global briefs Deathly Air
Pollution More Deadly Than Cigarettes Toxic air is killing more people in Europe than tobacco smoking, according to new research published in the European Heart Journal. The number of early deaths caused by air pollution is double previous estimates and the lives of 800,000 people worldwide are cut short by an average of more than two years, the scientists calcu- lated. Although air pollution enters through the lungs, its impact via the bloodstream on heart disease and strokes is responsible for twice as many deaths as respiratory diseases. Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, says, “Toxic air doesn’t just cut lives short. It also seriously affects the health and quality of life of millions of people.”
Breathing Risk Pollution Rises Across the U.S.
In the U.S., air pollution in general worsened markedly across the country between 2015 and 2017, probably due to rising tempera- tures, according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2019 report. Based on fed- eral, state and local data, it found that that many cities nationwide increased the number of days when particle pollution, often
called “soot”, soared to record-breaking levels. More cities suffered from higher numbers of days when ground-level ozone, also known as “smog”, reached unhealthy levels. The report’s three-year span covered the hottest years on record globally, and as the report noted, the data “adds to the evidence that a changing climate is making it harder to protect human health.” Case in point: The top six cities or metro areas in ozone pollution—Los Angeles-Long Beach, Visalia, Bakersfield, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, Sacramen- to-Roseville and San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad—were all located in California, one of the most environmentally proactive states.
See a map of the 25 worst offenders by ozone, year- round particle pollution and short-term particle pollution and check out other locations by zip code at
Tinyurl.com/ MostPollutedCities.
Trees Please
Brainy Beasts
Elephants Never Forget—What They Smell
According to a new report from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elephants have such sen- sitive olfactory discrimination that they can determine different amounts of food just by sniffing it. Most animals use visual acuity to determine quan- tities of food, but this study shows that it’s important for psychologists to incorporate into experimental designs the ways in which different animals interact with their environ- ment using all of their senses.
12 Hudson County
NAHudson.com
Rain Forest Dwindling The Amazon Rain Forest continues to lose habitat for animals and plants by clear cutting practices that add to the burden of climate change. According to satellite imaging data compiled in 2018 by Global Forest Watch and analysts at the University of Maryland, removing large patches of forest to make
room for ranching caused the highest loss of forest cover overall, along with other commercial activities like min- ing and soy production. The World Resources Institute, which tracks global forest cover, reports deforestation is increasing in Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, Peru and Bo- livia. Large swaths of forest serve as carbon sinks, help- ing suck excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has promised to open the Amazon for industry and recently slashed funding to environmental and science research groups.
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