Pollution, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 11, 2013

Shanghai's 'Airpocalypse': Can China Fix Its Deadly Pollution? (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The current “airpocolypse” emergency in Shanghai - which has seen schoolchildren ordered indoors to protect them from the polluted air, flights grounded and companies ordered to cut production - comes...

Feb 6, 2014

Smothering Smog Over New Delhi Worries Health Officials

Taking a deep breath in New Delhi may be more difficult, as spikes in smog levels have even sparked comparisons with Beijing’s low air quality. India's air pollution is getting worse, according to the 2014 Yale University Environment Performance Index (EPI). One of the ways pollution is measured is by...

Feb 26, 2014

Chinese Man Sues Government Over Air Pollution

In a first, a man in a smog-filled city in China is suing the government for failing to rein in air pollution. Li Guixin, a resident of the northern city of Shijiazhuang, submitted a formal complaint in the district court and is also seeking compensation for residents of the city,...

Mar 5, 2014

California Drought Worsens Air Pollution

The long California drought is worsening winter haze in the state. The combination of low rainfall and stagnant, still air has increased the levels of soot and particulates in the air near the ground. As a result, the state has had 33 percent more bad air days this year than...

Mar 18, 2014

Rare Smog Leads to Paris Travel Restrictions

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com. An extended period of dry weather produced by a large area of high pressure centered over northern France has forced Paris to enforce restrictions on travel due to increasing amounts of air pollution. In a drastic attempt to reduce air pollution, it was announced...

Mar 25, 2014

Air Pollution Linked to 1 in 8 Deaths Worldwide

Air pollution exposure contributes to one in eight deaths around the globe, according to estimates released Tuesday (March 25) by the World Health Organization. More than doubling previous estimates of air pollution-related deaths, the new report says air pollution killed 7 million people in 2012, making it the No. 1...

Mar 28, 2014

Air Pollution Deaths Should Not Be a Partisan Issue (Op-Ed)

Emily Davis is an attorney for the Clean Air Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This Op-Ed was adapted from one that appeared on the NRDC blog Switchboard. Davis contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Air pollution problems worldwide are even worse than...

Apr 14, 2014

Asian Pollution Boosts Pacific Storm Power

Pollution from China's coal-burning power plants is pumping up winter storms over the northwest Pacific Ocean and changing North America's weather, a new study finds. Northwest Pacific winter storms are now 10 percent stronger than they were 30 years ago, before Asian countries began their industrial boom, according to research...

Apr 25, 2014

China's 'Great Wall of Dust' Seen From Space

Northern China is infamous for dust storms that can sometimes choke Beijing in a yellow haze. A new satellite image shows one of these storms from above. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites captured this image on April 23, acording to NASA's Earth Observatory....

May 20, 2014

Olive Oil Could Protect Heart from Smog

Taking olive oil supplements may help reduce the negative effects of air pollution on blood vessels, according to a new study, but experts remain skeptical of the findings. In the study, the researchers found that lab-created pollution had less of an effect on the function of the lining of blood...

May 29, 2014

Benchmarking Carbon Pollution From 100 Top Power Producers (Op-Ed)

Dave Hawkins, director of Climate Programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to announce the country's new carbon pollution standards for existing power plants today, NRDC, the sustainable-business organization CERES, and a group...

Jun 18, 2014

Creatures Living on Tiny Ocean Plastic May Be Cleaning our Seas (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. We know that Australia’s waters contain lots of tiny pieces of plastic, and that these pieces can harm many marine species. But in new research published today we show...

Jun 26, 2014

1 in 10 US Beaches Not Fit for Swimming

Now that summer is here, a trip to the shore should bring familiar smells: seawater, sunscreen and, depending on your beach of choice, sewage. One in 10 recreational beaches in the United States isn't fit for swimming, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Sewage...

Jun 26, 2014

2014 Beach Report: 'Superstar' Seashores & Worst 'Repeat Offenders'

A newly released report that graded the water quality of beaches across the United States found that 10 percent of the country's shores are contaminated or polluted. The annual beach report, conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), discovered that one in 10 beaches in the coastal and Great...

Jun 27, 2014

Broccoli Brew Eases Air Pollution Effect, But Is This Detox?

Scientists have concocted a brew made with broccoli sprouts that may help protect against the toxic effects of air pollution. The study, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, made headlines earlier this month. People in the study who drank the mixture, who lived in a rapidly industrializing and polluted...