Air


EPA Recognizes January as National Radon Action Month

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging Americans this January, as part of National Radon Action Month, to take simple and affordable steps to test their homes for harmful levels of radon gas.

EPA Funding to Reduce Air Pollution from Locomotives and Buses Operating in New York City

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is helping New York City reduce air pollution with a $2 million grant to replace two old high polluting locomotive engines that operate in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens with cleaner technology.

Columbus Steel Castings to Pay 825000 and Install Monitoring Equipmen for Violating Clean Air Act

Columbus Steel Castings Company, Inc., located on the south side of Columbus, Ohio, was recently sentenced to pay $825,000 and install additional devices to prevent air pollution after pleading guilty on July 28, 2011 to six counts of violating the Clean Air Act.

EPA Releases Guidelines to Ensure Healthy Indoor Air during Home Energy Upgrades

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades to better integrate health protections into energy efficiency programs.

Wind Experts Advise on Revolutionary Wind-powered Skyscraper

The infamous winds that gust through downtown San Francisco streets, overturning kiosks and sometimes toppling pedestrians, will help to power a revolutionary skyscraper set to open next fall -- and could pave the way for a new world market for energy-generating wind turbines in new buildings.

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Study Shows Acid Pollution in Rain Decreased with Emissions

Emissions regulations do have an environmental impact, according to a long-term study of acidic rainfall by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

NCAR Wind Forecasts Save Millions of Dollars for Xcel Energy

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a highly detailed wind energy forecasting system with Xcel Energy, enabling the utility to capture energy from turbines far more effectively and at lower cost. The system, which Xcel Energy formally took over last month, saves ratepayers several million dollars yearly.

Wind Energy Lessens Under Heat Wave Conditions

During the summer 2003, high temperatures and drought conditions in Europe led to a reduction of the wind force with direct consequences on the wind energy power, reduced by 22 percent. The study was recently published in Journal of Climate.



Tropical Forests Fertilized By Air Pollution

Scientists braved ticks and a tiger to discover how human activities have perturbed the nitrogen cycle in tropical forests. Studies at two remote Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory sites in Panama and Thailand show the first evidence of long-term effects of nitrogen pollution in tropical trees.

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DNA Lab Aims to Reduce Your Pet's Carbon Footprint

There’s an unsuspecting culprit contributing to U.S. water pollution: pet poop.

Study Links Pollutants to a 450 Percent Increase in Risk of Birth Defects

Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

Oil Company Pleads Guilty to Clean Air Act and Obstruction Crimes in Louisiana

Pelican Refining Company LLC could potentially pay $12 million in criminal penalties in a plea agreement, marking the largest criminal fine in Louisiana for violations of the Clean Air Act.

School District to Install World's First Ultra-efficient Solar Hot Air System

Sanborn Regional School District in Kingston, N.H., has signed the world's first power purchase agreement for ultra-efficient solar hot air, which will reduce heating bills.

Tips Tuesday: Tips for a Green Autumn Season

As the leaves change and temps drop, the crisp autumn air brings a whole new load of waste possibilities with the new season. As opposed to the scorching summer months coupled with UV rays that dry lawns and surge kilowatts of electricity through homes for cooling, fall brings gutter clutter and leaf waste – not to mention high kilowatt usage in parts of the world prone to freezing temps.

New Study Shows How Trees Clean the Air

New research shows how trees can improve air quality by filtering out pollution particulates, which are damaging to human health.

Nuclear Power Has Prevented 40M Metric Tons of CO2 Emissions

More than 10 years after electricity deregulation, the nuclear power industry has decreased greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 40 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and saved $2.5 billion a year as a result of operating more efficiently over the past decade, according to a new study.

High Air, Water Quality Are Key to a More-Pleasant Beach Vacation

People head to the beach to escape the stress of everyday life, but a new study out of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that there are peak times to reap the restorative benefit.

When Combating Urban Air Pollution, Think Regionally

At the 2008 Winter Olympics, Chinese officials didn't want the gold medal for "most polluted air." Reducing air pollution in an urban area like Beijing will require large, regional strategies according to scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Peking University. They studied the effects of emission reduction efforts at the Beijing Olympics.

Satellites Measurements of Megacity Emissions Far Exceed Computer Estimates

One of NASA's satellites has provided the most detailed map yet of the pollution generated by some of the world’s biggest cities, and given an indication of the volume of emissions of the nitrogen oxides from direct measurements rather than relying on computer models and a range of assumptions.

New Plant Science Will Make Ground Level Ozone Predictions More Accurate

Predictions of the ground-level pollutant ozone will be more accurate in future according to research published by environment scientists at research centers including the University of Birmingham in the journal Nature Geoscience.

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