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Reports on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's disclosure on December 17, 2004, that about a third of Americans live in counties that do not meet standards for microscopic particles of pollution. Deadline set by the agency for affected states to develop plans to bring their problem counties into compliance; Provisions of the Clean Air Act; Measures proposed by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to reduce emissions of particulate matter and other regulated air pollutants.

Reports that the Connecticut government is planning to resume testing vehicles for emissions six months after the program was suspended because of technical problems with tests conducted by Agbar Technologies Inc.

Reports on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to add New York City's suburbs to the list of areas it believes are not meeting federal small-particle air pollution standards.

The article reports on a German court ruling which banned the driving of diesel automobiles in downtown areas in Stuttgart to improve air quality. Topics discussed include the ruling expected to result to bans in other cities in Germany, the bipolar quality of Germany when it comes to the environment and Chancellor Angela Merkel's lobbying for softer emissions targets and refusal to set a date for exiting coal production.

The article discusses the effects of pollution on childhood breathing problems in China as of April 22, 2013, highlighting poor air quality in Beijing, China. Topics addressed include Chinese parents' efforts to leave the country in order to live in a cleaner environment; attitudes towards the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to ensure child safety in China; and protective measures such as face masks, air filters, and domes covering buildings.

WASHINGTON -- Five health and environmental groups sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over its rejection of a proposed stricter new standard for ozone pollution, saying the decision was driven by politics and ignored public health concerns. The groups said that President Obama's refusal to adopt the new standard was illegal and left in place an inadequate air quality rule from the Bush administration. Near the end of his presidency, George W. Bush overruled the Environmental Protection Agency's scientific advisory panel and set the permissible ozone exposure at 75 parts per billion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

State officials on Monday appealed the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to overturn a state air permitting program. The E.P.A. ruled last month that the state's flexible permit program violated the Clean Air Act, which requires state permits to set limits on each of the dozens of individual production units inside a plant. The state's program set a general limit on pollutants an entire facility can release. The E.P.A. action will force 125 refineries and petrochemical plants to invest millions of dollars to get new permits. In his appeal, Attorney General Greg Abbott said the state program ''improves air quality while helping regulators and regulated entities operate more efficiently.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

AIR New Direction on Pollution [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Suppliers of home heating oil from Maine to Maryland have agreed to gradually reduce sulfur levels in their oil over the next 10 years in an effort to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, a contributor to haze. The agreement was made with the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Union, a planning organization that coordinates efforts to improve air quality to meet the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Bush administration said Wednesday that it was abandoning its pursuit of two proposed regulations relaxing air-pollution standards for power plants, surprising both industry and environmentalists by ending its pursuit of one of the last remaining goals set out by Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force in 2001. The Environmental Protection Agency's public affairs office sent out a brief statement by e-mail announcing that it would not pursue the changes in how power-plant emissions are measured, which would have allowed increases of hundreds of thousands of tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, the building blocks of smog and fine-particulate pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the allegations filed against Environmental Protection Agency official Christie Whitman for the misleading statements of safety on air quality near the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York.

Reports on the nomination of Stephen L. Johnson to head up the Environmental Protection Agency by President George W. Bush. Nomination which comes at a time when the administration faces a battle in its effort to rewrite the nation's air pollution laws; Praise from the candidate who rose from within the department by several groups; Expectation that he will be easily confirmed for the position.

Discusses the revision of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) New Source Review rule. Declaration that the revision can help power-plant operators escape from pollution liabilities; Statement of Jeffery R. Holmstead, proponent of the new rule, on the charges against the new rule; Details of the report prepared by EPA's inspector general, Nikki L. Tinsley.

Reports on the efforts of Russia to win support for membership into the World Trade Organization from the European Union. Support of the environmental treaty on emissions known as the Kyoto Protocol; Plans of Russian President Vladimir Putin to integrate Russia into the global economy; Requirement for the leading industrialized countries to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases; Consideration of the global support for the Kyoto Protocol markets; Impact of the agreement on Russia's trade talks with the U.S.

Comments that air pollution trends remained unchanged under U.S. President George W. Bush. Inability of the administration to restart the global warming debate; Success of the government in the regulation of diesel fuels.

Comments on the government proposal for regulating mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the reduction of smog at polluted urban areas; Improvement in the air quality.

Reports on the concern of the National Research Council over the inadequacy of existing air-quality laws to prevent pollution in the U.S. Increase of concern over ozone, an ingredient of smog that has proved difficult to curtail; Possibility of violating federal standards because of asdditional pollution drifting from sources outside jurisdiction; Avoidance of direct endorsements of criticisms of policies.

Reports on the plan of the Environmental Protection Agency to drop investigations into 50 power plants for past violations of the Clean Air Act, due a change in enforcement policy. Plan to judge cases under new, less stringent rules; Near impossibility of continuing the investigations under the new rules; Recommendation from Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force; Goal of President George W. Bush's administration to ensure cost-effective improvements to air quality; Place of utility industry representatives in Bush campaign donations; Differences between the old rules and the new.

Reports that the United States Supreme Court has upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to enforce air-quality rules. The case of Whitman vs. American Trucking Associations, relating to the Clean Air Act; The rulings on ground-level ozone, which causes smog, and the airborne particles known as soot; The industry group's efforts to require the EPA to use cost-benefit analysis of how environmental regulations would affect business; The opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia.

Reports on the controversy over a plan to bring Houston, Texas into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act by 2007. Companies that will be heavily affected by the proposal; Assertion of George Beatty Jr., an official with the Greater Houston Partnership, regarding the need for addressing the air quality problem; What is shaping the city's response to its air quality problems.

Focuses on the stand of Texas Governor George Bush, United States presidential candidate, on environmental issues particularly on air quality. Assessment of Bush's presidential campaign; Reasons the emissions in Texas are high; Initiatives of Bush on air quality.