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GoGreenNation news

US State Department Kills Global Air Monitoring Program Researchers Say Paid for Itself

News Feed
Wednesday, March 5, 2025

In 2008, the US Embassy in Beijing started regularly tweeting about the air quality in the city, which was gearing up to host China’s first Olympic Games. Two times a day, the embassy automatically published current pollution levels measured by an air quality monitor installed on its roof in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency. The data contradicted the figures published by the local government, angering local officials and eventually spurring China to clean up the air in its capital city. But on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the US State Department told WIRED that the program is abruptly ending due to budget constraints.Politics Lab Newsletter by Makena KellyNot your average politics newsletter. Makena Kelly and the WIRED Politics team help you make sense of how the internet is shaping our political reality.

The initiative helped pressure the Chinese government to clean up the air in Beijing and was later expanded to dozens of cities around the world. Now, it’s been abruptly halted.

In 2008, the US Embassy in Beijing started regularly tweeting about the air quality in the city, which was gearing up to host China’s first Olympic Games. Two times a day, the embassy automatically published current pollution levels measured by an air quality monitor installed on its roof in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency. The data contradicted the figures published by the local government, angering local officials and eventually spurring China to clean up the air in its capital city. But on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the US State Department told WIRED that the program is abruptly ending due to budget constraints.

Politics Lab Newsletter by Makena Kelly

Not your average politics newsletter. Makena Kelly and the WIRED Politics team help you make sense of how the internet is shaping our political reality.

Read the full story here.
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EPA Continues to Dismantle Environmental Justice Office, Announces Plans to Terminate Nearly 300 Employees

The Trump administration has taken another step toward stripping the government’s ability to tackle environmental pollution and its dangerous health effects in historically disadvantaged and overburdened communities. In a notice issued to employees late Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said 280 staffers who work in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights […]

The Monday announcement also said 175 additional employees in the office would be reassigned within the agency.By Georgina GustinThe Trump administration has taken another step toward stripping the government’s ability to tackle environmental pollution and its dangerous health effects in historically disadvantaged and overburdened communities.

Government
Health
Pollution

Indians Battle Respiratory Issues, Skin Rashes in World's Most Polluted Town

By Tora AgarwalaBYRNIHAT, India (Reuters) - Two-year-old Sumaiya Ansari, a resident of India's Byrnihat town which is ranked the world's most...

BYRNIHAT, India (Reuters) - Two-year-old Sumaiya Ansari, a resident of India's Byrnihat town which is ranked the world's most polluted metropolitan area by Swiss Group IQAir, was battling breathing problems for several days before she was hospitalised in March and given oxygen support.She is among many residents of the industrial town on the border of the northeastern Assam and Meghalaya states - otherwise known for their lush, natural beauty - inflicted by illnesses that doctors say are likely linked to high exposure to pollution.Byrnihat's annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2024 was 128.2 micrograms per cubic meter, according to IQAir, over 25 times the level recommended by the WHO.PM2.5 refers to particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter that can be carried into the lungs, causing deadly diseases and cardiac problems."It was very scary, she was breathing like a fish," said Abdul Halim, Ansari's father, who brought her home from hospital after two days.According to government data, the number of respiratory infection cases in the region rose to 3,681 in 2024 from 2,082 in 2022."Ninety percent of the patients we see daily come either with a cough or other respiratory issues," said Dr. J Marak of Byrnihat Primary Healthcare Centre. Residents say the toxic air also causes skin rashes and eye irritation, damages crops, and restricts routine tasks like drying laundry outdoors."Everything is covered with dust or soot," said farmer Dildar Hussain.Critics say Byrnihat's situation reflects a broader trend of pollution plaguing not just India's cities, including the capital Delhi, but also its smaller towns as breakneck industrialisation erodes environmental safeguards.Unlike other parts of the country that face pollution every winter, however, Byrnihat's air quality remains poor through the year, government data indicates.Home to about 80 industries - many of them highly polluting - experts say the problem is exacerbated in the town by other factors like emissions from heavy vehicles, and its "bowl-shaped topography"."Sandwiched between the hilly terrain of Meghalaya and the plains of Assam, there is no room for pollutants to disperse," said Arup Kumar Misra, chairman of Assam's pollution control board.The town's location has also made a solution tougher, with the states shifting blame to each other, said a Meghalaya government official who did not want to be named.Since the release of IQAir's report in March, however, Assam and Meghalaya have agreed to form a joint committee and work together to combat Byrnihat's pollution.(Reporting by Tora Agarwala; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

Government
Health
Pollution

UK government report calls for taskforce to save England’s historic trees

Exclusive: Ancient oaks ‘as precious as stately homes’ could receive stronger legal safeguards under new proposalsAncient and culturally important trees in England could be given legal protections under plans in a UK government-commissioned report.Sentencing guidelines would be changed under the plans so those who destroy important trees would face tougher criminal penalties. Additionally, a database of such trees would be drawn up, and they could be given automatic protections, with the current system of tree preservation orders strengthened to accommodate this.In 2020, the 300-year-old Hunningham Oak near Leamington was felled to make way for infrastructure projects.In 2021, the Happy Man tree in Hackney, which the previous year had won the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year contest, was felled to make way for housing development.In 2022, a 600-year-old oak was felled in Bretton, Peterborough, which reportedly caused structural damage to nearby property.In 2023, 16 ancient lime trees on The Walks in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, were felled to make way for a dual carriageway. Continue reading...

Ancient and culturally important trees in England could be given legal protections under plans in a UK government-commissioned report.Sentencing guidelines would be changed under the plans so those who destroy important trees would face tougher criminal penalties. Additionally, a database of such trees would be drawn up, and they could be given automatic protections, with the current system of tree preservation orders strengthened to accommodate this.There was an outpouring of anger this week after it was revealed that a 500-year-old oak tree in Enfield, north London, was sliced almost down to the stumps. It later emerged it had no specific legal protections, as most ancient and culturally important trees do not.After the Sycamore Gap tree was felled in 2023, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asked the Tree Council and Forest Research to examine current protections for important trees and to see if they needed to be strengthened. The trial of two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree is due to take place later this month at Newcastle crown court.The report, seen by the Guardian, found there is no current definition for important trees, and that some of the UK’s most culturally important trees have no protection whatsoever. The researchers have directed ministers to create a taskforce within the next 12 months to clearly define “important trees” and swiftly prepare an action plan to save them.Defra sources said ministers were evaluating the findings of the report.Jon Stokes, the director of trees, science and research at the Tree Council, said: “Ancient oaks can live up to 1,000 years old and are as precious as our stately homes and castles,” Stokes explained. “Our nation’s green heritage should be valued and protected and we will do everything we can to achieve this.”Currently, the main protection for trees is a tree preservation order (TPO), which is granted by local councils. Failing to obtain the necessary consent and carrying out unauthorised works on a tree with a TPO can lead to a fine of up to £20,000.The Woodland Trust has called for similar protections, proposing the introduction of a list of nationally important heritage trees and a heritage TPO that could be used to promote the protection and conservation of the country’s oldest and most important trees. The charity is using citizen science to create a database of ancient trees.The report’s authors defined “important trees” as shorthand for “trees of high social, cultural, and environmental value”. This includes ancient trees, which are those that have reached a great age in comparison with others of the same species, notable trees connected with specific historic events or people, or well-known landmarks. It could also include “champion trees”, which are the largest individuals of their species in a specific geographical area, and notable trees that are significant at a local scale for their size or have other special features.Richard Benwell, the CEO of the environmental group Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Ancient trees are living monuments. They are bastions for nature in an increasingly hostile world and home to a spectacular richness of wildlife. We cannot afford to keep losing these living legends if we want to see nature thrive for future generations. The government should use the planning and infrastructure bill to deliver strict protection for ancient woodlands, veteran trees, and other irreplaceable habitats.”Felled ancient trees In 2020, the 300-year-old Hunningham Oak near Leamington was felled to make way for infrastructure projects. In 2021, the Happy Man tree in Hackney, which the previous year had won the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year contest, was felled to make way for housing development. In 2022, a 600-year-old oak was felled in Bretton, Peterborough, which reportedly caused structural damage to nearby property. In 2023, 16 ancient lime trees on The Walks in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, were felled to make way for a dual carriageway.

Government
Conservation
Forests

L.A. will set aside $3 million to help owners of fire-damaged homes test their soil for lead

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to allocate $3 million to help owners of fire-damaged homes test their soil for lead.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will allocate $3 million to help homeowners near the Eaton burn area test for lead contamination, after preliminary tests found elevated levels of the heavy metal on homes standing after the fire.Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath proposed the motion after preliminary test results released last week by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health showed lead levels above state health standards in as many as 80% of soil samples collected downwind of the Eaton burn scar.On Tuesday, the board voted 4-0 to direct $3 million from the county’s 2018 $134-million settlement with lead-paint manufacturers to test residential properties that are both downwind and within one mile of the Eaton burn scar boundary.Lead is a heavy metal linked to serious health problems including damage to the brain and nervous system, as well as digestive, reproductive and cardiovascular issues, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.Roux Associates, a private testing firm hired by the county, collected samples from 780 properties in both burn zones over four weeks from mid-February to mid-March. It tested for 14 toxic substances commonly found after wildfires: heavy metals such as arsenic and lead; polyaromatic hydrocarbons such as anthracene and napthalene; and dioxins.More than one-third of samples collected within the Eaton burn scar exceeded California’s health standard of 80 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil, Roux found. Nearly half of samples just outside the burn scar’s boundary had lead levels above the state limit. And downwind of the fire’s boundary, to the southwest, between 70% and 80% of samples surpassed that limit.In the Palisades burn area, tests found little contamination beyond some isolated “hot spots” of heavy metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, Roux’s vice president and principal scientist Adam Love said last week.Nichole Quick, chief medical advisor with the L.A. County Department of Public Health, said at the time that officials would be requesting federal and state help to further assess the Palisades hot spots, and working with the county on targeted lead testing in affected areas downwind of the Eaton fire.The county is for now shouldering the responsibility of contaminant testing because, as The Times has reported, the federal government has opted to break from a nearly two-decade tradition of testing soil on destroyed properties cleaned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after fires.After previous wildfires, the Army Corps would first scrape 6 inches of topsoil from cleared properties and then test the ground underneath. If those tests revealed toxic substances still on the property, it would scrape further.After the devastating Camp fire in Paradise in 2018, soil testing of 12,500 properties revealed that nearly one-third still contained dangerous levels of contaminants even after the first 6 inches of topsoil were scraped by federal crews.L.A. County ordered testing from Roux in lieu of that federal testing. So far, the county has announced results only from standing homes, which are not eligible for cleanup from the Army Corps of Engineers; results from land parcels with damaged or destroyed structures are still pending.FEMA’s decision to skip testing after L.A.’s firestorms has frustrated many residents and officials, with some calling for the federal agency to reconsider.“Without adequate soil testing, contaminants caused by the fire can remain undetected, posing risks to returning residents, construction workers, and the environment,” the state’s Office of Emergency Services director Nancy Ward wrote in a February letter to FEMA. “Failing to identify and remediate these fire-related contaminants may expose individuals to residual substances during rebuilding efforts and potentially jeopardize groundwater and surface water quality.”

Government
Health
Water

Things to Know About the US Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Coal Industry

The federal government wants the number of offices that oversee U.S. mine safety laws to align more with a shrinking coal industry

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is among the federal agencies selected for spending cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency.Nearly three dozen MSHA offices would have their leases terminated if the plans come to fruition. Where are the MSHA offices being considered for closure? According to the DOGE website, 34 MSHA offices in 19 states have been targeted for closure. This includes seven in Kentucky, which would leave the fifth-leading coal producing state with just two MSHA facilities. There also are four offices slated to close in Pennsylvania; two apiece in California, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia; and one each in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming. Are other mining offices involved? Also under consideration for closure are the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement facilities in Lexington, Kentucky, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, shrinking the national footprint of an agency created during the Carter administration to restore land damaged by strip mining and reclaim abandoned and damaged minelands. Ending the MSHA leases is projected to save $18 million. It’s unclear whether inspectors' positions and other jobs from those offices would be moved to other facilities. MSHA was created by Congress within the Labor Department in 1978, in part because state inspectors were seen as too close to the industry to force coal companies to take the sometimes costly steps necessary to protect miners. MSHA is required to inspect each underground mine quarterly and each surface mine twice a year. Agency inspectors are supposed to check every working section of a mine. They examine electrical and ventilation systems that protect miners from deadly black lung disease, inspect impoundment dams and new roof bolts, and make sure mining equipment is safe, said Jack Spadaro, a longtime mine safety investigator and environmental specialist who worked for MSHA.Mining fatalities over the past four decades have dropped significantly, in large part because of the dramatic decline in coal production. But the proposed DOGE cuts would require MSHA inspectors to travel farther to get to a mine, and Spadaro said that could lead to less thorough inspections. A review last month of publicly available data by the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center indicates that nearly 17,000 health and safety inspections were conducted from the beginning of 2024 through February 2025 by staff at MSHA offices in the facilities on the chopping block. MSHA, which also oversees metal and nonmetal mines, already is understaffed. Over the past decade, it has seen a 27% reduction in total staff, including 30% of enforcement staff in general and 50% of enforcement staff for coal mines, the law center said.The coal industry has been in decline as utilities have installed more renewable energy and converted coal-fired plants to be fueled by cheaper and cleaner-burning natural gas.U.S. coal production was at 1 billion tons (907,000 metric tons) in 2014 and fell to 578 million tons (524 million metric tons) by 2023, the latest year available, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It has been in a long, steep decline for decades.Coal industry deaths were in the hundreds throughout the 1950s and 1960s. After MSHA was created, deaths steadily decreased, then dropped even further in the last decade as a growing number of mining companies shut down and thousands of jobs were eliminated. There have been 11 or fewer deaths in each of the past five years, according to MSHA.Coal employment rebounded from 2022 to 2023, rising 4.2% to 45,476. West Virginia employed the most miners at 14,000, followed by Kentucky at 5,000. About half of the nation’s 560 coal mines are located in West Virginia (165) and Kentucky (112). Despite having just 15 mines, Wyoming was the highest-producing coal state due to mechanization.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Government
Health

Suggested Viewing

Sounding the Alarm ~ America's Climate Crisis

"It's really hard being a fire family. Every day it's getting worse." -Brett, wife of Marin County Battalion Chief in California.Every day, Americans who live close to the land and sea face the dangers of climate change—from a firefighter in California, to a beekeeper in Arizona, to a climate refugee losing her home in Florida. The changing climate affects our food systems, water and way of life. These American families are in the trenches sacrificing everything while facing depression, PTSD, and suicide—collateral damage of a crisis unchecked. Award-winning filmmaker, Peter Goetz, captures America's faces and voices, shot in 2020 leading up to the presidential election. Goetz and the Biden campaign made history, producing the first national climate spot to run during a presidential election. But this film dives deeper into the American climate crisis to explore the lives of the people who are sounding the alarm, worried about their grandchildren’s future, asking, "If not us, then who?" This is a story of the resilience, perseverance, and ingenuity of the American people. Ever hopeful, they collectively take on a common enemy. As the young, Navajo solar visionary Brett Issac insists, "We've got to turn this train around before it's too late."

Climate
Crisis
Government

Jetty Cats

Jetty Cats explores contemporary animal rights issues through a focus on a feral cat colony that has survived on a rocky, seaside jetty in Southern California for decades. There is an ongoing debate over feral cat colonies involving advocates who support the trap, neuter, and return -- or "TNR" -- model of management, and those who argue that trapping and euthanizing the cats is more humane. This documentary’s point-of-view supports the TNR model and the related “no-kill” animal shelter policy, and features an exclusive interview with Richard Avanzino, the "Father" of the no-kill movement.

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The Fellowship of the Springs

Florida’s artesian springs are a natural wonder of the world. As unique as the geysers of Yellowstone and as mesmerizing as Vernal Falls in Yosemite, these blue jewels surrounding the north Florida landscape are considered a treasure by many who see them. The state contains the largest and highest concentration of fresh water springs on earth. But today, the future of Florida’s springs is uncertain. With flow levels declining and nitrate pollution on the rise, the springs today bear the scars of a profound struggle. Florida's own government continues to approve permits for large companies that want to pump water from the springs and their springsheds, for nominal permit fees that often cost less than a day pass to Disney World. The Fellowship of the Springs takes viewers behind the scenes of the fight to save Florida's springs, from the halls of the state capitol in Tallahassee to deep caves of Ichetucknee spring.

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Business

1948 and Counting

Reports on Costa Rica's ability to manage without a military since 1948, despite invasions based in Nicaragua. Addresses the role of private armies serving multinational corporations, and whether the country's civil guard is a military by another name. Places Costa Rica in the context of Central and Latin American populist struggles against US backed regimes in El Salvador, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras. Touches on the colonial history and explores whether Costa Rica depends on US military backing, and whether it is able to maintain independence from the US.

Government
Business

THE SPRAYER

In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how a plant grows or looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.

Plants
CO2
Animation

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