The Problem: Cooking and heating with solid fuels indoors pollutes the air and increases the risk of illness for nearly 3 billion people worldwide. This type of indoor air pollution is the leading cause of lung cancer and chronic lung disease among nonsmoking women in the world’s poorest communities.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Statement to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the President’s Climate Action Plan. In June of last year, the President reaffirmed his commitment to reducing carbon pollution when he directed many federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, to take meaningful steps to mitigate the current and future damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions and to prepare for the anticipated climate changes that have already been set in motion.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of premature death in the United States and is responsible for approximately 443,000 deaths each year. Of those deaths, 49,400 are a result of secondhand smoke exposure. Here are some more facts and figures about tobacco use and reasons why continued efforts to prevent it are needed:
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, can leave a lot of debris. Some of this debris may be burned during cleanup. Smoke from these outdoor fires is unhealthy for you to breathe. Smoke may cause you to cough. It can cause shortness of breath or tightness in the chest. It also can sting your eyes, nose, or throat.
OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) have come under fire from the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General, which says the agency fails to ensure that only safe worksites remain in the program.
Do have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year. Do install a battery-operated or battery back-up CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.
The recent spate of airline flight cancellations due to the polar vortex was not made worse by the Departments of Transportation’s (DOT) new hours-of-service rules for pilots, according to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today released its 2014 Most Wanted List, the top 10 advocacy and awareness priorities for the agency for 2014, which for the first time includes improving operational safety in rail mass transit.
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