I would be cautious drawing conclusions from changes from one year to another in air quality.  Weather is a factor, and you need to look for trends smoothed over several years. 31789 note: average life expectancy in America has gotten less for the first time in a generation. Lifestyle including food...

A-L-E-X wrote:

Qr Bbpost  That's why switching to EVs is a really good idea to lower air pollution. 

Yes, EVs make sense in cities.  I also think it makes sense, to the degree it's practical, to decouple car propulsion from the energy source.  

Air pollution is a different problem than CO2 induced climate change.  You can burn carbon neutral biofuel, charcoal and wood and you still pollute.

31752 How would we manage nuclear waste and keep meltdowns from being so deadly? You can't just strap waste to rockets, that would just be too expensive. Waste is manageable.  It doesn't take up much space, and safe storage is not a difficult technical problem.  Rockets are a bad solution not just ...

I'm not a big fan of wind and sun power.  It surely has its niches and applications, but as replacement for fossil fuel it's bad.  It takes too much space, and we've basically run out of space on Earth if we still want to have a fair amount of nature left.  Carbon emissions will continue to be high ...

31740 you should read the NASA and NOAA links I posted as well as visit that climate forum. I have, and they don't say anything unreasonable: The world has warmed over the past 100-150 years, and there are mechanisms which could mean more extreme weather events under the current and projected clima...

31732 His opinion is just an opinion and not borne out by scientists in the field who actually study climate. What are those opinions?  That the air quality isn't dropping because of changed climate?  That the arctic does not have higher natural variability?  That the changes in biodiversity that w...

I don't think there exists many records of air quality going many decades back.  But the changes since the 80's in Europe are quite dramatic.  I recall visiting London back then, and after a few days, if I blew my nose, the tissue would be black with soot.  That is no longer happening.  I still can...

31706 Sinking Cities: Episode 4: Miami Not available in my region due to rights restrictions.  Global sea level rise is a good example for why adaptation should be a priority.  First, we must learn that coastlines are not static, not just on geological timescales, but also on human timescales.  The...

31674 Quite frankly, I think the exaggeration is justified.  It is needed to motivate human beings to act, which humanity has historically been sluggish in doing. I think many people think like you do, even some scientists.  The main problem is that for a complex problem with extremely expensive so...

Maybe it's different in the US, more polarised.  There are many ridiculous claims on both sides, and scientists should address both extremes. One thing for sure is that many scientists wisely avoid going public and getting drawn into a highly polarised debate.  And it's somewhat delicate.  For insta...

31659 Thankfully it is not up to activists to make a plan (and if they did it probably would be ridiculous or unfeasible), Many activists are precisely demanding unfeasible results in a ridiculously short time. And then, if policy makers did implement the most effective policies (such as expansion ...

31653 Well I find it quite heartening that auto manufacturers are stepping up and releasing many more EVs that travel larger distances without needing to be recharged. That's great for local pollution, in particular in cities, but the energy still needs to come from somewhere, so you haven't really...

A-L-E-X: 31548 Friday was a truly historic day for the potent new social movement committed to sounding a global alarm about the climate crisis. The Global Climate Strikes, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, age 16, may end up being the largest mass protest for action on global war...

Very early signs of winter in southern Norway as well.  This is from my neighbourhood in Oslo on the 4th of October.  Just a light snowfall and the snow is gone now, except in a few shady places, but a new, larger round of snowfall is expected tomorrow.