The quality of our air matters and can be affected by natural or human-caused factors. Health can be affected by pollutants, particles, and even pollen in the air. Poor air quality not only affects health, but also affects the health of the planet and contributes to climate change.
Does your stove result in bad air pollution? It’s been a big few years for gas stoves and the natural gas industry. Following the publication of research linking gas stove use to childhood asthma, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission moved to regulate gas stoves federally in January 2023.
In this blog post, we set out to answer two questions: When is the air the dirtiest in the Pacific Northwest (or PNW)? Has the timing of air pollution changed in the PNW over the last decade? This blog post is aimed at anyone interested in air quality in the PNW, but especially teachers who may find this module useful in their classrooms. …
In recent months, there has been a surge of concern regarding the health effects of owning a gas stove. Articles from the New York Times (see article here), as well as several other news sites, have pointed out possible risks of living with gas stoves (see statement from US Consumer Products Safety Commission). Despite the recent surge of news, there is surprisingly little data out there and many questions remain...
Smoke in the Methow Valley, Sept. 8, 2022: 600 ug per m3 = Hazardous air. At this level, the ug/m3 and AQI are nearly the same at 600. Anyone living in the west knows that smoke is now a common occurence almost every summer. It doesn't seem to matter where you live, although California and the NW states seem to get it the…
How bad were the 2020 wildfires? Why do we have so many wildfires? How can I keep smoke out of my house? For answers to these and other questions, watch the presentation that Dan gave on January 20, 2020. See the presentation here.
The New York Times (NYT) published an excellent story today about the massive 2020 fires on the West Coast. You can read the story here. This article does a great job of documenting the dramatic rise in fires in the western states. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they quoted me in the story…. A recent story in the Seattle Times documents that…
First, my heart goes out to so many people who have lost their homes or loved ones during this crazy wildfire season. It’s so hard to predict when a fire will blow and get out of control. For this reason, anyone who lives in the West really needs to be prepared for this type of disaster at any time. And climate change is…
Starting in mid-August, smoke was affecting a large chunk of the country. There are hundreds of fires burning right now, with large fires being reported in: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Currently the National Interagency Fire Center (www.nifc.org) is reporting 4.7 million acres burned as of 9/8/2020 for wildland fires, so it looks like 2020 is on…
I am trying to keep these posts lively and make them fun and interesting. So with Arielle’s help we are doing some new original cartoons. Sometimes we have the caption, sometimes, just the idea and we need your help. So here is the cartoon that goes with this week’s post on smoke and indoor air quality: What is he saying? Are they puzzled…
This past week, fires and smoke have flared up in the West and the smoke is moving across the country. Air quality in many parts of the West is now (again) at miserable levels… Fires and smoke have been dramatically increasing in the last decade due to several factors. I’ll discuss that in a future blog post. But more urgently….this reminds me of…