air pollution
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A tire fire so big it can be seen from space
Tire fires are a nasty business, and in Kuwait yesterday, a fire broke out at a dump that held more than 5 million tires. The fire was so big that the smoke plume was visible from space: A tire fire this big is an environmental disaster. It won’t just pollute the air with hazardous materials […]
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Critical List: Court upholds local fracking ban; New York could ban shark fin sales
A New York state court upheld the town of Dryden’s ban on fracking. Republicans are trying to pin rising gas prices on President Obama. Apple could allow independent environmental reviews of two factories in China. Chinese air pollution is visible from space.
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Critical List: More than 800,000 anti-Keystone messages delivered; Obama could veto transportation bill
The anti-Keystone email campaign gathered more than 800,000 messages to Senate leadership. Check out this picture of the messages being delivered. Internal documents from Heartland Institute, the climate-denying think tank, show funding from sources like Microsoft, Koch Industries (which had reportedly stopped funding the institute), tobacco companies, and other corporations. One “Anonymous Donor” gave more […]
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Critical List: Republicans still pushing Keystone; Yosemite to limit Half Dome hikes
House Republicans just can’t let go of the Keystone XL pipeline. Speaker Boehner now says it could be part of a bill expanding domestic energy production. The value of renewable energy deals grew by two-fifths last year, which means, according to analysts, that businesses like wind and solar are “maturing.” Yosemite could limit the number […]
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Your car commute helps cause tornadoes
Just like humans, East Coast tornadoes work extra hours during the week and take it easier on the weekends. According to a new study, tornadoes and hailstorms are less likely to occur on a Saturday or Sunday. That’s because hail and tornadoes thrive on pollution, which is higher towards the middle of the week.
The study looked at summertime storm activity and found above-average rates of storms mid-week and below-average rates on weekends. It turns out that this is because moisture likes pollutants. -
![Listen pup: The new EPA mercury regulations are a Big Deal.]()
![Listen pup: The new EPA mercury regulations are a Big Deal.]()
New EPA mercury rules are a bona fide Big Deal
Wednesday, at long last, the EPA unveiled its new rule covering mercury and other toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants. Anyone who pays attention to green news will have spent the last two years hearing a torrent of stories about EPA rules and the political fights over them. It can get tedious. After […]
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Three cheers for new mercury pollution standards
New mercury pollution standards: something everyone should celebrate.Environmentalists and public health advocates have a reason to stand up and cheer: Finalized rules to cut down on mercury air pollution are set to be announced today by the EPA. But economists can also feel good about this holiday-season gift of clean air: Two decades of agency […]
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London fights air pollution with glue
If your house were infested with mosquitos, you might put up flypaper strips to trap them. London mayor Boris Johnson is taking roughly the same approach to air pollution — he's having street sweepers spray a calcium-based adhesive onto the ground to trap particulate air pollution. It sounds like a stupid idea, and maybe it […]
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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 […]
