Tagged: pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency's new air pollution rules for the oil and gas industry may seem like odd timing, as President Obama has been trying to deflect Republican criticism that he overregulates energy industries. But the rules weren't the Obama administration's idea.

Several years ago, communities in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming complained about air pollution from natural gas booms in their local areas.

Jeremy Nichols and his group, the WildEarth Guardians, decided to sue the EPA to force the agency to clean up the drilling industry.

EarthTalk®
E - The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I was in Los Angeles recently and the smog was not nearly as bad as when I visited 15 years ago. Is it really better now, and if so, how did it get that way? Or did I just happen to visit on a good day?-- Marjorie Hicke, Atlanta, GA

Los Angeles is almost as famous for its choking smog—a haze of ground-level ozone and particulate pollution that can aggravate asthma and other respiratory problems—as for its Hollywood stars. The reason so much smog forms there is because the city is in a low basin surrounded by mountains, with millions of cars and industrial sites spewing emissions into the air.

EarthTalk®
E - The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: How is it that Latino communities are among those hardest hit by air pollution? -- Miguel Aragones, Los Angeles, CA

EarthTalk®
E - The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I was horrified to read recently that our oceans are actually becoming acidic, that the continued burning of fossil fuels is changing the chemistry of our seas. What’s going on?  -- Kim Richardson, San Diego, CA

EarthTalk®
E - The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I understand that some Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. states have banded together to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. Can you enlighten?   -- Bo Clifford, Cary, NC

Given the lack of federal action to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., several East Coast states joined together in 2008 to form the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), committing to a market-based system to cap carbon pollution and lower energy bills while creating more green jobs.

The American Lung Association announced a project that will pay individuals in Southern New Hampshire to swap out their old woodstoves.

 New Hampshire’s U-S senators helped defeat a measure to unwind new regulations to clean up air in the Granite State.

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to prevent unhealthy smog and soot from coal fired power plants in 27 states from spreading to other states. The EPA’s cross-border pollution rule would force those states to drastically cut their emissions.

But tea party backed Kentucky freshman Rand Paul forced the Senate to vote on unwinding those new rules to protect his coal rich home state.

New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte broke with the majority of her party and opposed the bill.