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UCI-led study finds California’s strict air quality regulations have helped farmers

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They found that reductions in ground ozone during this 35-year period resulted in $600 million in increased production annually by the early 2010s. Davis and his colleagues chose to concentrate on perennials because of the long-term investment they represent and the fact that California is a major supplier of this type of produce.

Ozone 186
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Researchers discover that a ubiquitous tire rubber–derived chemical is killing coho salmon in urban waterways: 6PPD-quinone

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A team led by researchers at the University of Washington Tacoma, UW and Washington State University Puyallup have found that a highly toxic oxidation product of tire rubber particles turns streams toxic and may be responsible for the annual die-offs observed among migrating adult salmon across the US Pacific Northwest. Davis, Michael C.

Ozone 276
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Study: consumer products overtake transportation as largest source of VOCs air pollution in cities

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Consumer products such as shampoo, cleaning products and paint now contribute as much to emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cities as tailpipe emissions from vehicles, according to a new study led by NOAA. 1A) and sales data of volatile chemical products. —McDonald et al.

Pollution 264
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NASA-led study identifies unprecedented depletion of stratospheric ozone layer above Arctic

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A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth’s protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere. The same ozone-loss processes occur each winter in the Arctic.

Ozone 186
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UC Davis Begins $2.8M Studies on Impacts of Escaped Nitrogen

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University of California, Davis researchers will receive $2.8 million in new grants to study the use and impacts of escaped nitrogen from agricultural production. Nitrogen-based fertilizers help California farmers produce more than 400 agricultural commodities—vegetables, fruits, meats and dairy products—worth $36 billion a year.

Davis 240
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Study first to quantify amount of US pollution resulting from Chinese manufacturing for exports

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Dust, ozone and carbon can accumulate in valleys and basins in California and other Western states. When you buy a product at Wal-Mart, it has to be manufactured somewhere. The product doesn’t contain the pollution, but creating it caused the pollution. —Steve Davis, UC Irvine Earth system scientist and co-author.

Pollution 318
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Field study finds soot particles absorb significantly less sunlight than predicted by models; climate models may be overestimating warming by BC

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The results highlight the early challenges in a nascent sector of climate science and could have implications for regulatory efforts to reduce the production of black carbon, or soot, by curbing the burning of fossil fuels. Cappa, a professor of engineering at the University of California, Davis, and Timothy B. Credit: Cappa et al.

Climate 261