What Filthy Old Birds Can Tell Us About Air Pollution
By analyzing sooty birds housed in museum collections, scientists have been able to track patterns of US air pollution over the last 135 years. As the new study shows, air at the turn of the 20th century was even dirtier than we thought—a finding that will now be used to improve our climate models.
The Black Death May Have Had a Surprising Effect on the Environment
From 1347 to 1351, a nightmare disease ravaged Europe, afflicting victims with putrid black boils, fevers, vomiting, and in short order, death. Daily life ground to a halt as the Black Death spread along medieval trade routes, claiming an estimated 20 million lives with ruthless efficiency. Now, a team of researchers…
Air Pollution in Subway Systems May Be Much Worse Than We Realized
As anyone who has ridden the subway knows, the air down there is unpleasant. New research done in Canada shows that air pollution levels in Toronto’s subway system are ten times greater than those above ground. It’s a troubling realization for subway-goers, but there are ways to keep these underground systems clean.
All of That Pollution in Asia Turns Into Smog in the U.S.
New research has found that the United States’ reductions in air pollution have been stymied by the exponential increase of pollutants coming from Asia. As long as you don’t like breathing, that’ll be no big deal.
We Finally Know How London's Famous Killer Fog Formed
On December 5th, 1952, a veil of fog rolled over the city of London. It was the start of the deadliest air pollution disaster in British history, and more than sixty years later, an international team of chemists has figured out why.
Over 90 Percent of the World Is Breathing Really Crappy Air
If you live on this planet, chances are the air you’re breathing is not great, Bob.
Indonesia’s Awful Fire Season Killed Up to 100,000 People
This time last year, tens of thousands of fires were raging across Indonesia’s peat forests, spewing carbon like coal plants and sending smoke halfway around the planet. But those fires weren’t just bad for our atmosphere: they were awful for the people who breathe it.
Toxic Magnetic Waste From Air Pollution Found in Human Brains
Add this to the growing list of reasons to never go outside again: the human brain is apparently a sponge for toxic magnetic waste found in smog.
This Ink For Artists Is Made From Air Pollution
We’ve been pouring carbon into our atmosphere for over 200 years, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the global climate. Now a start-up venture called Air Ink has found a good use for some of that extra carbon: a line of pens whose ink is made of recycled air pollution.
The Biggest Source of Air Pollution In Your Area May Surprise You
The largest source of deadly air pollution in many parts of the world isn’t cars or power plants—it’s farms. That’s the unsettling conclusion of a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University, who found that agricultural nitrogen emissions are a major contributor to fine particulate matter, tiny particles…
Report: Four Out of Five City Dwellers Breathe Unsafe Air
The leading cause of death worldwide isn’t an infectious disease or cancer. It’s air pollution. And despite our best efforts to control it, smog is still increasing at an alarming rate worldwide, posing a health risk to over 80 percent of all city dwellers.
The Worst Air Pollution in the US Is Not Where You Think
The American Lung Association has an annual report out today on the troubling state of US air quality. While you might think of smog-shrouded cities as the biggest offenders when it comes to air pollution, in the United States the most dangerous air to breathe is actually found far outside of its biggest metropolises.…
Mexico City's Doubling Down on its Car Ban to Clear Smoggy Skies
A plan to restrict private vehicles from Mexico City’s downtown hasn’t done enough to reduce air pollution, so the city is now asking twice as many cars to stay off the roads.
Sensor-Equipped Pigeons Are Tweeting About London's Air Pollution
It’s no secret that living in a dense city—with cars pumping out endless amounts of pollution —isn’t going to do wonders for your lungs. But one London tech company wants to know exactly how carcinogenic that air is, and it’s recruiting pigeons as part of its air-monitoring arsenal.
The Surprising Reason Our Planet Isn't Heating Up Even Faster
In research that adds new truth to the phrase “every cloud has a silver lining,” scientists are reporting that sulfate aerosol emissions have offset roughly a third of global warming over the Earth’s land, by scattering sunlight back into space.
Delhi's Car Ban Experiment Didn't Improve Air Quality That Much, But it Should Still Be Permanent
Earlier this year Delhi’s air pollution was so bad that the government temporarily banned half its cars from streets. The policymaker who came up with the idea says the ban should be 365 days a year—but not because it improved air quality all that much.
Air Pollution Kills 5.5 Million People Every Year Worldwide
The smog hovering over many major cities is not just an unhealthy inconvenience. Breathing that air is killing millions of people. A recent study in Nature estimated three million people died annually due to air quality. That number may be closer to 5.5 million premature deaths per year, according to a new study being…
Three Surprising Parts of the World Where Air Pollution Decreased
Thanks to a super-sensitive new tool, NASA can now see exactly where air pollution is increasing and decreasing–down to the level of neighborhoods–and in some cases, the results are surprising.
China's Smog Makes Headlines But India's Is Much Worse
The red-alert issued by Beijing was lifted today as shifting weather patterns improved air quality for the first time in weeks. Although the world’s focus was on China’s skies, a dense smog is currently rendering India’s cities unrecognizable—and it’s way more dangerous.
