Sam Rubens News Today

A new report documenting the impact of fossil fuel-powered appliances on air quality makes the case that Maryland will need to take additional steps to meet its climate goals. The study authored by a group of environmental organizations looked at home and commercial use of fossil fuels in HVAC systems and water heaters - and found that in Maryland, such equipment emits more than three times the amount of health-harming nitrogen oxides as all the states power plants combined. The nonprofit Ch...

North Carolina is grappling with the consequences of climate change, with sweltering summers, a surge in wildfires, and frequent extreme weather events as the new norm. A new report makes recommendations to tackle such challenges. The latest findings from CleanAIRE NC shed light on what it called the "urgent need to address the changing climate as it relates to air pollution and public health." Dr. ...

People from Alabama and north along the East Coast are still coping with poor air quality this summer because of wildfires many miles away in Canada, where more than 600 fires are still burning. One of the latest studies found, once again, that climate change is exacerbating the harmful effects of wildfire, which also increases health burdens. The study estimated that during major wildfire events, the United States and Canada could incur additional health-care costs that range from $1.6 million...

By Chloe Robertson / Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration. On several days this summer, Ohioans awoke to their homes and neighborhoods shrouded in haze from the smoke of wildfires burning in Nova Scotia, Canada. Experts say it’s unclear whether air quality issues will continue into the fall.  The wildfires, which started in May, have since sent much of the eastern United States indoors because of air quality advis...

Nasty air from Canadian wildfires blew down over Ohio recently, then passed back over on its way out. We could be in for more this summer, though, because the fires that caused the smoke are still burning.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires is casting a pall over the region and creating adverse health impacts for area residents akin to smoking, with conditions local experts worry will become more frequent.

Several studies have drawn a connection between living in neighborhoods that were subject to redlining, the historic discriminatory mortgage lending practices instituted in the 1930s, and an increased likelihood that a resident will suffer from asthma today. Experts say the historic systems and structures which pushed many African Americans into redlined communities affect many Cleveland and Akron residents who live in the Ohio Valley Asthma Belt today.