Can technology clean up our air? An atmospheric scientist got a glimpse of the future

A surprising number of new consumer tech products promise to improve air quality.

Alastair Lewis, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and University of York, University of York • conversation
Jan. 15, 2024 ~6 min

Switching to plant-based diets means cleaner air – and it could save more than 200,000 lives around the world

Switching to a plant-based diet could save lives.

Marco Springmann, Senior Researcher on Environment and Health, University of Oxford • conversation
Jan. 2, 2024 ~7 min


Legacy of heading off deaths from industrial air pollution

Professor Francesca Dominici details decades-old Harvard roots of latest findings showing particles from coal-fired power plants deadliest.

Alvin Powell • harvard
Nov. 30, 2023 ~10 min

Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows

The longest-running study of its kind reviewed death records in the path of pollution from coal-fired power plants. The numbers are staggering − but also falling fast as US coal plants close.

Lucas Henneman, Assistant Professor of Engineering, George Mason University • conversation
Nov. 23, 2023 ~8 min

Air pollution exposure linked to postpartum depression risk

A new study links long-term maternal exposure to common air pollutants, both before and after childbirth, to increased risk of postpartum depression.

Pat Harriman-UC Irvine • futurity
Nov. 1, 2023 ~5 min

Carbon budget for 1.5°C will run out in six years at current emissions levels – new research

For a two-in-three chance of staying within 1.5°C, the budget shrinks to one-and-a-half years.

Robin Lamboll, Research Fellow in Atmospheric Science, Imperial College London • conversation
Oct. 30, 2023 ~7 min

How air pollution is making life tougher for bugs

We’re making life tough for insects – and not just by swatting them away with a newspaper.

Robbie Girling, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Southern Queensland • conversation
Sept. 21, 2023 ~6 min

Desert dust storms carry human-made toxic pollutants, and the health risk extends indoors

Desert dust storms are increasingly picking up materials like sewage, herbicides and other human-made waste and transporting them on tiny particles that are easy to inhale.

Fatin Samara, Professor of Environmental Science, American University of Sharjah • conversation
Sept. 18, 2023 ~9 min


North America’s summer of wildfire smoke: 2023 was only the beginning

Thick smoke pouring in from Canada’s wildfires canceled baseball games and pushed air quality in major US cities to the worst in the world.

Peter S. Thorne, University of Iowa Distinguished Chair, Professor of Environmental Health, University of Iowa • conversation
Sept. 1, 2023 ~9 min

Wildfire, farming air pollution may be worst for your brain

Wildfires and agriculture and farming emissions may be the top sources of air pollution linked to increased risk of dementia, research finds.

Kim North Shine-U. Michigan • futurity
Aug. 17, 2023 ~9 min

/

15