Environment Memo

China is beset with some of the worst air pollution ever. Residents are turning to facemasks, but, as reported by Planet Ark, some of them are not up to snuff: Face masks have become the norm for many city residents, although only nine out of 37 types tested recently by the China Consumers Association met […]

EPA is proposing new air pollution rules for coal burning and is currently taking public comments on them. It’s pretty incredible that, as reported by the American Lung Association,

The website CoalCares satirizes the coal industry, offering free inhalers to American youngsters with asthma and to help them keep their heads high in the face of those who would treat them with less than full dignity. For kids who have no choice but to use an inhaler, Coal Cares™ lets them inhale with pride. […]

The American Lung Association State of the Air 2011 is out. The worst air is in California cities.  No surprise there. In some movies filmed out in LA/Hollywood, it looks as though everyone is living in a dirty fog. That’s because they are. Give the producers credit for not hiding it. Some of the best […]

Air pollution levels are up in Iran, leading to a 24-hour public holiday on Wednesday was announced following warnings by the state meteorology organization about high pollution levels earlier in the week. Maybe this move is to help preempt demonstrations, as some say, due to pending subsidy reductions. Maybe not. Apparently most of this pollution […]

LiveScience reviews recent concerns that large numbers of space planes, which are in planning stages, could be really bad news for the atmosphere because of soot and carbon dioxide. Some years ago similar concerns led to quashing plans for fleets of supersonic aircraft. The Concorde was something of an anomaly in that it was permitted […]

Hong Kong air pollution is at record levels. Having basically no pollution control and (very low wages) sure does make for cheap products. I wonder what Chairman Mao would say. Got to revolution?

One reason why those eBay things from Hong Kong are so cheap (besides the low postage).

An Italian company has installed a very large outdoor air treatment system in New Delhi, as described here. Hopefully, these systems are not the future. Things need to be cleaned up at the source.