Pollution reaches alarming level in Pakistan: ADB (Khaleej Times) ISLAMABAD —About 22,000 people are losing their lives to air pollution every year in Pakistan, the Asian Development Bank has said in its report on 'Urban air quality management in Pakistan'. [News Source]

Trees Abloom Amid Winter Warm Spell (Washington Post)

When the cherry trees in front of her Northwest Washington apartment building began to turn pink with blossoms several days ago, delighting her and her children, Nina Chkhenkeli took pictures and sent them to family members in Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia.

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Diesel cleans up. Diesel pumps across the nation recently started dispensing a dramatically cleaner fuel, with most of the pollution-producing sulfur removed and new and cleaner diesel engines--which can only use the new fuel--are now standard. [News Source]

Deadline over, 1500 autos yet to convert (Indian Express via Yahoo! India News) PUNE'S battle with air pollution is nowhere near the end with over 1,500 autorickshaws yet to convert to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) even though the deadline issued by the Environment Protection (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) ended on Sunday. Maharashtra Pollution Control Board member secretary Dilip Boralkar, in a press note, said the issue is slated to come up when EPCA chairman ... [News Source]

Greener pastures.

In the U. S., the residential sector footprint is made with a very heavy shoe. The Department of Energy reports that homes account for 21.5 percent of all energy consumption, 34.8 percent of all electricity consumption and 20.6 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions in the country.

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New year ushers in 910 new state laws. California's government has made about 900 New Year's resolutions for you. [News Source]

Agency studies soot issue. Finding answers to Northeast Ohio's soot problems might be more difficult than dealing with ozone, the pollutant that resulted in auto emissions testing in several urban counties. [News Source]

Valley faces deadline to clean bad air. When the clock hit midnight last night, Maricopa County missed its deadline to reduce the unhealthful amount of dust in its air. Only one other region in the US is in a similar EPA status. [News Source]

EPA may shift pollution policy (The Columbus Dispatch) It isn’t pollution just because it stinks. That’s the gist of a new rule proposed by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that would let bad smells slide if they aren’t covered by a business’ air pollution permits and they don’t harm people’s health or property. [News Source]

Climate change mitigation requires policy compliance. As with previous human-caused environmental problems, the solution to the growing global warming crisis is strict compliance with laws and policies. [News Source]

Power companies can trade mercury pollution credit. South Carolina is preparing for a federal program that will let utilities trade pollution credits like stocks. [News Source]