air Archives - Mediarabe

Central Oregon Crossroads: Air pollution and health | Local&State

October 13, 2020

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has reduced air pollution — just ask anybody who lives in Beijing, China — who for a month or two could see blue skies again before they got the virus under control and went back to business as usual.

This real-time demonstration of what happens following a reduction in fossil fuel emissions should convince everyone that an active decarbonization program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would provide similar results. In Central Oregon, our summer wildfires are creating an additional challenge in the form of air pollution that has similar effects on health as fossil fuel emissions.

In testimony on Aug. 5, to Congress, Professor Drew Shindell from Duke University reported on new research from his lab. He writes:

“The study estimates effects on the health and economic benefits to Americans if the United States and the rest of the world mitigate climate change to

15 U.S. Cities with the Biggest Decline in Air Pollution

October 13, 2020

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This story originally appeared on Filterbuy.

While the recent wildfires in Western states have introduced new concerns about air quality, the U.S. has made huge strides in the reduction of air pollution in recent decades.

As a result of the Clean Air Act and modern pollution control technologies, emissions of common air pollutants have dropped by more than 70% since 1970, according to new data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

These reductions, which the EPA claims have significantly improved the environment and human health, occurred despite a growing population, increased energy use and more cars on American roads.

The EPA measures air quality through the Air Quality Index, or AQI. The AQI rates air quality with values between 0 and 500. An AQI over 100 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, and anything over 150 is unhealthy for everyone. Major pollutants accounted for by the AQI and regulated by the

African countries need more air quality data

October 11, 2020

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The harm that air pollution is doing on the African continent seems to be growing. Estimates of premature mortality attributed to air pollution have increased from about 570,000 in 1990 to over 700,000 in 2013. In the same period, premature deaths from unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and childhood malnutrition have decreased across Africa.

Many challenges also remain for the continent to reach the Sustainable Development Goals related to air quality.

But these estimates have high levels of uncertainty, because of the shortage of air quality data they’re based on. So while it appears that the scale of the problem is large and increasing, it’s difficult to quantify it accurately. What’s needed is monitoring on the spot.

Current assessments rely heavily on a limited number of terrestrial measurements of air pollution. They use air quality models and information from satellites to fill in the gaps. In areas where there’s less information

Rapid COVID Testing Coming To Airport Near You, XpresCheck Test Could Boost Air Travel

October 7, 2020

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KEY POINTS

XpresCheck rapid COVID tests began at JFK and Liberty airports Wednesday
The company hopes to expand nationwide
The test delivers results in 13 minutes

The airline industry, devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, is about to get a boost: Health and wellness company XpresSpa Group Inc. began conducting rapid COVID-19 testing at Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, with plans to expand the program nationwide.

With the pandemic still raging across the United States, Americans have been reluctant to get on airplanes, with the total number of passengers averaging about 25% of last year’s levels.

More than 7.5 million Americans have been infected by the coronavirus and more than 211,000 have died from COVID-19.

Though the virus doesn’t spread easily on flights because of air circulation systems, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns exposure to people in close quarters and

Donald Trump ‘Gasping for Air’ Video Raises Questions About President’s Health

October 6, 2020

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After President Donald Trump returned to the White House following his stay in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, many social media users commented that he appeared to be struggling to breathe in footage of him standing on the Truman Balcony of the White House just after his arrival.

a man wearing a suit and tie: President Donald Trump stands on the Truman Balcony after returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 5.

© Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Donald Trump stands on the Truman Balcony after returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 5.

Though Trump “may not entirely be out of the woods yet,” the president was discharged from the hospital as he “met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria,” Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, said at a press briefing Monday joined by the medical team treating the president.

Responding to the footage of Trump on the balcony, Congressman Ted Lieu, representative for California’s 33rd congressional district, tweeted: “If a picture is worth

CDC Revises Guidance, Says COVID-19 Can Spread Through Virus Lingering in Air | Top News

October 6, 2020

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(Reuters) – U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday said COVID-19 can spread through virus lingering in the air, sometimes for hours, acknowledging concerns widely voiced by public health experts about airborne transmission of the virus.

The CDC guidance comes weeks after the agency published – and then took down – a similar warning, sparking debate over how the virus spreads.

In Monday’s guidance, CDC said there was evidence that people with COVID-19 possibly infected others who were more than 6 feet away, within enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

Under such circumstances, CDC said scientists believe the amount of infectious smaller droplet and particles, or aerosols, produced by the people with COVID-19 become concentrated enough to spread the virus.

The CDC has long warned of transmission through small droplets that shoot through the air and generally fall to the ground, which resulted in the six-feet social distancing

Global Dental Air Polishing Unit Market to Surpass US$ 700.5 Million by 2027, Says Coherent Market Insights (CMI)

October 5, 2020

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According to Coherent Market Insights, the global dental air polishing unit market is estimated to be valued at US$ 519.7 million in 2020 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period (2020-2027).

Key Trends and Analysis of the Global Dental Air Polishing Unit Market:

Key trends in the market include increasing prevalence of dental diseases and adoption of growth strategies such as product launches and collaboration, and others.

Market players are engaged in inorganic strategies such as acquisitions and collaborations, which is expected to boost growth of the global dental air polishing unit market over the forecast period. For instance, on August 17, 2020, NSK Ltd. collaborated with DCI Edge, a dental furniture and equipment manufacturer and integrated the NSK’s NLZ E Electric Motor system on all DCI Edge delivery systems. The integrated equipment will add an advantage for the clinicians of having efficient controlling,

Air Force Col. Merlyn Dethlefsen > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Story

October 5, 2020

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Most fighter-bomber missions meant to knock out enemy defense systems during the Vietnam War only involved one fly-by — the pilots knew there were few chances of escaping enemy aircraft if you executed more than one pass. Air Force Col. Merlyn Dethlefsen knew that when he took charge of a daring raid over a North Vietnamese steel plant in 1967, but he ignored the status quo to make sure the mission was a success. For that, he earned the Medal of Honor.

Dethlefsen was born in Greenville, Iowa, on June 29, 1934. As the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher, he did well at academics, graduating with honors from high school in 1951 when he was just 16.

Dethlefsen went to Iowa State University for about two years before deciding to join the Air Force in 1953. He started aviation cadet training the following year and was commissioned as

‘Dramatic’ plunge in London air pollution since 2016, report finds

October 3, 2020

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Air pollution in London has plunged since Sadiq Khan became mayor, with a 94% reduction in the number of people living in areas with illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide. The number of schools in such areas has fallen by 97%, from 455 in 2016 to 14 in 2019.

Experts described the reductions as dramatic and said they showed the air pollution crisis was not intractable. More than 9,000 people in the capital were dying early each year due to dirty air in 2015.

The report from the mayor of London, reviewed by scientists, shows that more than 2 million people in the capital lived with polluted air in 2016, but this fell to 119,000 in 2019. The report, which does not include the further falls in pollution seen after the Covid-19 lockdown began in March, shows levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂

Ideal Living Donates 200 Air Purifiers to St. Mary’s Center in Oakland, CA

October 2, 2020

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SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Ideal Living, a direct-to-consumer health and wellness company from Los Angeles, and makers of AirDoctor Pro air purifiers, recently donated 200 air purifiers to St. Mary’s Center, a non-profit organization in Oakland, CA, serving at risk seniors and pre-school children.

The need for clean air and air purification has become urgent across all American communities in the time of COVID-19. However, in the Bay Area, as wildfires continue to rage, air quality worsens each day, heightening the need for air purification especially in low income and homeless communities.

As hundreds of requests pour in from across the Bay Area, with the list growing each day, St. Mary’s Center, is assisting local distributing centers to deliver air purifiers to struggling families impacted by the wildfires.

Says Janny Castillo, Director of Community Outreach and Services: “Within hours after their