For decades, big-box retailers have evaded federal regulation of the pollution their operations generate. But a new air emission rule in Southern California could become a model for state controls.
California’s Central Valley has some of the worst fine particle pollution in the U.S. due to farming and other sources.
David McNew/Getty Images
Reducing particle pollution can save thousands of lives, but states need more data to inform better controls. An atmospheric scientist explains what data and actions are needed.
Large industrial facilities like this oil refinery outside Houston are major sources of fine particulate air pollution.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
On Feb. 7, 2024, the EPA strengthened the federal limit for annual levels of fine particulate air pollution, or PM2.5. Many serious health effects have been linked to PM2.5 exposure.
The James H. Miller coal power plant in Alabama emitted as much carbon dioxide in 2021 as 4.6 million cars.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
After the Supreme Court overturned the Obama administration’s strategy for reducing power plant carbon emissions in 2022, the Biden administration is taking a narrower but still ambitious approach.
Pesticide use on school playing fields varies from state to state.
matimix/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Electric cars get a lot of hype, but what really matters for the climate are excess emissions from the many millions of gasoline vehicles still sold each year.
Fossil fuel power plants contribute to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases that trap heat near Earth’s surface.
AP Photo/J. David Ake
An appeals court described the EPA’s effort as ‘a series of tortured misreadings’ of US law.
President-elect Joe Biden opposes proposals to allow uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, which the Trump administration supports.
Michael Quinn, NPS/Flickr
The Trump administration has used executive orders, deregulation and delays to reduce environmental regulation. Biden administration officials will use many of the same tools to undo their work.
Secondhand smoke may come from many miles away.
David Tadevosian/Shutterstock.com
Matthew E. Kahn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
George H.W. Bush, who pledged to be ‘the environmental president,’ took a market-based approach to pollution control that helped clear the air. Now some experts think it could work on climate change.
Industrial facilities like this oil refinery in Anacortes, Washington are significant air pollution sources.
Walter Siegmund/Wikimedia
An air pollution expert with years of experience advising federal regulators describes how the Trump administration is speeding up reviews and reducing scientific input.
A study finds that higher ozone levels correlate with slower performance times for college endurance athletes.
Pavel1964
It’s time Australian states took a lesson from US states when it comes to working around obstructive federal climate change policies.
A barn that can hold up to 4,800 hogs outside Berwick, Pa. The state says the farm is in compliance with regulations, but residents have gone to court seeking relief from odors.
AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam
Many people who live near large-scale livestock farms complain about noxious smells, air and water pollution and health risks. With little help from regulators, they are turning to lawsuits.
Tighter emissions standards create costs for truck manufacturers yet provide health benefits for society. How should they be weighed?
Lesterman
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has proposed steps that would reduce economic benefits to society from new regulations. An economist who worked for Presidents Clinton and Obama calls this a strategy to justify deregulation.
Smog alert in Cleveland, Ohio, July 20, 1973.
USEPA
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to change the grounds for setting US air pollution targets. An environmental lawyer explains why Pruitt’s approach misreads the law and could roll back decades of gains.
Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, and Director of the Regulatory Studies Center, George Washington University