Op-Ed - Where To Find The Most Reliable Weather Forecasts

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Op-Ed - How to Spot Weather Misinformation

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Books - Three Books to Understand Our Ravaged Climate

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Education - Are people at the South Pole upside down?

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Video - What Was The First Ever Bus Route?

Mapped: European Fertility Rates by Country

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Public Awareness of Air Pollution in Seoul, Korea

What we do in the name of science is limited to the scientific and academic communities. Then we have the policy (which is most often consumed by bureaucracy) makers, who tend to base the decisions on either science or because the decision needs to be taken, and the third tier is the public.

The third tier is the most important when it comes to urban air pollution, since the public feels the pinch when it comes to the exposure to harmful levels of air pollution on roads and in the residential areas.

There are some programs and indices, like Air Pollution Index (API - see how it is done in various cities), which is modeled and notified to the media to inform public.

Question: How often does one check AQ forecast on web every day. Hence, the awareness and supply of that minimum information in a format that is appreciated by the public becomes crucial.

Now, we have a new installment in Seoul, Korea - living light sculptures of air quality. A note from inhabitat:

Living Light’s glass skin is actually a massive redrawn map of 27 Seoul neighborhoods. Every 15 minutes, neighborhoods light up in order of best air quality to worst based on real-time sensors from the Korean Ministry of Environment. And each night, neighborhoods are illuminated if air quality is better on that particular day than the same time last year. Seoul citizens can also text the installation and expect a response (presumably detailing air quality in certain neighborhoods).

Previous posts on ways the information is being communicated to the public in various cities.

• Illuminating air pollution from power plants
  
• Using balloons to visualize air pollution
• Photo diary of air pollution
  
• Walkability scores for your neighborhood
• How it all ends (Youtube Video)
• Mobile signals to identify congestion zones
• It's all about Carbon on NPR
• An illustrated "Primer on Air Quality Management"
• Interactive 3D map of air pollution in London
• Interactive Smog City simulation

Public Awareness - Art for Illuminating Air Pollution

An environmental art installation by the French art Duo HeHe (Helen Evans and Heiki Hansen) illuminate the emissions "Green Cloud" across the skies of Helsinki.



The installation uses laser tracking to project a green illumination onto the chimney emissions of the Salmisaari power plant - to demonstrate the load on the power grid and provide public awareness on air pollution.

Also

• Using ballons to visualize air pollution
• Walkability scores for your neighborhood
• How it all ends (Youtube Video)
• Mobile signals to identify congestion zones
• It's all about Carbon on NPR
• An illustrated "Primer on Air Quality Management"
• Interactive 3D map of air pollution in London
• Interactive Smog City simulation
  

Video - Air Pollution 101 | National Geographic

Podcast - Towards a More Equal City (by World Resources Institute)

Video - NASA ARSET: Satellites, Sensors, and Earth Systems Models for Water Resources Management

Video - NASA ARSET: Satellites, Sensors, Data and Tools for Land Management and Wildfire Applications

Video - Explained | World's Water Crisis | FULL EPISODE | Netflix

Video - TED - The state of the climate crisis | Climate Action Tracker

Infograph - Where are the Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) in India?

More details @ IndiaAirQuality.info

Video - NASA's Earth Minute - Cloudy Forecast

Infographic on Ground Level Ozone Pollution

The story of air pollution does not end with PM2.5 - Ozone is created when oxides and nitrogen compounds come into contact with sunlight and is the new source of health impacts in urban areas. Many of the same groups that are sensitive to other kinds of air pollution will have trouble with higher levels of ozone, namely people who already have respiratory problems, babies, senior citizens, and people who work outdoors. Unlike PM 2.5 pollution, masks and air purifiers don't help the situation. Instead, the best measure is avoid strenuous physical activity during strong summer sunlight. More @ theBeijinger

Microscopic Beauty of Air Pollution

There aren't many good things to say about air pollution, given the way it tends to kill tons of people. But if one were forced to find a silver lining in smog, it's that it can look strangely alluring under high-powered microscopes, like evil, malformed snowflakes. Posted from the Atlantic Cities.

Volcanic Ash and Pollen

 

Sea Salt and Soot

Transparency and Incentives Are First Steps in Combating Air Pollution

Pollution in China has reached levels that make it no longer possible to ignore. The Chinese government must face up to the fact that rapid economic growth, coupled with high levels of industrialization, is making some areas unliveable.

Organizing Life Around PM2.5 Went Mainstream

Link to the article on Asian Correspondent.

Air Pollution in Beijing - By Numbers

According to a recent report by the Beijing’s Social Science Academic Press and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, out of 40 major international cities, China’s capital was the second worst place to live. Beijing scored low mainly due to poor environmental conditions, only losing out to Moscow because of the Russian capital’s high cost of living, security issues and pollution. 

500 Barbecue Grills Seized and Destroyed for Better Air Quality in Beijing

From the Guardian:

Beijing was hit by severe levels of pollution at least once every week, according to the 2012 Blue Paper for World Cities report. That was on top of a significant level of air pollution covering the capital for 189 days in 2013, according to the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau.

US$ 300 Billion Investment to Clean Up Air Pollution in Chinese Cities

Though not exactly known for its candid self criticism, China’s government seems to be accepting the fact that it must take steps to earn the trust of the Chinese people, particularly when it comes to the hot-button issue of pollution. It’s even causing some key drivers of the Chinese economy to leave the country. A recent report by the Social Sciences Academic Press, entitled the Global Talent Blue Book: Chinese International Migration 2014, found that 70% of the country’s emigrants considered the environment and health concerns major reasons for leaving. The report also highlighted a growing trend that may eventually lead to reverse urbanization — people migrating to smaller cities in search of a healthier environment.

Who's More Toxic - China or India?

As an answer to appeals from environmental groups, China’s government recently released unprecedented amounts of information regarding the country’s pollution — a move that cannot be overestimated in light of previous policies. Furthermore, last week the government announced a monetary reward scheme, which encourages cities and regions to control air pollution. A total of $1.65bn US will be set aside to reward places that make significant progress in efforts towards clean air.

1 Million Lung Cancer Patients in China by 2025

From the New York Times:

The announcement of the financial incentives revealed how difficult it has been for some leaders in Beijing to get many Chinese companies and government officials to comply with environmental regulations. Though central officials have been saying with growing vigor that pollution of all kinds must be curbed, their efforts to force other parts of the bureaucracy and the state-run economy to obey rules have been stymied by the self-interest of some groups.

Environmental Immigrants - Urbanites Flee China’s Smog for Blue Skies (NYT)

At a cabinet meeting last week Premier Li Keqiang claimed that the country’s air pollution had accumulated over a long period of time so there would be no quick fixes.
Yet some forms of air pollution have a sudden onset and can be avoided. Take the example of the pollution from fireworks that accompanied the recent Lantern Festival. Particulate matter spiked dangerously in some cities due to a combination of heavy firework use and unfavorable weather conditions. It then reportedly eased after two days.

257,000 Premature Deaths Annually due to the Air Pollution from the Coal-Fired Power Plants in China

Is pollution forcing China towards a breaking point, where it will radically change its policy and behavior regarding environmental issues? The environmental and human health consequences of China’s headlong development have already been so catastrophic that one wonders how much worse things could get.

Really, A Giant Vacuum Cleaner to Suck Pollution?

Oceans Currents Animated