Air

"Farm groups and members of Congress are jumping the gun in their efforts to stop U.S. EPA from making its air pollution rules tougher on dusty rural areas, the agency's second-in-command said yesterday."

"Air pollution triggers more heart attacks than using cocaine and poses as high a risk of sparking a heart attack as alcohol, coffee and physical exertion, scientists said on Thursday."

"U.S. EPA will issue its controversial rules for toxic air pollution from industrial boilers [Wednesday], an agency official said [Tuesday] morning, despite a court order that required the rules be done by Presidents Day."

"The construction permits are in and the financing is ready to go, but some of the Chicago area's biggest sources of toxic air pollution still might not be cleaned up anytime soon."

"The federal government’s No. 1 hunting ground for environmental offenders isn’t deep in the mists of the boreal forest — it’s in the back rooms of Canada’s neighbourhood dry cleaners."

"An Indiana County [PA] power plant deemed one of the nation's biggest polluters operated without federally mandated permits even though it was inspected more than 1,100 times by state officials during the past 25 years, according to state records."

"Looming U.S. rules that power utilities face on air pollution could create nearly 1.5 million jobs over the next five years, according to a report."

"A coalition of public health organizations in the coming weeks plans to step up efforts to oppose legislation that would block or delay Environmental Protection Agency climate rules." Budget-cutting Republicans on Capitol Hill will be encouraged to reduce the healthcare costs borne by taxpayers and ratepayers as a result of air pollution.

"The St. Petersburg waterworks is putting six giant gastropods to work monitoring emissions from a sewage incinerator. The African snails, the size of some rats, are attached to sensors that will show them getting sick if they take in too much bad air."