vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Acid Rain - NYSDEC
In addition to sensitive lakes, the Adirondack region includes thousands of miles of streams and rivers that are also sensitive to acidic deposition.Wildlife - Acid rain lowers the biological productivity of lakes and reduces the amount of forage fish available to loons. Toxicity from mercury pollution of water bodies can lead to decreased reproductive success of loons as well.Forests - Sulfur and nitrogen deposition have caused adverse impacts on highly-sensitive forest ecosystems, especially the high-elevation, spruce-fir forests in the eastern United States. Forests are damaged because acid precipitation drains nutrients from the soil. Excess nitrogen in the air also may adversely affect tree growth. Evidence of decreased growth and dieback has been found in the Adirondacks.Visibility - The same pollutants that cause acid rain can degrade air quality and significantly reduce visibility, even in remote areas like the Adirondack Mountains.Architecture - For buildings, bridges and cultural resources, acid deposition can cause damage. The sulfuric acid can have a corrosive effect on limestone and marble buildings and sculptures. Dry deposition can even be more damaging to stone than wet deposition for these structures.Human Health - Walking in acid rain is no more dangerous to people than walking in non-acid rain. However, the pollutants that cause acid rain can be harmful to people. SO2 and NO2 can react in the atmosphere to form fine sulfate and nitrate particles. These particles can enter the lungs and cause lung disease, heart attacks, and difficulties for people with asthma. Acidified water can also cause metals to be leached from the soil into streams, lakes and reservoirs or old lead and copper pipes into home water supplies, causing serious illness.

Things You Can Do to Help

Conserve energy in your home and office.

Utilize public transportation, carpool, or walk.

Buy clean electric power.

New York's Acid Deposition Monitoring NetworkNew York's first acid deposition program was established in 1985 in response to the State Acid Deposition Control Act (SADCA). This program was designed to measure acid deposition to assess the effectiveness of sulfur control policies and other strategies aimed at reducing the effects of acid rain. The program has documented environmental improvements resulting from NOx and SOx control strategies.
No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates
(2022) Long-term trends in urban NO2 concentrations and associated paediatric asthma incidence: estimates from global datasets The Lancet Planetary Health, 6: e49–e58.
Hammer, M.S. et al. (2020) Global Estimates and Long-Term Trends of Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations (1998â2018) Environmental Science and Technology 54, 13, 7879–7890.
NASA Applied Sciences (2022, January 5) Child Asthma and Other Health Effects of Long-Term Urban Air Pollution. 
NASA Earth Observatory (2021, November 8) An Extra Air Pollution Burden. 
NASA Earth Observatory (2017, May 26) Diesel Fumes Take a Toll on Health. 
NASA Earth Observatory (2013, September 19) The Global Toll of Fine Particulate Matter.
Southerland, V.A. et al. (2022) Global urban temporal trends in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and attributable health burdens: estimates from global datasets. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6: e139–146.

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Smog Shuts Down Harbin
In October 2013, severe smog and haze-filled fog blanketed northeastern China.

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The Global Toll of Fine Particulate Matter
Fine particles of pollution lodge deep in the lungs, where they cause serious health problems. Scientists are working to tally the global consequences. 

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Air Pollution Shrouds the Pearl River Delta
Air pollution is less common in southern China, but Guangdong province can still get pretty hazy.

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Hell with the Lid Taken Off
Air pollution far more severe than what’s common today used to plague many American towns and cities. 

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Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact
Meanwhile, the eastern portion of the United States and urban areas in Europe are hotspots for the production of human-made aerosols. Plumes of industrial aerosols — typically sulfates from coal power plants and black and organic carbon from vehicle traffic — rise from cities such as New York, Pittsburgh, London, and Berlin.
The western portion of the United States is comparatively clear, though some areas experience aerosol loads that rival the worst conditions in the East. Industrial aerosols, dust, and wildfire smoke frequently pollute the air in the Los Angeles Basin. Agriculture can produce heavy loads of soil dust, especially in California’s San Joaquin and Imperial valleys, and the largest localized source of dust in the western U.S. is Owens Dry Lake, a river bed that was drained to provide water for LA. Likewise, the port of Houston has some of the most aerosol-laden air in the world.

Beijing was completely obscured by air pollution on October 9, 2010. This natural-color image was acquired by MODIS aboard the Aqua satellite. (NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response.)

However, the most aerosol-laden air in the United States today pales in comparison to Asia. Satellites can detect a visible pall of aerosol clouds over Bangladesh, northern India, and northern Pakistan—an area called the Indo-Gangetic plain, especially during the pre-Monsoon season. The aerosol layer is comprised of complex mixtures of dust blowing from the Thar Desert and pollution from the densely populated plain. In eastern China, fast-growing cities such as Beijing also produce heavy blankets of aerosol.
Depending on the season and weather conditions, surges of aerosols can make their way into the atmosphere almost anywhere on Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, plumes of mineral dust swirl over deserts and arid regions. In the Southern Hemisphere, slash-and-burn agriculture in the Amazon and Central Africa releases large amounts of smoke and soot. Fires, some sparked by lightning and some by human activity, leave large patches of forest ablaze during summers in Canada, Russia, and the United States.

Dust storms (top) and wildfires (bottom) are significant, if transient, sources of aerosols.
No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates
No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates

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No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates

2000 - 2019PNG

2000 - 2019PNG

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a series on how trends in air pollution affect burdens of disease in urban areas. Read part 1 at: No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Nitrogen Dioxide.

Air pollution is the fourth leading risk factor for death around the world. But one type of pollutant is particularly harmful: fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These small, inhalable particles (less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) result from direct emissions into the air, as well as interactions among other pollutants. PM2.5 is the leading cause of death among air pollutants, contributing to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and millions of premature deaths worldwide each year.
In a new study covering urban settlements worldwide, researchers found that PM2.5 concentrations and associated mortality declined in some areas due to reductions in precursor pollutants (such as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen) after the passage of clean air laws. However, the global average mortality rate attributable to PM2.5 remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2019.
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Outdoor Air
It's a great day to be outside.

Yellow: 51 to 100 
Moderate
Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Orange: 101 to 150 
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected.

Red: 151 to 200 
Unhealthy for Everyone
Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.

Purple: 201 to 300 
Very Unhealthy
Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased for everyone.

Maroon: 301-500 
Hazardous
Health warning of emergency conditions: everyone is more likely to be affected. 

Sign up for EnviroFlash to be notified of Air Quality Alerts for your area. Or visit the New York State Air Quality Index (AQI) or airnow.gov.
In New York State, the most common Air Quality Alerts are for ozone and particle pollution.

Ozone is one of the main air pollutants in "smog" that is produced when sunlight mixes with air contaminants from vehicle exhaust and other sources. Ozone levels can become unhealthy on hot, sunny days, frequently in the afternoons or evenings. Learn more about who's at risk and what to do when ozone levels are unhealthy. 
Particle pollution is fine particles in the air from outdoor sources like vehicle exhaust, burning wood, gas and other fuels, and forest and grass fires. Particulate pollution can travel long distances from its source; wildfires, for example, can raise fine particle levels hundreds of miles from the event. Learn more about who's at risk and what to do when particle pollution levels are unhealthy. 

Recommendations for Workers

Long work schedules and the physical demands of work performed outdoors can affect a worker’s health when air quality is unhealthy.
Take frequent breaks and talk to your employer about adjusting your work until air quality improves. Follow advice from NIOSH.

Recommendations for Schools and Child Care Providers

Continue to monitor air quality at airnow.gov.
Watchable Wildlife - NYSDEC
Whether it is addressing climate change effects, promoting responsible waste management, monitoring air quality, overseeing contaminated site clean-ups, or oil and gas mining monitoring, DEC is there to safeguard the environment; you can too by reporting environmental violations and problems. 

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The Environmental Notice Bulletin lets you know about projects or regulations being proposed each week. Sign up for one of DEC’s many electronic newsletter topics or subscribe to the Conservationist, New York State’s award-winning nature magazine.

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An Unequal Air Pollution Burden at School
“In some cities, like Jacksonville, San Francisco, and New York City, students of color are clustered in neighborhoods with higher levels of pollution than their white peers living within the same city.”
Though historically marginalized groups—especially communities with high rates of poverty—experienced the highest concentrations of NO2 overall, there were exceptions. Many Indigenous students attend school in rural areas with few pollution sources and low concentrations of NO2. Likewise, significant numbers of Black and African American students attend school in rural communities in the Southeast with low concentrations of air pollution.
It was in the NO2 data, rather than data on particulate matter, where researchers found the strongest relationship between race or ethnicity and measurements of air pollution, according to Cheeseman's study, one of several conducted by a group of researchers using satellite data to study environmental inequity through NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (HAQAST).

2017 - 2019

“We see a stronger relationship with NO2 because it is so short-lived and tends to be highest close to emission sources,” said Susan Anenberg, director of the George Washington University Climate and Health Institute. “Since particulate matter lasts longer in the atmosphere, has more emissions sources, sometimes forms in the atmosphere downwind of emissions sources, and gets blown around by weather systems, you end up with less spatial variation compared with NO2.”
For Cheeseman, identifying the problem in satellite data is just one part of the research. “We’re talking about thousands of schools spread across this country with this same problem,” he said. “We need solutions equal to the scale of the problem.” For example, he said, zoning rules that prevent schools from being built near major sources of air pollution like highways, airports, ports, and factories are a logical next step that could reduce disparities.
There are also ways to bolster the safety of students in schools with high exposure pollution levels. Members of the El Marino Language School community successfully advocated for the installation of a new air filtration system and other upgrades to improve indoor air quality for students, according to reporting from California State University Northridge.

June 17, 2023JPEG
No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates
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Hell with the Lid Taken Off
Air pollution far more severe than what’s common today used to plague many American towns and cities. 

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Snow and Haze in Utah
Snowy surfaces increase the chance of temperature inversions, which contribute to air quality problems in the Salt Lake City area.
Published Feb 16, 2023
 

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Sichuan’s Smoggy Basin
The waters of an ancient lake once pooled in this basin in southwestern China. Now haze and air pollution do the same.
Published Feb 2, 2023
 

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Winter Sandstorm in China
A rare December sandstorm in China darkened skies in several cities.
Published Dec 13, 2022
 

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Smoky Skies in Northern India
Seasonal fires and a mix of other pollutants darkened skies in Delhi and beyond.
Published Nov 3, 2022
 

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Fuel Regulation Reduced Air Pollution from Shipping
A global standard limiting sulfur in ship fuel reduced artificial “ship track” clouds to record-low levels in 2020. Pandemic-related disruptions played a secondary role.
Published Oct 19, 2022
 

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Clearer View of Great Lakes Air Quality
Scientists and regulators are using satellite data and custom models from NASA to help monitor ozone pollution.
Published Jul 28, 2022
 

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A Global Decline in Carbon Monoxide
The widespread adoption of cleaner-burning technologies and declines in fire activity over the past two decades has drawn down global levels of the pollutant.
Published May 26, 2022
 

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No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates
A new satellite-derived dataset links concentrations of fine particulate matter in air pollution with health outcomes in cities around the world.
Published Mar 15, 2022
 

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Report An Environmental Violation Or Problem - NYSDEC
DEC sponsors events across New York including informational webinars, public meetings, and in-person environmental education sessions. Environmental justice programs address needs in disadvantaged communities and many grants are available for community groups and municipalities.

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How the Public can Contact DEC with Environmental ConcernsIf you see something happening in the environment, whether you believe that it is a violation of environmental law or a natural occurrence, we appreciate it when you let us know. The guide below will help you locate the correct office to contact.If You Witness a Violation of Environmental Conservation LawReports from citizens are vital for effective enforcement of New York's environmental laws. There are more than 300 Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators in New York State, each patrolling an average of 400 square miles.