Air Quality

With pollution levels becoming dangerous in Rome, Italy, the government is taking a hard line on driving. In late November, only cars with even-numbered license plates were allowed to drive in the city, with odd plates the next.

California has 7 of the 20 cities with the poorest air quality, according to a list complied by Forbes. Bakersfield, which has 60 days of unhealthy air a year, takes the top spot for its hot and dusty weather and proximity to oil fields.

Forbes Magazine picks 15 of the most stressful cities in the United States. To come up with the data, "we analyzed quality-of-life data from the 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas," says Beth Greenfield.

President Obama has directed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to drop proposed regulations that would have reduced ozone (smog), handing a victory to Republicans and industry that had opposed them, to the dismay of the environmental community.

Fox News Latino reports on a Public Policy Institute of California poll that shows both clean air and climate change rank higher as a concern for Latinos and blacks than fowhites and Asians.

Not that it's a real surprise that trees clean the air, but a new study shows that greenery in cities can have a significant effect on air quality.

A new Canadian study should be of interest to any urban cyclist concerned about his/her health. The study shows what is apparent to most cyclists already - smoking tailpipes, especially from diesel trucks and buses, can have serious health impacts.

Airlines argue in the European Court of Justice that the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is an overreach when imposed on flights to/from Europe.

The EPA announces new emissions standards for power plants that will "improve air quality for 240 million Americans living in states where the pollution is produced or where it travels downwind."

Known for its puritanical environmental laws, California's shipping pollution standards just got tougher. The California Air Resource Board voted unanimously to expand the 2009 clean-fuel zone, which mandates ships to use less-polluting fuels.

Mauricio Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires, inaugurated Argentina's first bus rapid transit system today, marking its first day of operation.

Manhattan's pedestrian plaza's are associated with increasing vitality, reducing congestion, and now this new study shows, improving air quality be reducing concentrations of nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

Unhealthy, smog-filled air has struck an unsuspecting locale: rural Wyoming.

A new government-sponsored 'HazeCam' provides a running feed of downtown air pollution, with the aim of prompting local residents to reconsider their commuting habits.

Lax enforcement of standards created to limit exhaust from idling diesel-powered vehicles and buses shows that there is still work to be done in Mayor Richard Daley's quest to position Chicago atop the list of the nation's greenest cities.

In a unanimous vote on Oct. 21, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District approved another 'first' air quality measure not done elsewhere: They supported charging Valley motorists for paying the $29 million ozone penalty set by the E.P.A.

Hong Kong and Singapore are two thriving, rival Asian cities. But when evaluated in terms of livability, Hong Kong was rated #71 while Singapore scored #28. Singapore's cleaner air was considered a major factor. Hong Kong is making changes.

A new study says that improved environmental quality in office building leads to reductions in "work hours affected by asthma, respiratory allergies, depression, and stress."

Arlington, TX Mayor Robert Chuck is also a physician, acutely aware of the effects of ozone air pollution in his city. In this Q & A with Grist's Jonathan Hiskes, he describes ozone's causes and effects and his role as mayor.

Can health care costs be factored into transportation investments? Should they? The American Public Health Association says an emphatic 'yes' to both. Results are reported in a 12-page report that includes cost savings from walkable urban design.