clean air

Give Thanks for Regulations

In the Broadway hit musical, “Book of Mormon,” a woman from Uganda envisions paradise as a place where warlords are benevolent and the Red Cross hands out as much flour as you can eat. In other words, the things that inspire hope and gratitude in any part of the world are in the eye of […]

Extreme pollution agenda in Senate targets lifesaving clean air standards

Is this the GOP’s vision of a happy, healthy future?Image: Devin HuntCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. Last week, the U.S. Senate rejected an extreme agenda disguised as a jobs and transportation bill. This unsuccessful effort was founded on the absurd notion that more pollution would mean more jobs, and that what the country really needs […]

Another Congressional Attack on Clean Air

Why should you care about the Cross State Air Pollution Rule? Because it could save your life, or the life of someone you love. Congress is continuing its attacks on clean air this week, and the latest target in their crosshairs is the life-saving Cross State Air Pollution Rule. This clean air safeguard would require […]

How the EPA and states are failing to keep air clean

NPR and iWatch News* have a monster report out about the ways the Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators have failed to crack down on air polluters. Here's the takeaway point: While some business and political leaders, including President Obama, increasingly warn of the impacts of overregulation on the foundering economy, many ordinary Americans face […]

Get the lead out: Clean air tied to decline in violent crime

Research ties the decades-long drop in violent crime to reduced urban lead poisoning.

The EPA doesn’t regulate farm dust, it regulates air pollution

One cardinal rule of American politics is "Thou shalt not piss off the farmers." (Remember how farms were going to get a free pass on cap-and-trade?) Conveniently for Republicans, earlier this year, air monitors in Arizona found high levels of particulate matter in the air, and the EPA traced it to farms and had to work with farmers to minimize the amount of dust their work was creating.

Now, Arizona is very, very dusty place, and particulate matter is a hazard to air quality. But for what a reasonable person can only assume were political reasons, Republicans started claiming that the EPA was going to start imposing "farm dust" regulations on Midwestern farms, and now they are trying to get Congress to vote against "farm dust" regulations.

Of course, these "farm dust regulations" don't govern farms or dust in particular. 

Clean air and clean energy successes — and some rap

Who doesn’t love good news? Let’s start with something catchy — maybe a soundtrack as you read the rest of this column. This week we released a video created by DJ Steve Porter, known for his innovative “remix” videos, featuring celebrities, sports stars, and now Michael Bloomberg, philanthropist and mayor of New York City, and […]

Obama pulls a Bush on clean air

A deeper look at the politics and maneuvering leading up to the most outrageous environmental offense of the Obama administration.

Utilities and Joe Barton: 'Ignore the science: Pollution isn't bad for you!'

Do you believe doctors, EPA scientists, and peer-reviewed studies when it comes to the danger of pollution? Or heavily polluting utilities and Joe Barton?