This past week wildfires torched 28,000 acres in California, at one point threatening 4,000 homes in Ventura County before fire crews were able to begin to rein them in. Wood smoke contains particulate matter and toxins, posing greatest danger to people with respiratory issues and heart disease. The elderly as well as children, whose lungs are still developing, are also especially vulnerable when wildfires break out, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Benjamin Schreiber, a climate and energy tax analyst with Friends of the Earth, published a guest post on Grist today arguing that  a tax on carbon could and should be a part of the federal government's strategy to rein in the deficit.

The California Air Resources Board will host the final of three community workshops to gather public input on its upcoming Advanced Clean Car standards that could dramatically reduce tailpipe emissions in new vehicles sold in California. The meeting will take place July 26 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Elihu M.

We wrote yesterday that the true costs of carbon — in health and environmental impacts — is far greater than the government figures. It turns out that the true costs of mercury and toxics pollution from power plants — regulations which the EPA recently tightened — is also far greater than the government had estimated.

Fox News is reporting that a new study suggests that green building standards are bad for your health. But the real story is a bit more complicated. In a study commissioned by the EPA, the Institutes of Medicine analyzed the effects climate change may have on people inside, where they spend most of their time.

The environmental situation in China has gotten alarmingly bad, according to news reports and, most tellingly, a statement from the Chinese government itself. 

Coal-fired power plants generate more air pollution than any other industrial source, but they are among the last industry to be affected by amendments to the Clean Air Act passed two decades ago. The EPA is preparing to announce long-delayed regulations for electric utilities on March 16.

A new report by the EPA evaluates the predicted regulatory costs and benefits of implementing 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments over the next decade. The results are, well, breathtaking.

A new report put out by the United Nations Environment Program found that reducing soot and smog could reduce by half the effects of climate change we will experience over the next half a century.

With Congress trying to whittle away the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association decided to commission a poll to see what public support for the agency actually looks like. The results showed overwhelming support for clean air regulations, including carbon caps.