Newser) - Barack Obama handed the business community a surprise win today by asking the Environmental Protection Agency to scrap new smog standards that would force state and local government to improve air quality or risk losing federal funds, the Washington Post reports. "Work is already underway to update … the... More »

Obama Delays New Environmental Regulations

Activists furious over economic move

(Newser) - The Obama administration is delaying the implementation of new regulations on smog and toxic industrial boiler emissions, leaving in place policies enacted by George W. Bush. The EPA says it will now need until July 2011 to consider the smog rules, so that it can analyze further scientific and health... More »

Iran Forced to Declare Pollution Holiday

Smog forces Tehran to shut down for 2 days

(Newser) - Workers in Tehran and other Iranian cities have been given an extra 2-day vacation to enjoy—as long as they can enjoy themselves without breathing too much. Iranian authorities were forced to declare today and tomorrow public holidays as air pollution reached dangerous levels, AP reports. The capital was also... More »

EPA to Toughen Smog Rules

Measure would be costly but yield huge health savings

(Newser) - The EPA wants to ramp up smog standards in a significant way from the Bush administration. Assuming today's proposal goes through after a 60-day period for public comment, the agency projects the new standards would prevent 12,000 premature deaths and yield huge savings in health costs. The rules limit... More »

Electric Bikes Take Off in China

(Newser) - Chinese drivers are seeing a new vehicle zip by on the nation's congested, smog-choked freeways: electric bicycles, Austin Ramzy writes in Time. Promoted by the government as affordable solutions to cars, so-called e-bikes are growing in popularity, offering a green solution to the country's automobile boom. About 21 million e-bikes... More »

Ozone Kills, Slowly: Study

High-level areas like LA face 50% increase in risk of death from respiratory illness

(Newser) - Long-term exposure to ozone can greatly increase the risk of death from respiratory diseases, the Los Angeles Times reports. An 18-year study of half a million people in 96 cities found that an increase of 10 parts per billion in ozone concentrations correlated to a 4% increase in deaths from... More »

Smog Bad for Your Appendix: Study

Researchers saw more cases of appendicitis on days with poor air quality

(Newser) - Pollution may boost your chances of getting appendicitis, the BBC reports. A Canadian study suggests that human tissue—such as the appendix—gets more inflamed on days when the ozone level is high; patients were 15% more likely to be hospitalized on bad-air days, researchers found. Infections can cause appendicitis—... More »

Heavy Smog Greets Olympians

Despite traffic restrictions, skies hazy as always

(Newser) - Beijing has just 12 days left to clear its skies before the start of the Summer Olympics and things are still looking mighty smoggy, reports the AP. Visibility was a mere half-mile in some parts of the city and the Athletes’ Village was invisible from the nearby Olympic Green, despite... More »

Global Warming Caused by ... Cleaner Skies: Study

Pollution crackdown has let more sunlight in, making Europe toastier, scientists say

(Newser) - Reducing aerosols and other pollutants has been a major part of Europe’s campaign to reduce global warming, but a new study turns conventional thinking on its head, New Scientist reports. "The decrease in aerosols probably accounts for at least half of the warming over Europe in the last... More »

China Falls Behind on Olympic Promises

Despite vows, not much change on air quality, political freedom

(Newser) - With exactly a month to go before the Olympics, China has not delivered on promises to improve Beijing’s air quality or allow foreign journalists open access, the BBC reports. The government vowed to bring Beijing’s air up to WHO standards when bidding for the Games, but a BBC... More »

IOC: Beijing Air Risky for Athletes

Competitors in endurance events

(Newser) - The air quality in Beijing poses a “possible risk” to athletes in endurance events, the International Olympic Committee announced today. After analyzing data collected in Beijing in August, the IOC’s medical commission concluded that most competitors won't be affected by the smog, but it will monitor air quality... More »

Bush Stepped In to Weaken Ozone Rules

President overruled EPA scientists on pollution guidelines

(Newser) - President Bush personally intervened this week to loosen the EPA's new guidelines on pollution-causing ozone, the Washington Post reports. By law, separate ozone standards are mandated for protecting the "public health" and the "public welfare," which includes wildlife, parks, and farmland. According to EPA documents, Bush overruled... More »

EPA Ignores Advisers on Pollution Cap

Sets higher limit than own experts' recommendations

(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 »

Olympians Prepare Strategies for Beijing Smog

China promises clean air for Games, but teams are taking precautions

(Newser) - With the Summer Olympics set to begin Aug. 8 in one of the world’s smoggiest cities, competitors are looking for a Beijing edge. US athletes have been asking if they should train near busy highways to simulate Beijing’s noxious air, the New York Times reports, but trainers are... More »

Gassy Kudzu Choking South

Quick-spreading vine emitting greenhouse gas

(Newser) - It's nicknamed "the vine that ate the South," but experts now warn that the fast-spreading invasive plant is choking more than just power lines, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Scientists have found that the plant emits ozone, making smog worse, leading to health problems—and speeding up climate change. More »

Calif. Town Is Nation's Smoggiest

Air above tiny Arvin is a magnet for pollutants

(Newser) - Arvin, Calif., proves that you don’t need factories or freeways to have America’s worst air pollution. The agricultural town’s mountain locale collects pollution, the AP reports, giving the air a toxic smell and raising health concerns. The EPA uses the ozone level to gauge smog across the... More »

Beijing Smog May Postpone Olympic Events

With exactly 1 year to go, China scrambles to reduce pollution

(Newser) - The air pollution in Beijing is so bad that some 2008 Olympic events may have to be postponed. IOC president Jacques Rogge is worried about participants in endurance events like cycling because air quality remains dismal despite government efforts, such as shutting down factories, to improve it. Construction for the... More »

Smog Cloud Menaces Asia

Asian Brown Cloud is melting Himalayan glaciers

(Newser) - An enormous cloud of smog over southern Asia threatens 2 billion people with flooding and drought, a new study shows. The "Asian Brown Cloud" is melting Himalayan glaciers, the Times of London reports, and the resulting floods will menace heavily populated downstream areas. And the cloud's driving up temperatures... More »

18 Stories
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne