Air

"About half of U.S. adults alive today were exposed to harmful levels of lead as children from the burning of leaded gasoline, according to a new study, which estimates that lead contamination has lowered Americans’ IQ scores by more than two points on average."

"California is back in the driver’s seat as it steers the nation toward a future of cleaner cars and light trucks. The Biden administration on Wednesday reinstated the state’s authority to set motor vehicle pollution standards stricter than the federal government’s."

"Decades of federal housing discrimination did not only depress home values, lower job opportunities and spur poverty in communities deemed undesirable because of race. It’s why 45 million Americans are breathing dirtier air today, according to a landmark study released Wednesday."

"Twenty-two states urged a U.S. appeals court to uphold new federal rules to reduce vehicle emissions by 28.3% through 2026, after other states and industry participants challenged the planned changes."

"President Biden on Tuesday nominated Joseph Goffman to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s air office, elevating a seasoned expert on the nation’s environmental laws and setting up a tough confirmation battle in the narrowly divided Senate."

"The Biden administration on Monday proposed strict new limits on pollution from buses, delivery vans, tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks — the first time in more than 20 years that tailpipe standards have been tightened for the biggest polluters on the road."

"It’s not a question of whether national soot standards will be tightened, but by how much — a decision with sizable implications for Americans’ health and industry regulations."

"Increasing wildfires in a warming world may slow the recovery of the ozone layer, according to new research."

"Three Democratic U.S. representatives introduced a bill last week that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to create a pilot program for air monitoring in communities overburdened with pollution."