Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

Home > Air

Anything related to air quality, air pollution, or the atmosphere

Congressional Regulatory Override — The Rulebook [1]

Regulations about toxic air pollution from oil refineries are among many Obama administration actions that may be targetted for reversal by Republicans in Congress. The key to such a move? The Congressional Review Act. TipSheet explains how it works — and doesn't.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [9]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility: 
Public [11]

"Beijing Starts 2017 Under A Cloud" [12]

"Beijing woke on the first morning of the New Year covered in thick toxic fog, with a concentration of harmful particles 20 times higher than international standards."

Air [3]
Pollution [9]
Public [11]
Asia [13]
Source: AFP [14], 01/02/2017

Will State, Local Government Replace Feds on Climate Change? [15]

Even if the incoming Trump Administration retreats from climate action, as many fear, state and local governments may fill the gap on climate policy. Our latest Issue Backgrounder takes a closer look, and offers sources and resources to help you cover the more localized climate stories that may result.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Backgrounders [16]
Topics on the Beat: 
Air [3]
Climate Change [17]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [18]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
California [19]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [20]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [21]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [22]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [23]
Northwest (OR WA) [24]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
Canada [27]
Visibility: 
Public [11]

"Alaskans’ Cost of Staying Warm: A Thick Coat of Dirty Air" [28]

"Miners huddled around them to stay warm through the long, cold nights in the Klondike gold rush of the 1800s. Artists have enshrined them in paintings and tourist curios. For many people in America’s far north, the old-fashioned wood stove — crackling and radiant, and usually cast-iron black — is as Alaskan as it gets. But many Alaskans also see their home state as a natural wonderland, where the expectation of bracingly pristine air is just as deeply ingrained."

Air [3]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Pollution [9]
Public [11]
Alaska and Hawaii [29]
Source: NY Times [30], 12/26/2016

Lead Found in National Guard Armories Across U.S. [31]

A Portland Oregonian investigation turns up problems with toxic lead in National Guard armories around the country, exposing not just military personnel, but the general public. TipSheet reports that a database built for the investigation gives journalists around the nation a way to track problems in their local facilities. 

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Air [3]
Environmental Health [32]
Military [33]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility: 
Public [11]

"Obama EPA Seeks To Preempt Trump On Fuel-Economy Standard" [34]

"The EPA aims for US car fleets to average 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025 – and seeks to keep Republicans from changing the policy in 2017."

Air [3]
Climate Change [17]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [9]
Transportation [35]
Public [11]
National (U.S.) [10]
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Inhabit/2016/1130/Obama-EPA-seeks-to-preempt-Trump-on-fuel-economy-standard [36], 12/01/2016

Watch List for Trump Federal Agency Appointments [37]

Sarah Palin for Interior secretary? Her name is among those being mentioned for top environment and energy posts in the incoming Trump administration. To help you cover the shaping of the new cabinet, the latest TipSheet runs down better-known and lesser-known candidates being floated for EPA, Interior, Energy and Agriculture department chiefs. 

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [38]
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [32]
Environmental Politics [6]
Food [39]
Forests [40]
Government [7]
Health [41]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Natural Resources [42]
Policy [18]
Pollution [9]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [44]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility: 
Public [11]

Colorado Strains To Meet EPA Health Standards For Ozone Air Pollution [45]

"Colorado officials say it will be 2021 before the state meets the current federal health standard for ozone air pollution — for which metro Denver and the northern Front Range have been out of compliance for more than four years."

Air [3]
Environmental Health [32]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [9]
Public [11]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [22]
Source: Denver Post [46], 11/21/2016

"Hundreds Hospitalized In Southeast Fires" [47]

"More than 200 people have been hospitalized with breathing difficulties in Tennessee as wildfires scorched the Southeast. Over 30 large fires have burned more than 80,000 acres in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, according to the US Forest Service."

Air [3]
Climate Change [17]
Disasters [48]
Environmental Health [32]
Public [11]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Source: CNN [49], 11/18/2016

Will a New Broom Sweep Enviro-Energy Policy Clean? Tracking the Trump To-Do List [50]

In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential upset, U.S. environmental and energy policy may undergo dramatic change. SEJournal Online has prepared a reporter’s watchlist of 12 stories with local angles and broad impact, ranging from fossil fuels to renewables, clean air to clean water, and infrastructure to public lands. Read on. [50]

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Air [3]
Climate Change [17]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [32]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [41]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Natural Resources [42]
Policy [18]
Pollution [9]
Science [51]
Transportation [35]
Waste [43]
Water & Oceans [44]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility: 
Public [11]

Pages

The Society of Environmental Journalists
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 558-2055
Email: sej@sej.org
© 2026 The Society of Environmental Journalists. All Rights Reserved.
All graphics © SEJ, unless otherwise stated.
Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=130

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/congressional-regulatory-override-rulebook [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/tipsheet [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [10] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [11] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [12] https://www.sej.org/headlines/beijing-starts-2017-under-cloud [13] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/asia [14] http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Beijing_starts_2017_under_a_cloud_999.html [15] https://www.sej.org/publications/backgrounders/will-state-local-government-replace-feds-climate-change [16] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/backgrounders [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [19] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [20] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [21] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [22] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mountain-west [23] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [24] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest [25] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast [26] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [27] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/canada [28] https://www.sej.org/headlines/alaskans%E2%80%99-cost-staying-warm-thick-coat-dirty-air [29] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/alaska-and-hawaii [30] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/25/us/alaskans-cost-of-staying-warm-a-thick-coat-of-dirty-air.html?_r=0 [31] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/lead-found-national-guard-armories-across-us [32] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/military [34] https://www.sej.org/headlines/obama-epa-seeks-preempt-trump-fuel-economy-standard [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/transportation [36] http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Inhabit/2016/1130/Obama-EPA-seeks-to-preempt-Trump-on-fuel-economy-standard [37] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/watch-list-trump-federal-agency-appointments [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [39] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/forests [41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [42] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [44] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/colorado-strains-meet-epa-health-standards-ozone-air-pollution [46] http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/20/ozone-air-pollution-colorado-fails-federal-standards/ [47] https://www.sej.org/headlines/hundreds-hospitalized-southeast-fires [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [49] http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/16/health/southern-wildfires-hospitalizations/ [50] https://www.sej.org/publications/sejournal/will-new-broom-sweep-enviro-energy-policy-clean-tracking-trump-do-list [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=129 [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=126 [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=127 [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=128 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=131 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=132 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=133 [59] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=134 [60] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air?page=215