Air Pollution

Magnitogorsk: Once Stalin’s Model Town, Now a Polluted Hell-Hole

Monday, October 19, 2009

Haste makes waste. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Magnitogorsk. Rushing to build Russia’s model steel town according to Stalin’s Five-Year-Plans of the 1930s, the steel plant there started operations before emission controls and plant security were even considered. Sufficient housing and town development also went for a toss – literally downwind from the plant, subjecting the town’s residents and workers unnecessarily to air pollution. Bronchitis, asthma and lung cancers followed, as well as an entry into the Dirty Thirty – the world’s most polluted cities.

India’s Incredible Solar-Powered Rickshaws

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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India’s Incredible Solar-Powered Rickshaws

Anyone who has ever ridden in an auto-rickshaw in India will know the experience, though exciting, can lead to a few extra grey hairs, or a handful in some cases, either due to the adrenalin rush of being cut up by vehicles with little regard for lanes, or the stress of breathing in clouds of exhaust fumes. If these scenes sound familiar you’ll be happy to know it’s soon set to change.

Milanese Children Suffer as City Named Pollution Capital of Europe

Sunday, March 9, 2008

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After years of close competition, we finally have a clear winner in the “Pollution Capital of Europe” contest. Image by Trista B While Milan may be better known for fashion and (everywhere except America) excellent soccer teams, it appears that it’s also the most polluted city in the whole [...]

Environmentalism in 1880

Thursday, March 6, 2008

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As the environmental movement looks towards the future, it can sometimes forget its past. London’s fogs are famous, but they’ve also been deadly. Image by Myk Reeve This series is an attempt to provide a bit of perspective on how the environmental movement got to where it is today. [...]