WASHINGTON – EPA, state and local air agencies across the country are marking Air Quality Awareness Week by reminding Americans to stay “Air Aware” to reduce their exposure – and their contribution – to air pollution. By following recommendations of the Air Quality Index (AQI), people can take simple steps to reduce the amount of…

Senator John Kerry ratcheted up the fight to pass legislation to combat global warming on Wednesday, unveiling a bill as the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster complicates the measure’s already difficult prospects this year. Kerry, a Democrat, and Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, took the wraps off their bill as two important deadlines loom. Congressional…

In April 2008, EPA promulgated regulations governing renovations in target housing (i.e., any housing constructed prior to 1978) and child-occupied facilities. The rule requires contractors to become certified by EPA, to notify owners and occupants before commencing renovations that disturb lead-based paint, and to follow certain safe work practices in conducting such work. The certification…

WASHINGTON (May 6, 2010) — The Natural Resources Defense Council today welcomed the Interior Department’s decision to indefinitely suspend public meetings on potential offshore oil and gas drilling near Virginia. NRDC also endorsed a House bill introduced today to launch an investigation into the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Both actions are…

Did you think that the Clean Air Act applied only to companies! Think again. Certain violations of the Clean Air Act are considered criminal violations, and individuals may be subject to prosecution. A tip, do NOT file falsified reports or data to the agency. Joseph DeMatteo of Clark County, Nevada has been added to the…

A U.S. Senate compromise bill aimed at battling global warming would cut emissions of greenhouse gases 17 percent by 2020, according to a summary given to senators and obtained by Reuters on Tuesday. The legislation, being offered by Democratic Senator John Kerry and Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman, faces a tough battle for passage in the…

Lasers, nasty space weapon or another tool? Equipped with a laser system, a plane collected highly precise images of New York city, its rooftops, trees, wetlands and much of what lies in between. In only four days, a twin engine aircraft equipped with an advanced version of lidar (light detection and ranging) flew back and…

One of my articles last month was about the devastating earthquakes that have plagued many parts of the world this year, such as Haiti, Chile, China, and the Baja. These events cause catastrophic destruction, and are the result of the movement of tectonic plates. The Earth’s crust is restless, constantly in motion, and earthquakes represent…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The world’s scientific community may be one step closer to understanding age-related memory loss, and to developing a drug that might help boost memory. In an editorial published May 7 in Science, J. David Sweatt, Ph.D., chair of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Neurobiology, says that drugs known…

The evidence is stronger than ever that pollution from industry, traffic and power generation causes strokes and heart attacks, and people should avoid breathing in smog, the American Heart Association said on Monday. Fine particulate matter from burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, coal and oil is the clearest offender, the group said. “Particulate matter…