NEW DELHI (AP) — People breathing New Delhi’s acrid air for the past month have suffered burning eyes and rasping throats, so the notion of thousands of distance runners gulping down lungful after lungful may have seemed strange. But even as the polluted air threatens health, India seems to be embracing physical fitness. The Airtel … Continue reading
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The captain and chief mechanic of a ship commissioned for an oil-spill cleanup operation outside Athens have been arrested on fuel smuggling charges, further complicating efforts to contain the oil that has polluted the Greek capital’s coastline. The Merchant Marine Ministry said Wednesday that the two were arrested on smuggling charges … Continue reading
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek health authorities have banned swimming along a long line of popular Athens beaches following extensive sea pollution from the sinking of a small oil tanker five days ago. The ban covers much of a 20-kilometer (13-mile) stretch from Greece’s main port of Piraeus to Glyfada, further south, as well as … Continue reading
NEW DELHI (AP) — As Indians awoke Monday to smoke-filled skies from a weekend of festival fireworks, New Delhi’s worst season for air pollution began — with dire consequences. A new report from UNICEF says about a third of the 2 billion children in the world who are breathing toxic air live in northern India … Continue reading
SHANGHAI (AP) — Authorities have evicted hundreds of Shanghai residents and dozens of businesses to clean up the air and make way for the newest Disney theme park, which opens Thursday. Residents were paid for lost homes but hundreds of employees of shuttered factories say they don’t know where their next jobs will be. “You … Continue reading
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Choking smog returned to the skies of Mexico City this week at levels not seen in more than a decade, prompting fears of more eye-watering days to come as efforts to curb pollution run afoul of the courts and the realities of life. The haze that shrouded the second-largest city in … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Potomac Riverkeeper Network filed a legal challenge Friday to reverse state environmental officials’ approval of a permit allowing the discharge of millions of gallons of treated coal ash wastewater into Quantico Creek and the Potomac River. The lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center names the Virginia Department of … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite White House objections, the Senate voted for a resolution Wednesday to scrap new federal rules to protect smaller streams, tributaries and wetlands from development and pollution. Senators voted 53-44 in favor of a “resolution of disapproval,” a measure that would void the regulations if also passed by the House and signed … Continue reading
SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore shut schools Friday and began distributing free anti-pollution masks to the elderly and other vulnerable people as a thick smoky haze cast covered the island-nation with pollution reaching its worst level this year. The haze — a pall of grayness that resembles wintry fog and virtually obliterates the skyline while even … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 