Quality

A Pennsylvania landowners 7-foot stone dam was built as a swimming hole; removal aimed to improve Smithtown Creeks water quality and fish habitat

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Pennsylvania removed the 7-foot Lochner Dam in 2006, but a downstream barrier continued to block migratory fish. The project was part of a broader national trend: 2,119 dams were removed from 1912 to 2023, including 390 in Pennsylvania. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

Lochner Dam, built to create a swimming hole, is not what most people picture when they think of river restoration. However, that is precisely what happened with the Lochner Dam, which used to exist on Smithtown Creek, a Delaware River tributary in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. According to the Dam Removal Summary 2023 by American Rivers, … Read more

Angel Island controlled burns: Smoke affects Oakland, Alameda, Berkely and Richmond; poor air quality reported

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Representational image. (Unsplash)

As the controlled burns at the Angel Island State Park in California started again on Wednesday afternoon, residents in areas east of Angel Island complained that the smoke was affecting air quality. Representational image. (Unsplash) Oakland, which lies just east of Angel Island, was most affected by the smoke. The nearby areas of Alameda, Berkeley … Read more

West Dallas had too few air-quality monitors to track pollution across large areas; a Plano teen built an AI model to estimate neighborhood air quality, later reaching 60 schools and training 300 youth ambassadors

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West Dallas had too few air-quality monitors to track pollution across large areas; a Plano teen built an AI model to estimate neighborhood air quality, later reaching 60 schools and training 300 youth ambassadors

Technology is only one part of Tan’s approach. Shared Skies created a 50-page environmental justice guide in English and Spanish and distributed it to more than 60 low-income schools, reaching approximately 30,000 students. At 17, Nathan Tan has already taken on a problem that can be difficult even for adults to see, let alone solve: … Read more

Indian man in US says ‘little things’ make it hard to move back: ‘Quality of life is worth more than anything else’

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An Indian man in the US showed parks and sports facilities that had made life abroad difficult to leave behind. (Instagram/ruu_pesh )

For many Indians living abroad, the decision to stay overseas may not always come down to higher salaries or better career opportunities. An Indian man living in the US has shared how seemingly ordinary aspects of everyday life, from neighbourhood parks to recreational facilities, can make it difficult for people to consider moving back after … Read more