cleanairingreece

EUREKA! EU reaches provisional agreement on tighter air quality limits

Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council finally reached on Feb 20th a provisional agreement on new rules to tighten air quality standards across Europe. The headline figures are the proposed new limits on PMs and NO2: For PM2.5 , the annual limit value is to be more than halved from 25 µg/m³Continue reading “EUREKA! EU reaches provisional agreement on tighter air quality limits”

Saving Lives, Breath by Breath: Learn about WHO AirQ+ (Free Software)

Very high NO2 and Ozone levels in Athens these days

Ever wonder why some days you feel a heavy, hurting head, a general low energy and quite a bad mood with no reason? Well, if you could see it with your own eyes, you would see that very likely NO2, Ozone and other nasty pollution gases are over the top all around you. Today’s picContinue reading “Very high NO2 and Ozone levels in Athens these days”

Young people to take 32 European countries to court over climate policies

“The Greek government, which has battled with the devastating impact of hundreds of deadly wildfires and floods this summer, said in its defence: “The effects of climate change as recorded so far do not seem to directly affect human life or human health.” What??? It is so sad that the 99% of our politicians stillContinue reading “Young people to take 32 European countries to court over climate policies”

‘A lifeline for dirty cars’: EU backs new air pollution limits, but not until 2035

“The EU has finally voted to clean its air by setting tough limits on pollutants in a move that experts say will save lives and money. The European parliament agreed on Wednesday 13/09/23 to limit the concentration of several dangerous substances to levels put forward by the World Health Organization (WHO). But after a fierceContinue reading “‘A lifeline for dirty cars’: EU backs new air pollution limits, but not until 2035”

Greek Government must do more (and quicker) to promote electric heating in our homes

A couple of days ago the Greek Minister of the Environment Kostas Skrekas proudly announced that Greece is 8th worldwide in terms of Renewable Energy development and raised the RES target for 2030 from 70 to 80%. This is good, but now we need to see this affecting also the energy prices for consumers byContinue reading “Greek Government must do more (and quicker) to promote electric heating in our homes”

Wood is not going to be our friend this winter, and here is why

This blog’s approach to the issue of Air Quality is basically from the bottom up, from the “on my own skin” experience of the quality of air that we all have to breathe in our cities/villages on a particular day. In practical terms, it is an ongoing enquiry that starts at the moment we wakeContinue reading “Wood is not going to be our friend this winter, and here is why”

Greece runs on 100% renewable energy for the very first time in history!

This is a very important landmark for Greece: last week it ran on 100% renewable energy for the very first time in history! This is really a great achievement, well ahead of what we were expecting, but yet, it’s not so easy to rejoice. In fact, we need to ask ourselves where is that renewableContinue reading “Greece runs on 100% renewable energy for the very first time in history!”

New evidence that air pollution contributes substantially to lung cancer – article

Data from a breakthrough study in understanding how air pollution can lead to lung cancer, presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology congress on Sept 9–13, 2022, promise to revolutionise the field of oncology and approaches to public health. See the article here. Although smoking remains the biggest risk factor for lung cancer worldwide, an estimatedContinue reading “New evidence that air pollution contributes substantially to lung cancer – article”

Climate in Greece warmer by about 5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century – article

“The climate in countries including Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia is projected to warm by about 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) by the end of the century, the study said.” That’s twice as fast as the rest of the world. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/07/middle-east-mediterranean-climate-change/ A grim future for our kids… And we are to be blamed. WeContinue reading “Climate in Greece warmer by about 5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century – article”