Mongolia‘s capital is the coldest in the world – and in its tented slums, pollution from traditional heating is a killer. But change is on the way They call Mongolia the “land of blue sky”; its spectacular desert, forest and grasslands are blessed by sun for two-thirds of the year. But climb to a snow-dusted…

Meleah Geertsma, Staff Attorney, Midwest Program, Chicago, IL Watching the petcoke mountains spring up along the Calumet River in Chicago, I find myself marveling at the polluting reach of the tar sands industry. Increased production of the most carbon-intensive petroleum on the planet is having profound impacts on natural landscapes and the people who are…

Sheryl Carter, Co-Director, Energy Program, San Francisco The first ever Energy Efficiency Market Report was just released by the International Energy Agency, and it clearly illustrates for the 11 countries* it examined that between 1974 and 2010, energy efficiency was the largest energy resource. In 2010, alone, (the most recent year for which data is…

Zak Smith, Attorney, Marine Mammal Protection Project, Santa Monica Something bad is happening in the ocean. No one’s certain what’s causing it, but in the past three months more than 550 bottlenose dolphins have stranded along the Atlantic Coast and there’s no indication that the strandings are letting up. While researches rush to catalog data…

Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist, Washington, D.C. There are a few excellent movies that are well-worth viewing if you are interested in the connection between environmental pollution and human health. I’ve written a blog about Unacceptable Levels highlighting its excellent use of scientific experts and knowledgeable professionals to document the overwhelming amount of toxic and untested…

John Walke, Clean Air Director/ Senior Attorney, Washington, D.C. A new report from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research agency announced the classification of outdoor air pollution and particulate matter as known human carcinogens. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) independently reviewed over 1,000 of the latest scientific studies on air pollution across…

Dan Lashof, Program Director, Climate & Clean Air, Washington, D.C. Research published yesterday in the scientific journal Nature is receiving a lot of attention, and for good reason. It puts a specific date – 2047 – on when we will be living in a new world due to unlimited dumping of heat-trapping pollution into our…