air pollution
Newsletter
New Mexico’s natural gas boom fuels schools while threatening student health
Hundreds of New Mexico students living near oil and gas fields are missing school and struggling academically due to chronic exposure to fossil fuel emissions, even as the industry funds much of the state’s education system.
In short:
- Around 29,500 students in 74 New Mexico schools are exposed to air pollution from oil and gas wells operating within a mile of their campuses, with documented health issues including headaches, nausea, and respiratory symptoms.
- Independent studies found that students at Lybrook Elementary School, located near 17 gas wells, are exposed to benzene and hydrogen sulfide levels high enough to cause chronic health effects, contributing to extremely low academic performance.
- While the oil and gas industry provides $1.7 billion to New Mexico’s K-12 education, local officials and researchers remain divided over whether the associated air pollution should prompt drilling limits near schools.
Key quote:
“This kind of air pollution has a real, measurable effect on students.”
— Mike Gilraine, professor of economics at Simon Fraser University who studies links between air quality and student performance.
Why this matters:
Air pollution from oil and gas operations poses a growing, under-acknowledged risk to schoolchildren across the United States, especially in energy-rich states like New Mexico. Kids are more vulnerable to toxins like benzene and fine particulate matter, which can damage developing brains and lungs. Chronic exposure can cause or exacerbate respiratory illnesses, disrupt sleep and focus, and lead to missed school days — all of which affect educational outcomes. While fossil fuel revenues prop up public education budgets, the same industry may be undermining student performance, particularly in rural, low-income, and Indigenous communities. With minimal air monitoring in drilling zones and limited regulatory protections, families are left to navigate an impossible tradeoff between economic survival and their children’s health.
Related: New Mexico lawmakers struggle to regulate oil and gas amid federal rollbacks
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Credit: State Farm/Flickr
How a firestorm in LA sparked a coast-to-coast science mission to track toxic exposure
In the wake of LA’s devastating wildfires, scientists from across the country launched a sweeping real-time health study to track lingering toxic pollutants in homes that never burned.
In short:
- A cross-university team formed the LA Fire Health Study Consortium to study long-term toxic exposure — like PFAS, microplastics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals — in areas downwind of the January wildfires.
- While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declined to test soil, researchers filled the gap by collecting air, water, and soil samples from 50 unburned homes, some of which still showed dangerous levels of contaminants.
- Preliminary data revealed indoor air pollution and VOCs remained elevated weeks after fires, prompting public health recommendations for filtration and long-term monitoring.
Key quote:
“People deserve to know what they are being exposed to, and I have the tools to help them find out.”
— Emma Landskroner, Ph.D. candidate at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Why this matters:
Toxic exposure doesn’t end when the flames go out; families returning to seemingly undamaged homes may still face serious health risks. Wildfire smoke creeps into bedrooms, clings to toys and personal effects, and enters our lungs. With the Army Corps of Engineers stepping back from soil testing, it’s scientists, not officials, doing the work to understand what people are breathing in and what long-term exposure could mean for our health.
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Volkswagen executives convicted in emissions fraud as fallout from diesel scandal continues
A German court convicted four former Volkswagen executives for their roles in a years-long scheme to cheat diesel emissions tests, marking a key moment in the carmaker’s reckoning with its $30 billion pollution scandal.
Jack Ewing and Tatiana Firsova report for The New York Times.
In short:
- A Braunschweig court found the former VW managers guilty of "particularly serious" fraud for concealing software that manipulated emissions during testing. Two received prison sentences, two others received suspended terms.
- The manipulated software helped vehicles meet regulatory standards only during testing, while emitting significantly higher pollution under normal driving conditions.
- The scandal undermined public trust in diesel vehicles, collapsing their market share in Europe and accelerating the shift to electric vehicles.
Key quote:
The scandal was the product of “a system based on fear and obedience created by authoritarian leaders.”
— Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the Center Automotive Research in Bochum, Germany
Why this matters:
The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is more than a story about corporate deception. It exposed deep flaws in how environmental regulations are enforced and how easily they can be evaded. The vehicles in question emitted nitrogen oxides at levels many times higher than legal limits, contributing to air pollution that has been linked to respiratory problems, heart disease, and premature death. Millions of people, particularly in urban areas, breathed dirtier air because of decisions made in VW’s engineering departments. The fallout prompted tighter testing standards globally and helped spur a shift away from diesel engines, once promoted as a cleaner alternative to gasoline. In their place, electric vehicles are gaining ground. But the case also raises questions about accountability, as many higher-ranking executives have avoided trial.
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Credit: Photo by konrad dobosz on Unsplash
EPA moves to erase power plant emissions rules, claiming climate impact is too small
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to strike down greenhouse gas limits for fossil-fueled power plants, arguing their emissions aren’t a significant threat despite overwhelming scientific consensus to the contrary.
In short:
- Internal EPA documents reveal a plan to repeal all federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas plants, reversing Biden-era rules that required carbon capture and cleaner technologies.
- The agency claims U.S. power plant emissions — though making up about 25% of domestic greenhouse gases — are too minor globally to justify regulation, despite emitting more than most countries.
- Critics warn the move could gut the legal foundation for federal climate rules, entrench deregulation, and block future efforts to reduce emissions.
Key quote:
“It flies in the face of common sense and puts millions of people in harm’s way to say the single largest industrial source of carbon dioxide in the United States is not significant.”
— Vickie Patton, general counsel, Environmental Defense Fund
Why this matters:
The idea that coal and gas plants don’t “significantly” affect climate change is not just scientifically unfounded — it’s a political fantasy. The Trump administration has been relentlessly eliminating policies aimed at slowing climate change. If finalized, this move won’t just weaken climate action; it’ll be a crucial part of the administration's plan to redefine what the EPA is even for.
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Credit: Getty Images/Unsplash+
New AI model aims to forecast weather and beyond in seconds
Aurora, Microsoft’s new AI model, is speeding up 10-day weather forecasts — and it might soon predict everything from pollution to energy demand.
In short:
- Aurora is a lightning-fast AI model trained on traditional physics-based forecasting data, capable of producing accurate 10-day forecasts faster and at finer resolutions than existing systems.
- Unlike typical weather models, Aurora is designed to be multi-purpose, able to forecast other environmental factors like air quality or ocean wave height with minimal reprogramming.
- Despite the speed and potential, experts stress that human oversight and physics-based models are still essential to ensure reliability and prevent AI from generating flawed predictions.
Key quote:
“I’m most excited to see the adoption of this model as a blueprint that can add more Earth systems to the prediction pipeline.”
— Paris Perdikaris, University of Pennsylvania professor and former Microsoft researcher who led development of Aurora
Why this matters:
Imagine a model that can anticipate a smog surge days in advance or tell utilities when and where a heat wave might trigger blackouts. Better, faster forecasts mean more lives saved in extreme weather and smarter planning around health-affecting factors like air pollution. Forecasting however, isn’t just about feeding data into a black box and waiting for answers. Scientists are clear: Physics still matters, and human oversight is non-negotiable. And with cuts to federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the National Weather Service, the very data sets AI forecasting depends on could be in jeopardy.
Read more: Ripe for disaster declarations — heat, wildfire smoke and death data
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Credit: Matthew Bornhorst/Unsplash
EPA chief clashes with Senate Democrats over Trump-era cuts to pollution and health programs
A bitter Senate hearing erupted into shouting as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin defended sweeping grant cuts and environmental rollbacks under President Trump, sparring with Democrats over transparency and health impacts.
In short:
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) challenged Zeldin’s claims that the EPA conducted individual reviews before canceling grants, citing contradictory statements from agency officials and U.S. Department of Justice court filings.
- Zeldin accused Democrats of wasting taxpayer money and defended the agency's process, stating that multiple staffers had reviewed grants even if he had not personally done so.
- In another heated exchange, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) warned Zeldin that environmental rollbacks could lead to increased cancer rates and criticized cuts to lead poisoning prevention in Santa Ana, prompting Zeldin to mock Schiff’s concerns.
Key quote:
“You could give a rat’s ass about how much cancer your agency causes.”
— Adam Schiff, U.S. Representative from California
Why this matters:
The EPA has historically played a central role in safeguarding clean air and water, but recent moves to scale back oversight and funding for pollution prevention have triggered alarm among public health advocates. Grants targeting lead contamination, for example, help prevent irreversible brain damage in children. Similarly, cuts to air quality monitoring or enforcement can lead to higher exposure to known carcinogens, increasing cancer rates, especially in urban and industrial areas. When elected officials downplay these risks or suggest that budget cuts won’t affect health, they ignore decades of scientific evidence linking environmental toxins to serious illnesses.
Read more: EPA freezes environmental justice grants as Zeldin defends budget cuts before Congress
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Drought and heat drive a surge in dangerous dust storms across the Southwest
El Paso is experiencing its dustiest year in decades, as drought, vanishing vegetation, and rising temperatures send choking clouds of dirt across the Texas border region.
In short:
- El Paso has seen 10 dust storms and 34 dusty days this year — levels not recorded since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s — due to a prolonged drought and stronger-than-average winds across West Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico.
- Air quality has plummeted, with particulate matter reaching hazardous levels; one storm in March saw PM2.5 levels 28 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's daily limit, raising serious concerns for respiratory health.
- Restoration efforts at hotspots like the Lordsburg Playa aim to stabilize soils and reduce dust, but scientists warn that with continued warming and aridification, storms will likely grow more frequent and intense.
Key quote:
“We still don’t have models developed as a society to address this. Maybe we should add this to the list of extreme meteorological events.”
— Felipe Adrian Vázquez-Gálvez, Center for Atmospheric Sciences at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez
Why this matters:
Dust storms are a growing public health crisis and a visible consequence of climate instability. When dry soil gets kicked up into the air, it carries fine particulate matter deep into human lungs, aggravating asthma, heart disease, and in some cases triggering Valley fever, a fungal infection that thrives in dust-prone regions. What’s unfolding in El Paso mirrors conditions that once led to the Dust Bowl, but now with a new twist: Higher temperatures caused by climate change dry out soils faster and reduce the resilience of native vegetation. Add chronic overgrazing, poor land management, and urban sprawl, and the result is a cycle that threatens both human health and the stability of arid ecosystems. These storms also disproportionately affect low-income communities where residents may lack access to air conditioning, sealed housing, or health care.Related:
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