#air quality

Do you live in our nation’s fair capital of Washington DC? If not, were you planning on traveling there this weekend to watch the annual Fourth of July festivities and fireworks on the National Mall? Great! Have fun! Take the usual precautions. Stay hydrated — the District’s heat and humidity in the summer are no joke! Don’t drink and drive. The crowds might be overwhelming, so be kind and patient with others. Particularly the public servants trying to keep things moving — they are giving up their holiday so you can enjoy yours!

Finally, wear a respirator at all times, as if you were spraying your house for termites or mining minerals on an asteroid. Wait, what?

Yes, wear a respirator. Because according to the Washington Post, the massive fireworks display is expected to produce so much air pollution that the National Park Service itself suggests — in internal documents because why actually warn the public of the danger — people “remain indoors as much as possible during and after the show.”

Apparently the levels of the type of particulate that’s the biggest concern are projected to be between about 60-120 TIMES the acceptable level, and those particulates could persist for three to six hours post finale. The National Park Service is recommending N95 masks while outdoors and the use of HEPA filters indoors.

an entire continent is shrouded in wildfire smoke. a whole ass motherfucking continent. not a state or province or region or even just one country. much of an entire. continent.

That feel when your servant is too stupid to understand that you want the window open*

Article

"Global emissions of local air pollutants have probably passed their peak.

The chart shows estimates of global emissions of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (which causes acid rain), nitrogen oxides, and black and organic carbon.

These pollutants are harmful to human health and can also damage ecosystems.

It looks like emissions have peaked for almost all of these pollutants. Global air pollution is now falling, and we can save many lives by accelerating this decline.

The exception is ammonia, which is mainly produced by agriculture. Its emissions are still rising.

These estimates come from the Community Emissions Data System (CEDS).

Air pollution has not peaked everywhere in the world — explore the data for your country."

Cooking may not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of carbon emissions and air pollution, but for parts of the world without access to clean cooking methods it's a significant issue.

Around 70% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa cooks over firewood, charcoal, or kerosene due to lack of access to cleaner fuels like ethanol, gas, or electricity. This constitutes up to 45% of Africa's greenhouse gas emissions and, even more significantly, causes 850,000 premature deaths from air pollution. Securing fuels like charcoal and firewood can also contribute to deforestation.

It's not