Environmental Issues: Air

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All Documents in Air Tagged air pollution

Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the U.S., 2013
Report

The Benchmarking project uses public data to compare the emissions performance of the 100 largest power producers in the United States, and discusses market trends affecting the electric generating sector, including trends in fuel prices, technology developments, and environmental regulations.

Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States
Presentation

The EPA recently finalized the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), requiring significant reductions in mercury and air toxic emissions, inlcuding those from the electric sector, the largest industrial source of toxic air pollution in the United States. Despite the significant benefit to public health, power companies and some in Congress continue to fight against the standards.

Testimony of David D. Doniger, Policy Director and Senior Attorney, Climate and Clean Air Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Testimony

Hearing on the U.S. Agricultural Sector Relief Act of 2012 Subcommittee on Energy and Power-Committee on Energy and Commerce-House of Representatives-July 18, 2012 Get document in pdf.

The Price of Pollution Politics
Eight Companies Attacking Clean Air Standards…and the Toll on America’s Health
Report

A handful of companies are spending millions to finance an assault on clean air -- lobbying and litigating to block, weaken and delay clean air standards that would save lives and protect Americans' health from the power sector's dangerous and deadly air pollution.

U.S. Latinos and Air Pollution
A Call to Action
Report

Air pollutants surround us wherever we are. On a daily basis, we are exposed to carbon, lead, nitrogen oxides, ozone, soot, and hundreds of other air pollutants emitted from our cars, factories, power plants, and heavy machinery. At certain levels, many of these pollutants become highly harmful to human health, and Latinos are especially vulnerable because they live in regions with the worst air contamination.

The Clean Air Act at 40
A Clear Track Record of Success
Legislative Analysis

The Clean Air Act is a genuine American success story and one of the most effective tools in U.S. history for protecting public health. It has sharply reduced pollution from automobiles, industrial smokestacks, utility plants, and major sources of toxic chemicals and particulate matter since its passage in 1970. The law has saved tens of thousands of lives each year by reducing harmful pollutants that cause or contribute to asthma, emphysema, heart disease, and other potentially lethal respiratory ailments. Despite continued gloom-and-doom forecasts by polluters and their corporate lobbyists, the Clean Air Act has consistently provided huge health, economic, and environmental benefits to our communities over the past four decades that far outweigh any small costs associated with controlling life-threatening toxic pollution.

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Get the Lead Out
Guide

Children across the nation face the risk of lead poisoning, but steps can be taken to protect them.

Sneezing and Wheezing
How Global Warming Could Increase Ragweed Allergies, Air Pollution and Asthma
Issue Paper

Global warming isn't just making our planet hotter. Scientific studies have also shown that our changing climate could mean more ozone pollution in some areas, intensifying health problems stemming from allergenic pollen such as ragweed. NRDC research, the first to map areas within the United States where ragweed and unhealthy ozone pollution overlap, shows that 110 million Americans live in areas with both ragweed and ozone problems.

Harboring Pollution: The Dirty Truth about U.S. Ports
Report

Marine ports in the United States are major hubs of economic activity and major sources of pollution. This March 2004 report by NRDC and the Coalition for Clean Air assesses efforts at the 10 largest U.S. ports to control pollution, and provides an overview of policy and practical pollution mitigation recommendations.

Five Dangerous Pollutants in the Air You Breathe
NRDC's least wanted list of air pollutants, and the best ways to avoid them.
Overview

Much of the haze that once blanketed our cities has cleared since the 1970s, thanks to tough environmental laws. But air pollution, including the kind you can’t see, still poses health risks to millions of Americans.

Asthma and Air Pollution
Bad air can bring on asthma attacks, even in healthy people; tracking air quality and controlling pollution from cars, factories and power plants can help.
Overview

Bad air can bring on asthma attacks, even in healthy people; tracking air quality and controlling pollution from cars, factories and power plants can help.

Heat Advisory
How Global Warming Causes More Bad Air Days
Report

Comprehensive analysis by medical experts showing that global warming would cause more summertime smog and higher pollen levels, which in turn might bring more asthma attacks, more hospitalizations, and limitations on time outdoors.

Harboring Pollution: Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports
Report

U.S. seaports are the largest and most poorly regulated sources of urban pollution in the country. This August 2004 report by NRDC and the Coalition for Clean Air provides practical strategies and policies for port operators, regulatory agencies, and community-based organizations to reduce health-endangering air and water pollution, noise and light pollution that disrupts communities near ports, and harm to marine habitats.

Breath-taking
Premature Mortality Due to Particulate Air Pollution in 239 American Cities
Report

Excerpts from a groundbreaking May 1996 NRDC report on premature mortality due to particulate air pollution in 239 American cities.