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China-based study concludes using political incentives to fight pollution is costly and inefficient

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The study looked at water quality regulations and found that local officials more heavily enforced regulations on polluting firms that were monitored and tracked by the central government, while not enforcing regulations on firms not tracked. A 10% reduction in pollution led to a 3% drop in productivity for China’s polluting industries.

Pollution 220
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EPHA: Coronavirus threat greater for polluted cities; clean air returning to cities in lockdown

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Those living in polluted cities are more at risk from COVID-19, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) warned today. Air pollution can cause hypertension, diabetes and respiratory diseases, conditions that doctors are starting to link to higher mortality rates for COVID-19. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) is an EPHA member.

Pollution 269
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Researchers find magnetite nanoparticles similar to those from traffic pollution in brain; possible link with Alzheimer’s

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The particles we found are strikingly similar to the magnetite nanospheres that are abundant in the airborne pollution found in urban settings, especially next to busy roads, and which are formed by combustion or frictional heating from vehicle engines or brakes. Hautot et al. India study. Gargiulo et al. Torres-Jardón,R. Gargiulo, R.

Pollution 150
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Decrease in air pollution associated with decrease in respiratory symptoms among children

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Decreases in ambient air pollution levels over the past 20 years in Southern California were associated with significant reductions in bronchitic symptoms in children with and without asthma, according to a study by researchers at the University of Southern California published in JAMA. Kiros Berhane, Ph.D., —Berhane et al.

Pollution 150
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Study measures the effect of regional change in clouds caused by ships’ emissions; masking GHG warming

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This puffy line is not just exhaust from the engine, but a change in the clouds that’s caused by small airborne particles of pollution. New research led by the University of Washington (UW) is the first to measure this phenomenon’s effect over years and at a regional scale. Michael Diamond/University of Washington.

Emissions 223
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Study finds rapid increases in nitrogen oxides may be as harmful to the heart as sustained levels

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Rapid increases in pollution may be as harmful to the heart as sustained high levels, according to new research published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. However, this study investigated whether rapid increases in pollution increase the risk of heart attack, independently of an absolute threshold.

Pollution 240
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Study estimates California’s GHG reductions since 2003 could be wiped out by 2020 wildfires

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In an open-access report in the journal Environmental Pollution , researchers from UCLA and the University of Chicago estimate that California’s wildfire carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) emissions from 2020 (~127 mmt CO 2 e ) are approximately two times higher than California’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions since 2003.

2003 447