Greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from electronic devices and their associated electronic waste increased by 53 percent between 2014 and 2020, including 580 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2020 alone, according to University of California, Irvine researchers.
Tag: Air Pollution
Study: Migrating Birds Attracted by Light Pollution Face Higher Toxic Chemical Exposure
The journeys of night-migrating birds are already fraught with danger. Light pollution adds yet another hazard beyond the increased risk of collisions with buildings or communication towers.
A new approach, not currently described by the Clean Air Act, could eliminate air pollution disparities
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington compared three potential strategies for reducing fine particulate matter pollution disparities across the contiguous U.S.
UCLA-led study finds California’s greenhouse gas reductions could be wiped out by 2020 wildfires
A new analysis led by researchers with the University of California has found the 2020 wildfires in the state, the most disastrous wildfire year on record, put twice as much greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere as the total reduction in such pollutants in California between 2003-2019.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Making Connections between Air Pollution and Neurodegeneration
Exposure to urban air pollutants such as ozone (O3) is increasingly linked with Alzheimer’s disease; yet because ozone cannot travel from the lungs to the brain, the mechanism by which it contributes to development of Alzheimer’s has been poorly understood.…
Air pollution tips the scale for obesity in women
Obesity has been a major global health issue in recent decades as more people eat unhealthy diets and fail to exercise regularly.
CA Air Resource Board Panelist on Zero-Emissions Decision
John Balmes, MD, of the American Thoracic Society and internationally-recognized leader in the lung health effects of air pollution. He can address the following with regard to the recent decision to phase out emissions from new passenger and light-duty vehicles by…
Media Briefing Schedule for ACS Fall 2022
Media Briefing Schedule for ACS Fall 2022
Tracking air pollution disparities — daily — from space (video)
Today, scientists report preliminary work calculating how inequities in pollution exposure fluctuate daily across 11 major U.S. cities. And in some places, climate change could exacerbate these differences. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2022.
Coarse sea spray keeps lightning strikes away
As the world grapples with the cataclysmic events associated with climate change, it is increasingly important to have accurate climate models that can help predict what might lie ahead.
WVU toxicologist calls passage of burn pit bill ‘critical step in improving veteran health’
A West Virginia University researcher with expertise in air pollution and inhalation exposures is available to discuss burn pits following this week’s U.S. Senate passage of a bill expanding health care benefits for veterans who developed illnesses after being exposed…
Herschel Walker’s claim on how China’s “bad air” would move over to America is grossly inaccurate
In speaking about the Green New Deal, Herschel Walker, the former professional football player vying for a Senate seat in Georgia, incorrectly suggested that U.S. climate efforts were pointless because “China’s bad air” would simply move over into American “air space.”
Air pollution caused 2,780 deaths, illnesses, and IQ loss in children in Massachusetts in 2019, researchers report
Air pollution remains a silent killer in Massachusetts, responsible for an estimated 2,780 deaths a year and for measurable cognitive loss in Bay State children exposed to fine particulate pollutants in the air they breathe, according to a new study by researchers at Boston College’s Global Observatory on Planetary Health.
UW study strengthens evidence of link between air pollution and child brain development
A new study led by the University of Washington has added evidence showing that both prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution can harm kids.
UAlbany Expert in Climate Change, Environmental Law Offers Insight on Supreme Court EPA Ruling
Albany, N.Y. (July 1, 2022) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s authority to set climate standards for power plants. The court’s 6-3 ruling – which addressed an Obama-era regulation aimed at coal-fired power…
Environmental Factors Predict Risk of Death
Along with high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking, environmental factors such as air pollution are highly predictive of people’s chances of dying, especially from heart attack and stroke, a new study shows.
Inhaled Toxic Particles Take Direct Route From Lungs to Brain – Study
Breathing in polluted air could lead to toxic particles being transported from lungs to brain, via the bloodstream – potentially contributing to brain disorders and neurological damage, a new study reveals.
Air Pollution Gets Worse During Winter at Airports
Air pollution kills approximately 7 million people every year worldwide.
Higher socioeconomic status linked to increased air pollution exposure in China
For the first time, a University of Washington led team has uncovered that people living in China who have a higher socioeconomic status are actually more exposed to outdoor air pollution, also known as ambient air pollution. This finding runs contrary to existing studies conducted throughout North America, which have shown that higher pollution levels tend to be experienced among people with lower socioeconomic status.
German study links long-term exposure to air pollution before the pandemic to greater risk of severe COVID-19
Long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a greater risk of severe COVID-19, new research being presented at Euroanaesthesia, the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) in Milan, Italy (4-6 June), finds.
Does the Size of Air Pollution Particles Affect a Person’s Risk of Death from Stroke?
Living in areas with higher air pollution is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital death from stroke, and the risk varies depending on the size of the air pollution particles, according to a new study published in the May 25, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Pollution responsible for nine million deaths in 2019, with little progress in four years
An update to The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health reveals that there were nine million deaths attributable to pollution in 2019 (equivalent to one in six deaths worldwide), the same number as in 2015.
Finding Terra Incognita
A combination of atmospheric measurements and fine-scale simulations has improved understanding of the modeling anomalies that arise when the model resolution approximates the length scale of turbulence features — an atmospheric simulation problem known as Terra Incognita.
COVID-19 Lockdown Measures Affect Air Pollution from Cities Differently
In Chaos, researchers in China created a network model drawn from the traffic index and air quality index of 21 cities across six regions in their country to quantify how traffic emissions from one city affect another. They leveraged data from COVID-19 lockdown procedures to better explain the relationship between traffic and air pollution and turned to a weighted climate network framework to model each city as a node using data from 2019 and 2020. They added a two-layer network that incorporated different regions, lockdown stages, and outbreak levels.
How air pollution alters lung tissue, increasing cancer susceptibility
Scientists have identified a mechanism that explains how fine air pollution particles might cause lung cancer, according to a study published today in eLife.
Air pollution disproportionally affects people of color, lower-income residents in DC
The rates of death and health burdens associated with air pollution are borne unequally and inequitably by people of color and those with lower household income and educational attainment in Washington, D.C., according to a new study.
Black carbon aerosols heating Arctic: Large contribution from mid-latitude biomass burning
Over the past few decades, the annual average temperature in the Arctic has increased almost twice as fast as it has elsewhere in the world.
Cutting ammonia emissions is a cost-effective way to prevent air pollution deaths
Tackling pollution from the emission of nitrogen compounds, particularly ammonia, could reduce many of the 23.3 million years of life that were lost prematurely across the world in 2013 due to nitrogen-related air pollution.
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Experts Available for Comment Related to 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021.
The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has experts available for comment and reaction to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021. These include renowned scientists with expertise on…
How recovery from COVID-19 and climate policies might affect the use of “clean” cooking fuels
A group of IIASA researchers shows how recovery from the pandemic and climate mitigation policies might affect access to clean fuels.
New Research Finds Air Pollution Reduces Sperm Counts through Brain Inflammation
Researchers have long known that air pollution can increase the risk of certain health conditions, but they did not know the exact mechanism. Now, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have shown how air pollution reduces sperm count in mice by causing brain inflammation.
AI-driven dynamic face mask adapts to exercise, pollution levels
Researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a dynamic respirator that modulates its pore size in response to changing conditions, such as exercise or air pollution levels, allowing the wearer to breathe easier when the highest levels of filtration are not required.
UCLA-led Research Finds Ozone Exposure Link to the Development of Type 2 Diabetes
UCLA-led research finds ozone exposure contributes to the development of Type 2 diabetes; team examining Californians’ health finds pattern holds true, particularly among those with higher levels of leisure-time outdoor physical activity
Fine particulate air pollution associated with higher risk of dementia
Using data from two large, long-running study projects in the Puget Sound region — one that began in the late 1970s measuring air pollution and another on risk factors for dementia that began in 1994 — University of Washington researchers identified a link between air pollution and dementia.
Hopkins Med News Update
NEWS STORIES IN THIS ISSUE:
-Study: Race and Ethnicity May Impact Prevalence and Treatment of Heart Valve Dysfunction
-Johns Hopkins Medicine Suggests Eliminating Nerve Cell Protein May Stop ALS, Dementia
-Researchers Tell Doctors to Avoid Routine Urinary Tests for Older Patients with Delirium
-Johns Hopkins Medicine Researchers Show How Air Pollution May Cause Chronic Sinusitis
-Researchers ID Location on Brain Protein Linked to Parkinson’s Disease Development
-COVID-19 News: The Return of Onsite Schooling — and How to Keep Your Kids Safe from COVID
Inequity in the air of India
Air pollution in India is generated more by the wealthy, while the poor suffer most of the health impact, according to a study by five IIASA researchers published in Nature Sustainability.
COVID-19 Shutdowns Reveal Racial Disparities in Exposure to Air Pollution
A new GW study of COVID-19 shutdowns in the United States reveals pronounced disparities in air pollution — with disenfranchised, minority neighborhoods still experiencing more exposure to a harmful air pollutant compared to wealthier, white communities.
How air pollution changed during COVID-19 in Park City, Utah
Throughout the pandemic, air sensors watched during lockdowns as air pollution fell in residential and commercial areas, and then as pollution rose again with reopenings. The changing levels, the researchers found, which behaved differently in residential and commercial parts of the city, show where pollution is coming from and how it might change in the future under different policies.
Empowering a Neighborhood to Breathe Easy
Companies like Purple Air and IQAir, with air pollution sensors that cost under $300, have brought air quality monitoring to the masses. But when Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Tom Kirchstetter looked at Purple Air’s map last year during wildfire season, he noticed a big hole in Richmond, a city of 110,000 to the north of Berkeley.
Increased use of household fireworks creates a public health hazard, UCI study finds
Irvine, Calif., June 29, 2021 – Fireworks are synonymous in the United States with the celebration of Independence Day and other special events, but the colorful displays have caused a growing risk to public safety in recent years, according to a study by environmental health researchers at the University of California, Irvine.
PIRE Research Connects Air Pollution to Worst Taiwanese Drought in Nearly 60 Years
The study, published in the Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, analyzed 13 years of satellite and surface to better understand how aerosols impact cloud lifecycle and precipitation during the autumn months over northern Taiwan.
New research finds 1M deaths in 2017 attributable to fossil fuel combustion
Comprehensive evaluation of source sector, fuel contributions to the PM2.5 disease burden analyzed across over 200 countries
Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Wednesday.
In Utero Exposure to Tiny Pollution Particles in the Air Is Linked to Asthma in Preschoolers, Study Shows
Women who were highly exposed to ultra-fine particles in air pollution during their pregnancy were more likely to have children who developed asthma, according to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in May. This is the first time asthma has been linked with prenatal exposure to this type of air pollution, which is named for its tiny size and which is not regulated or routinely monitored in the United States.
Greening the Earth and Improving Health through Human-Powered Transport
Driving has become a way of life for people throughout the world. However, heavy reliance on gas-powered vehicles contributes to three problems (global climate change, air pollution and physical inactivity) that result in millions of deaths per year. As developing…
The Role of Air Pollution in Pulmonary Fibrosis
To mark Clean Air Month, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) aims to increase public understanding of the role air pollution has in the development of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) such as pulmonary fibrosis (PF), including how polluted air can make you sick and the telltale signs to be aware of.
As Wildfires Increase in Severity, Experts Call for Coordinated Federal Response;
In advance of a wildfire season projected to be among the worst, the American Thoracic Society has released a report that calls for a unified federal response to wildfires that includes investment in research on smoke exposure and forecasting, health impacts of smoke, evaluation of interventions, and a clear and coordinated communication strategy to protect public health.
Christmas Eve Coke Works Fire Followed by Asthma Exacerbations
Asthma exacerbations rose following a catastrophic Christmas Eve fire that destroyed pollution controls at the Clairton Coke Works – the largest such facility in the nation, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health analysis concludes.
@POTUS decision comes at a time when we are bracing for a particularly challenging #wildfire season: Dr. Mary Rice. @atscommunity
Mary Rice, MD, MPH, is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. As a physician, she cares for adults with respiratory disease, including asthma and chronic obstructive…
George Washington University Experts Available for Interviews on Climate Change, Air Pollution and Sustainability
WASHINGTON (April 16, 2021) — For Earth Day 2021, President Joe Biden has invited 40 world leaders to take part in a virtual summit to focus on solutions for climate change and other environmental problems. The George Washington University has experts who…