Commentary A few weeks ago, there was a good deal of Internet debate about a proposal affecting coal- and wood-fired pizza ovens under consideration by the city of New York. Opponents of the measure described it as a ban. Supporters said it was nothing of the kind. Both were, either by intention or by error,…

Attorneys general in 10 states intend to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the federal agency’s failure to update wood stove emission standards. The states involved are Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. In a notice of intent…

New research by British scientists has found an association between poor air quality and impaired cognitive ability in children in India in their first two years of life. The findings suggests that poor air quality may have a negative impact on infants’ visual cognition during the first two years of their lives. The study, conducted…

About one-third of the U.S. population lives in areas exposed to potentially life-shortening levels of air pollution, according to a new report by the American Lung Association (ALA). The ALA published its 2023 “State of the Air” report on Wednesday, finding that after decades of progress in reducing air pollution, about 36 percent of the…

Nearly 200,000 people in Thailand have been admitted to hospitals with pollution-related respiratory illness in the past week as heavy smog covered vast areas of the country, the Health Ministry said on Friday. The ministry revealed that more than 1.3 million people in Thailand have fallen sick since January due to the country’s dangerously high…

Five Conservative-led councils in outer London have started a legal challenge against London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ). The ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 ($15) to drive or face fines. The scheme…

Residents across Thailand have been urged to stay indoors and wear face masks when leaving their houses as the country experiences dangerously high levels of air pollution. Thai government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said Wednesday that Thailand’s prime minister had advised companies to allow workers to work from home to reduce air pollution from traffic, The…

Commentary When the communist Chinese preach about their benevolent actions on behalf of mankind and the planet, that usually amounts to camouflaging their real intentions. This is particularly true whenever the topic is green energy and reducing China’s carbon footprint. Their real objective? To secure future supplies of hydrocarbons while they sell green technology to…

Commentary Methane is the third most significant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, behind water vapour and carbon dioxide. It has a stronger effect than the notorious carbon dioxide but is present in much smaller quantities in the atmosphere (less than two parts per million, compared to four hundred parts per million for CO2). Methane emissions…

A new study suggests that the successful efforts in North America and Europe to reduce air pollution have led to an unintended consequence—more hurricanes. The “surprising result” was found by Hiroyuki Murakami, a physical scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In his paper, published in the journal Science Advances, Murakami said he…