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Protecting Public Health Is Complicated. But Science Can Help, and the Time Is Now.

Union of Concerned Scientists

However, since major US environmental laws are enacted to protect the air, water, and land separately (i.e. the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act), as a result, EPA programs are often implemented narrowly, not holistically.

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State Air Regulations Can Go Above and Beyond National Standards 

Legal Planet

States and local air quality regulators have the legal authority to set particulate matter (PM), ozone, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions standards and adopt regulations for these pollutants when they are already in attainment of the national ambient air quality standards ( NAAQS ) set by the U.S.

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Centering Public Health at the UN Climate Talks

Legal Planet

Air pollution is harmful to human health as it exacerbates and causes an increase in health issues, like respiratory illnesses. The poor air quality—juxtaposed with the COP28 climate negotiations underway—made the need for action abundantly clear. I attended the climate conference as part of the UCLA Law delegation.

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Supreme Court Sidelines Science, Threatens Public Health: These Rules-in-Progress Show What’s at Stake

Union of Concerned Scientists

To explore a small piece of what is at stake, let’s take a quick look at some of the rules currently under review at the EPA: Air emission reporting requirements If finalized and implemented, this rule will improve the way air pollution emissions are estimated and collected by the EPA.

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Improving EPA’s Latest Ozone Transport Rule

Acoel

The downwind air quality benefits are minimal. The proposed rule would provide de minimus air quality benefits in downwind areas with extremely high costs – estimated by EPA at $22 billion discounted 2016 dollars for the 2023-2042 period. enjoyed ozone reductions of 3 to 5 ppb or more. ppb by 2025. EPA estimated that: .

Ozone 40
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Why the Bay Area’s Zero-Emission Appliance Rule is a Big Deal

Legal Planet

Additionally, NOx react with other chemicals in the air to create other harmful pollutants, like fine particulate matter and ozone. Gas stoves are a significant driver of childhood asthma , leaking methane even while turned off and releasing as much nationwide climate pollution each year as 500,000 cars.

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The Supreme Court & Interstate Pollution

Legal Planet

Months ago, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an “emergency” request to stay EPA’s new rule regulating interstate air pollution. A Supreme Court case called EME Homer upheld EPA’s general approach to regulating interstate air pollution. By law, that suit had to be brought in the D.C.