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GoGreenNation news

Wildfire smoke from Canada significantly worsened US air quality in 2023

News Feed
Friday, March 22, 2024

Wildfire smoke crossing from Canada contributed to a spike in air pollution levels and negative public health outcomes. Sachi Mulkey reports for Grist.In short:The World Air Quality Report by IQAir revealed that U.S. air pollution levels nearly doubled WHO's acceptable limits, with significant pollution spikes in cities like Milwaukee.Despite improvements, U.S. cities faced unhealthy air quality due to Canadian wildfire smoke, impacting health and contributing to diseases like respiratory illnesses and cancers.New EPA standards aim to reduce air pollution, but wildfire smoke remains a challenge, potentially undoing progress made in air quality improvements.Key quote: “We really want to encourage people to treat air quality just like they would treat the weather, look to see what the air quality is before you spend extensive time outdoors.” — Christi Chester Schroeder, air quality science manager at IQAirWhy this matters:Air quality events precipitated by wildfire smoke exemplifies a need for cross-border environmental cooperation and effective fire management strategies in the face of a warming climate and longer wildfire seasons. LISTEN: Carlos Gould on wildfire smoke and our health.

Wildfire smoke crossing from Canada contributed to a spike in air pollution levels and negative public health outcomes. Sachi Mulkey reports for Grist.In short:The World Air Quality Report by IQAir revealed that U.S. air pollution levels nearly doubled WHO's acceptable limits, with significant pollution spikes in cities like Milwaukee.Despite improvements, U.S. cities faced unhealthy air quality due to Canadian wildfire smoke, impacting health and contributing to diseases like respiratory illnesses and cancers.New EPA standards aim to reduce air pollution, but wildfire smoke remains a challenge, potentially undoing progress made in air quality improvements.Key quote: “We really want to encourage people to treat air quality just like they would treat the weather, look to see what the air quality is before you spend extensive time outdoors.” — Christi Chester Schroeder, air quality science manager at IQAirWhy this matters:Air quality events precipitated by wildfire smoke exemplifies a need for cross-border environmental cooperation and effective fire management strategies in the face of a warming climate and longer wildfire seasons. LISTEN: Carlos Gould on wildfire smoke and our health.



Wildfire smoke crossing from Canada contributed to a spike in air pollution levels and negative public health outcomes.

Sachi Mulkey reports for Grist.

In short:

  • The World Air Quality Report by IQAir revealed that U.S. air pollution levels nearly doubled WHO's acceptable limits, with significant pollution spikes in cities like Milwaukee.
  • Despite improvements, U.S. cities faced unhealthy air quality due to Canadian wildfire smoke, impacting health and contributing to diseases like respiratory illnesses and cancers.
  • New EPA standards aim to reduce air pollution, but wildfire smoke remains a challenge, potentially undoing progress made in air quality improvements.

Key quote:

“We really want to encourage people to treat air quality just like they would treat the weather, look to see what the air quality is before you spend extensive time outdoors.”

— Christi Chester Schroeder, air quality science manager at IQAir

Why this matters:

Air quality events precipitated by wildfire smoke exemplifies a need for cross-border environmental cooperation and effective fire management strategies in the face of a warming climate and longer wildfire seasons. LISTEN: Carlos Gould on wildfire smoke and our health.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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Fire Disrupts UN Climate Talks Just as Negotiators Reach Critical Final Days

Fire has disrupted United Nations climate talks, forcing evacuations of several buildings with just two scheduled days left and negotiators yet to announce any major agreements

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Fire disrupted United Nations climate talks in Brazil on Thursday, forcing evacuations of several buildings with just two scheduled days left and negotiators yet to announce any major agreements. Officials said no one was hurt.The fire was reported in an area of pavilions where sideline events are held during the annual talks, known this year as COP30. Organizers soon announced that the fire was under control, but fire officials ordered the entire site evacuated for safety checks and it wasn't clear when conference business would resume.Viliami Vainga Tone, with the Tonga delegation, had just come out of a high-level ministerial meeting when dozens of people came thundering past him shouting about the fire. He was among people pushed out of the venue by Brazilian and United Nations security forces.Tone called time the most precious resource at COP and said he was disappointed it's even shorter due to the fire.“We have to keep up our optimism. There is always tomorrow, if not the remainder of today. But at least we have a full day tomorrow,” Tone told The Associated Press.A few hours before the fire, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged countries to compromise and “show willingness and flexibility to deliver results,” even if they fall short of the strongest measures some nations want.“We are down to the wire and the world is watching Belem,” Guterres said, asking negotiators to engage in good faith in the last two scheduled days of talks, which already missed a self-imposed deadline Wednesday for progress on a few key issues. The conference, with this year's edition known as COP30, frequently runs longer than its scheduled two weeks.“Communities on the front lines are watching, too — counting flooded homes, failed harvests, lost livelihoods — and asking, ‘how much more must we suffer?’” Guterres said. "They’ve heard enough excuses and demand results.” On contentious issues involving more detailed plans to phase out fossil fuels and financial aid to poorer countries, Guterres said he was “perfectly convinced” that compromise was possible and dismissed the idea that not adopting the strongest measures would be a failure.Guterres was more forceful in what he wanted rich countries to do for poor countries, especially those in need of tens of billions of dollars to adapt to the floods, droughts, storms and heat waves triggered by worsening climate change. He continued calls to triple adaptation finance from $40 billion a year to $120 billion a year.“No delegation will leave Belem with everything it wants, but every delegation has a duty to reach a balanced deal,” Guterres said.“Every country, especially the big emitters, must do more,” Guterres said.Delivering overall financial aid — with an agreed goal of $300 billion a year — is one of four interconnected issues that were initially excluded from the official agenda. The other three are: whether countries should be told to toughen their new climate plans; dealing with trade barriers over climate and improving reporting on transparency and climate progress.More than 80 countries have pushed for a detailed “road map” on how to transition away from fossil fuels, like coal, oil and natural gas, which are the chief cause of warming. That was a general but vague agreement two years ago at the COP in Dubai. Guterres kept referring to it as already being agreed to in Dubai, but did not commit to a detailed plan, which Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushed for earlier in a speech.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

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Engineering microbes to soak up more carbon, boost crop yields and restore former farmland is appealing. But synthetic biology fixes must be done thoughtfully

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Because methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, these emissions account for roughly 12% of total warming potential from greenhouse emissions. Bioengineered yeasts could absorb up to 98% of these emissions. After being eaten by cattle or other ruminants these yeasts block production of methane before it can be belched out. Synthetic biology could even drastically reduce how much farmland the world needs by producing food more efficiently. Engineered soil microbes can boost crop yields at least by 10–20%, meaning more food from less land. Precision fermentation can be used to produce clean meat and clean milk with much lower emissions than traditional farming. Engineered microbes have the potential to boost crop yields considerably. Collab Media/Unsplash, CC BY-NC-ND If farms produce more on less land, excess farmland can be returned to nature. Wetlands, forests and native grasslands can store much more carbon than farmland, helping tackle climate change. 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Instead, governments or public institutions may have to develop them to benefit plants, animals and natural habitats, given human existence rests on healthy ecosystems. Which way forward? These issues shouldn’t stop researchers from testing out these technologies. But these risks must be taken into account, as not all risks are equal. Unchecked climate change would be much worse, as it could lead to societal collapse, large-scale climate migration and mass species extinction. Large scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is now essential. In the face of catastrophic risks, it can be ethically justifiable to take the smaller risk of unintended consequences from these organisms. But it’s far less justifiable if these same risks are accepted to secure financial returns for private investors. As time passes and the climate crisis intensifies, these technologies will look more and more appealing. 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