Air

"The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to move ahead with a slate of major air and climate rules this year to make gains on the Biden administration’s long-promised climate goals.

The agency is due as early as the spring to propose and finalize closely watched emissions rules, including legal underpinnings for mercury regulations, ozone transport standards, and greenhouse gas regulations for existing coal-fired power plants.

"The amount of dust generated by desert windstorms has grown markedly since the mid-19th century, helping to offset the global rise in temperature, new research shows."

"Turf wars between microbes dictate how much carbon salt marshes store and how much methane they pump into the air."

"There’s now more than just smoke hanging around the site of an underground landfill fire near Birmingham. In the two days since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed up to take control of the scene, the area has been abuzz with EPA trucks, bulldozers and excavators moving in to begin putting out the fire."

"An underground fire at an Alabama landfill has continued to pollute the air in eastern parts of the Birmingham region more than 50 days after a fire began underground, according to air quality monitors."

"Children living near a small California airport were more likely to have elevated levels of lead in their blood, a new study found."