With lessons learned from their first attempt, Kyoto University scientists hope a second CubeSat made of magnolia will spark an age of wooden spacecraft.
air pollution
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What’s Changed—and What Hasn’t—Since the EPA’s Endangerment Finding
A scientist-authored brief played a role in the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health. With the finding now up for reconsideration, the same scientists revisit their opinion.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Heat and Pollution Events Are Deadly, Especially in the Global South
Researchers found that the combination of heat waves and high PM2.5 pollution led to nearly 700,000 premature deaths in the past 30 years—most of which occurred in the Global South.
Posted inNews
Denver’s Stinkiest Air Is Concentrated in Less Privileged Neighborhoods
The bad odors of air pollution are difficult to regulate, but can pose significant health risks, reduce a home’s property value, and affect a homeowner’s peace of mind.
Posted inResearch & Developments
EPA to Cancel Nearly 800 Environmental Justice Grants
The EPA plans to cancel 781 grants, almost all focused on environmental justice, according to a court document filed last week.
In Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council v. Department of Agriculture, a coalition of nonprofits is challenging the Trump administration’s freezing of funding from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In the recent court document, Daniel Coogan, an administrator in the Office of Mission Support for the EPA, stated that the agency completed a grant-by-grant review of its awards to ensure that grants aligned with administration priorities. Those that were not aligned were targeted for termination.
Posted inNews
Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants May Lower Crop Yields in India
Nitrogen dioxide may reduce wheat and rice crops by more than 10%, according to a new study.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Trump Administration Plans to Fire More Than 1,000 EPA Scientists
The Trump Administration plans to fire more than 1,000 scientists in the EPA’s research arm. The layoffs are part of a “reduction in force” that comes after the agency already fired hundreds of probationary workers. (A federal judge has since ordered that these employees be reinstated, and though the administration has complied, most of the workers have been placed on administrative leave.)
Posted inResearch & Developments
EPA Plans to Close Environmental Justice Offices, Leaving Communities to Face Pollution Alone
Yesterday, news broke that a memo from Lee Zeldin, the new administrator of the EPA, directed the agency to eliminate all offices that focus on environmental justice.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Higher Ozone Levels Tied to Heart Attack Risk
For young adults, air pollution may increase risks of some kinds of heart attacks more than others.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Trump Administration Set to Backtrack on “Cancer Alley” Lawsuit
At AGU’s Annual Meeting 2024, activist Sharon Lavigne spoke about living in Louisiana, in what is commonly known as “Cancer Alley.” The 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River is home to more than 200 industrial facilities, including the Denka Performance Elastomer plant, which uses chloroprene to manufacture synthetic rubber for products such as automotive parts, adhesives, and construction materials.