Ecology

EcoWatch - Swiss air quality monitoring company IQAir has released its sixth World Air Quality Report, detailing 2023’s most polluted countries and territories in the world. In compiling the report, more than 30,000 monitoring stations in 134 nations, territories and regions were examined by IQAir scientists, a press release from IQAir said. Of these, 124 — 92.5 percent — exceeded the annual guideline set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for fine particulate matter.

Smithsonian Magazine -  Plastics contain thousands of chemicals that are potentially hazardous to human health and may leach into the environment or food—but the vast majority of them are not currently regulated, according to a new report and database funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The report, released last week, expands the number of known chemicals in plastics from 13,000 to 16,000. Despite about 6 percent of these being subject to global regulations, more than a quarter are thought to be toxic, the researchers found.

NPR -  The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized strict new rules to limit car tailpipe emissions, which will push the auto industry to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles. The rule sets emissions standards across an entire fleet, meaning manufacturers can make gas vehicles if they make enough low or zero-emission cars to average out emissions. The regulations are crucial to President Biden's fight against climate change. The EPA had to dial down the timeline for its new rule after automakers and auto worker unions lobbied for more time to grow supply chains and change infrastructure. Still, NPR's Camila Domonoske says these are still "historic standards." She reports that the Biden administration "bent over backwards" for the car industry's support, making the new rule more durable and harder to overturn by future administrations.