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Environmental Pollution

Commentary

How a Poor Indoor Environment at Home Affects Children's Health in the EU

One third of children in the EU are exposed to damp or mold, cold, darkness, and noise in their own homes. The good condition of homes should not only be seen as an issue of comfort, but as an essential basic requirement for good health of the residents, especially when they are families with children.

Nov 4, 2019
Commentary

Uncovering the Links Between Fires and Public Health in Equatorial Asia

Fires in Indonesia, if left unchecked, could cause an average of 36,000 premature deaths annually across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Researchers built a tool that models the effect of the fires on public health.

Oct 25, 2019
Blog

Virtual Societal Warfare, Iran, Opioids: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the risk of virtual societal welfare, Iran's domestic debates, federal policy options for supervised consumption sites, and more.

Oct 11, 2019
Report

India and Pakistan Could Better Manage Shared Air and Water Resources

Infrastructure development along shared water resources and air pollution from agricultural burning are heightening tensions between India and Pakistan. But these issues should be seen as an opportunity for cooperation to improve health and well-being.

Oct 9, 2019
Report

Report

Poor indoor climate, its impact on child health, and the wider societal costs

This study looked at the impact of poor indoor climate on child health and at the costs for society at large. It covered the following indoor climate hazards: damp; mould; indoor air pollution; noise; radon; excess cold; lack of daylight.

Oct 9, 2019
Commentary

We Built an App to Detect Areas Most Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Haze

Forest and land-use fires are ravaging Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Haze from these fires is life-threatening; inhaling smoke can cause heart and respiratory diseases, leading to premature deaths. We developed a new tool to provide decisionmakers with information to protect people who live downwind.

Sep 10, 2019
Essay

How Citizen Scientists Are Protecting Their Communities

After Superstorm Sandy, residents of Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood cleaned up debris, pumped out basements, and teamed up with researchers to find out what was in the floodwater. They established safety protocols to help local businesses prevent their chemicals from escaping and wrote a guide to help other communities.

Aug 29, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Fires, Smoke Exposure, and Public Health: An Integrative Framework to Maximize Health Benefits from Peatland Restoration

In this study, we present a novel approach that integrates information on the drivers of fire emissions in Indonesia, the transport of smoke to downwind regional population centers, and the resulting population exposure to air pollution.

Aug 6, 2019
Report

The Potential of Community Citizen Science

Community citizen science offers unique opportunities to engage the public in science and to enhance civic life. It is used for activities like monitoring ecosystem health and enhancing disaster preparedness. But there are challenges to translating citizen science research into action.

Jun 18, 2019
Tool

Database of Literature on Oil Spills and Public Health

Overview that describes the literature search CRCG undertook and the database developed with a goal of assessing the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the health, social, and economic wellbeing of Gulf Coast communities.

May 20, 2019
Commentary

Increasing Groundwater Reliance in L.A. County Means Dealing with Extensive Contamination

As the Los Angeles region increases its reliance on groundwater sources to become more resilient in the face of drought and to reduce demand for imported water sources, advances in the information available on groundwater quality and contamination could help community water systems avoid health hazards and better ensure a safe drinking water supply.

Mar 12, 2019
Commentary

Overlapping Environmental Disasters Put a Strain on Gulf Communities

For Gulf Coast residents, dealing with the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is challenging enough. With the Taylor Energy spill, they may face an even more daunting recovery, one that could take decades. Acknowledging the extent and complexity of recovery is the first step toward supporting coastal communities to build their resilience in the face of overlapping disasters.

Nov 29, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Behavioral Health of Gulf Coast Residents 6 Years After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Role of Trauma History

The study emphasizes the importance of measuring and considering not only the index event in disaster-related mental health work, but also other potentially traumatic exposures.

Oct 24, 2018
Dissertation

Dissertation

Ammonia Emissions from Industrial Hog Farming: Efficacy of Voluntary Control Strategies

This dissertation explores the externality of ammonia emissions from the Iowa hog industry and investigates the possible impact of voluntary environmental policies to encourage ammonia control technology adoption.

Oct 1, 2018
Commentary

Ammonia – Why the Big Stink?

Ammonia pollution harms human health and reduces the richness and diversity of the environment. As new policy frameworks are implemented in the UK, there is an opportunity to support farmers to make the changes necessary to reduce ammonia pollution.

Sep 18, 2018
Report

Report

Impact of ammonia emissions from agriculture on biodiversity: An evidence synthesis

Ammonia emissions in the UK have been rising since 2013, with the main source being agriculture. The impacts on biodiversity are significant and together with the costs to human health could be equivalent to over £700m per year in the UK by 2020.

Sep 16, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Fugitive Chemicals and Environmental Justice: A Model for Environmental Monitoring Following Climate-Related Disasters

Waterfront communities can use this six-step framework to proactively develop an environmental monitoring program to prepare for, recover from, and respond to chemical leaks after weather disasters.

Jul 3, 2018
Commentary

Dockless Bikes Present Challenges, but Experience Shows They Can Work

By encouraging more people to cycle, bike-sharing platforms could provide many potential benefits through reduced congestion, reduced air pollution, and health benefits. But there are also challenges, including pressures on existing cycling infrastructure and the potential for theft and vandalism.

May 31, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Quantifying the Influence of Agricultural Fires in Northwest India on Urban Air Pollution in Delhi, India

The modeling approach presented in this paper can be used to infer not just the co-variability of urban pollution and upwind fires, but also the percent contribution of smoke to the already intense urban surface particulate matter in Delhi.

Apr 5, 2018
Commentary

Can Dirty-Air Discontent in New Delhi Push India Toward Greener Days?

The downside to India's dramatic economic growth is New Delhi's off-the-charts air pollution. Public health officials have compared the harms of breathing in India's capital to smoking dozens of cigarettes a day. How bad must things become before Indians demand change and make it stick?

Mar 22, 2018

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