California home to America’s most polluted national parks: report

California home to America’s most polluted national parks: report

Four California parks have been dubbed the most polluted parks in the nation in a new environmental study. A report from the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) found that Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ranked as the most polluted parks based on unhealthy levels of haze pollution along with the frequent threats of droughts and … Read more

NYC pols welcome local NAACP chapter to congestion pricing opposition

NYC pols welcome local NAACP chapter to congestion pricing opposition

Staten Island pols and union heads on Friday welcomed the local chapter of the NAACP to the congestion pricing opposition — arguing the looming $15 toll to drive on some of Manhattan’s busiest streets will harm minority communities. The bipartisan contingent of elected officials and local leaders rallied against the state’s congestion tolling plan, claiming the … Read more

Volunteers breathe exhaust, cleaning products for UK study

Volunteers breathe exhaust, cleaning products for UK study

Volunteers in England are breathing in pollutants like diesel and cleaning products in the name of science. Thirteen brave souls are taking part in a scientific study at the University of Manchester that requires them to wear masks hooked up to an air chamber that carefully feeds them four different types of pollutants to inhale, … Read more

U.S. life expectancy drops to nearly 30-year low: new OECD report

U.S. life expectancy drops to nearly 30-year low: new OECD report

Life expectancy for Americans has dropped to the lowest levels in nearly three decades, according to a prominent global report. With a middling current average of 76.4 years, the United States has now been eclipsed by nearly every other developed nation, according to recent data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The … Read more

Southeast Asia haze returns as peatland fires fan global warming fears

Southeast Asia haze returns as peatland fires fan global warming fears

In this photo taken on October 10, 2023, a man looks at a forest fire as it approaches houses in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra. Al Zulkifli | Afp | Getty Images With El Nino in full force, officials are bracing for the worst transboundary haze in southern Southeast Asia since before the pandemic in 2019. … Read more

Healthiest states in the US — see if yours is in good shape

Healthiest states in the US — see if yours is in good shape

It’s all downhill from here. Colorado is tops in a study from Lighthouse Dental Centre that ranks all 50 states on overall health and well-being using several data points from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research, conducted over the summer, considers air quality, obesity rates, physical activity, health conditions, sleeping patterns, smoking and drinking … Read more

researchers sound alarm on plastic air pollution

researchers sound alarm on plastic air pollution

When it rains, it pours … microplastics, that is. Researchers in Japan have discovered nine kinds of polymers and one rubber floating among the clouds — a worrying sign for the climate. Intrepid teams of scientists climbed Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama to collect water from the foggy mist that veils the mountain tops. Their … Read more

Women exposed to air pollution ‘give birth to smaller babies’

Women exposed to air pollution ‘give birth to smaller babies’

New research has shown that pregnant women exposed to air pollution give birth to smaller babies. Conversely, women living in greener areas have larger offspring — and environment health may help counteract the overall negative effects of pollution on pregnancy, the findings of a study conducted in Northern Europe suggest. “Our results suggest that pregnant … Read more

Pollution poses greater risk to all human life than tobacco, alcohol: report

Pollution poses greater risk to all human life than tobacco, alcohol: report

This report may not be the breath of fresh air climate experts hoped. Air pollution reduces the average life span globally by 2.3 years, making it the “greatest external threat to human life expectancy,” according to the annual Air Quality Life Index report published Tuesday. Researchers from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of … Read more

Canadian wildfire smoke that turned NYC orange no worse than a bad pollen day: research

Canadian wildfire smoke that turned NYC orange no worse than a bad pollen day: research

Orange you glad? The Canadian wildfire smoke that covered the NYC skyline with a toxic amber glow in June was no worse for your lungs than a bad pollen day, researchers at NYU Langone found.  “Thankfully, the respiratory effects of the wildfire smoke in June were not much worse than what had been seen on … Read more