[Sources: ESA | NASA Ozone Watch] Seeing the ozone hole permanently vanish won’t be for another decade, but for 2019, it has sealed itself up in near-record time. Just a month or so ago, the 2019 Antarctic ozone hole was declared the smallest seen since it was first discovered back in 1985. Now, data from Read More…
Tag: ozone
Courts say EPA not doing enough to fight cross-state smog
[Source: The Hill] Federal judges dealt a blow to the Trump administration late Tuesday, finding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hasn’t done enough to limit cross-state air pollution. A panel of judges for the D.C. Circuit Court, which includes a Trump appointee, ordered the EPA to come up with a new plan for how to Read More…
What’s the air quality in SoCal really like?
[Source: Daily News] The recent string of showers, foliage and clear skies can give the impression that our air is clean. However, despite the tremendous progress we have made over the years, our work is not finished. Tomorrow, the American Lung Association (ALA) will release its annual State of the Air Report that grades counties Read More…
More protection: UN says Earth’s ozone layer is healing
[Source: Associated Press/ Seth Borenstein] Earth’s protective ozone layer is finally healing from damage caused by aerosol sprays and coolants, a new United Nations report said. The ozone layer had been thinning since the late 1970s. Scientist raised the alarm and ozone-depleting chemicals were phased out worldwide. This combination of images made available by NASA Read More…
Ozone hole modest despite optimum conditions for ozone depletion
[Source: Ellen Gray, NASA] The ozone hole that forms in the upper atmosphere over Antarctica each September was slightly above average size in 2018, NOAA and NASA scientists reported today. Colder-than-average temperatures in the Antarctic stratosphere created ideal conditions for destroying ozone this year, but declining levels of ozone-depleting chemicals prevented the hole from as Read More…
Southern California smog worsens for second straight year despite reduced emissions
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Southern California smog worsened for a second straight year in the latest sign that progress in cleaning the nation’s most polluted air is faltering. The dive in air quality comes even though emissions are declining, forcing regulators to explain why returns are diminishing after years of progress battling smog. Ozone, the Read More…
House passes bill delaying Obama-era EPA ozone rules
[Source: Law360] The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a measure to delay new U. S. Environmental Protection Agency rules on baseline ozone standards, as President Donald Trump’s administration looks to give states the flexibility to set their own rules. The Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017, passed on a largely party line 229-199 vote, Read More…
Southern California’s smog clean-up future is far from clear
[Source: Orange County Register] Southern California has once again won the distinction of having the worst summer smog in the nation but earned praised for its long-term efforts to improve air quality. Such were results of this year’s American Lung Association State of the Air report, a national air pollution analysis. The good news was Read More…
How new Southern California air cleanup plan could affect warehouses, ports
[Source: The Press Enterprise] Southern California air quality officials approved a 15-year pollution clean-up plan Friday, March 3, after adding provisions that would eventually eliminate a pollution-credits marketplace that regulates emissions from oil refineries and other major smokestack polluters. But the 11-2 vote by the South Coast Air Quality Management District board left intact controversial Read More…