Air quality alerts have resurfaced in Wisconsin, with some areas experiencing the smoky air from Canadian wildfires.

Health and environmental experts say there are key things to know now, and when the patterns re-emerge in future warm seasons. The occasional smoky haze this summer has captured the spotlight as forecasters link the conditions to climate change.

Dr. William Ehlenbach, associate medical director for pulmonary and sleep medicine at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, said when the wind pushes smoky air down to Wisconsin, it brings along tiny inhalable particles, and on bad days, it can cause health issues.

"People who have chronic lung disease, particularly diseases like asthma, often have worsened respiratory symptoms when particulate matter is really high, when the air quality is poor," Ehlenbach explained.

He noted the particles can get into your bloodstream, potentially affecting cardiovascular health. The American Heart Association said smoky conditions raise the risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by up to 70%.

Limiting time outdoors and keeping an N-95 mask handy are among the precautions. Adding air quality apps to your phone and monitoring the index are also encouraged.

Tracey Holloway, professor of environmental studies and atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the group Science Moms, cited dryer and hotter conditions for what is happening in Canada. Consistent smoky air might not come around every summer, but she added the direct effects of climate change are here, and people should be ready to adapt.

"Just like some years we'll have more snow, moving into the future there'll be some years that have more smoke, and some years that have less smoke," Holloway pointed out. "People's perception of what regular summer looks like may change, and may affect how people want to prepare."

Beyond other precautions, she emphasized enhancing the air filtration in your home is a good defense.

Holloway added even healthy populations can experience symptoms like itchy eyes. Meanwhile, she argued people can try to help reverse future weather patterns through the decisions they make today.

"Electric vehicles or cleaner electricity sources, and you know, moving away from fossil fuels; this is a win-win," Holloway contended. "Because it makes our air cleaner today, and it is combating climate change over the next few decades."

The Colorado Department of Transportation is investing nearly $32 million to help local governments and other stakeholders transition to electric vehicles, including adding new electric buses to transit fleets.

Matthew Inzeo, communications director with the Colorado Department of Transportation, believes this initial investment will help set the stage for towns and cities to continue to add more electric vehicles in future years.

"Even though we're talking about vehicles by the dozens, it also indicates that our local transit systems are now in a position where they're ready to take these cleaner vehicles into their fleets," he said.

The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority will replace ten diesel-fueled buses with battery-powered vehicles. Breckenridge will add seven, Winter Park and Avon will each add two, and Boulder, Fort Collins and Telluride will each add one new electric bus to their fleets. Nonprofits serving children and people with disabilities are also getting money to purchase electric vans.

Investments are also being made in the infrastructure required to power and maintain electric vehicles, including connecting new solar canopies to the electric grid, and adding more charging stations. Inzeo says these investments can help reduce dozens of trips currently made by car, and get polluting diesel buses off the roads.

"The technology has actually gotten to a place where they can be rolling around your city without polluting at all. That's an incredible win. And really just easy low-hanging fruit that we can finally go pick to make local streets and local communities have cleaner air," Inzeo continued.

Money for electric buses, new facilities and infrastructure comes from Colorado's Clean Transit Enterprise created in 2021, and settlement funds the state received from Volkswagen designed to offset the impacts of the company's diesel-emissions cheating scandal.


get more stories like this via email

New research suggests humans aren't the only ones experiencing negative effects from wildfire smoke.

Researchers are studying Ponderosa pines, which inhabit much of the western United States, and they're finding that smoke may be affecting trees and many more kinds of plants - including food crops.

Research co-author Delphine Farmer, a chemistry professor at Colorado State University, said they don't yet know the full extent of the effects of wildfire smoke on plant life, but they do know it can impact the economy in some surprising ways.

"Oregon has some amazing wine, and in the wine that's grown there, there are a lot of concerns about smoke taint," she said. "And that's when the gases and particles of smoke actually get into the grapes and impact the taste and flavor of the wine."

She said they've found that smoke can cause plants to close their pores and even pause photosynthesis. This may mean shorter and slower growing periods, with unpredictable consequences for crop growth and output. Farmer added that the best solution is to work to manage the effects of climate change.

While forest fires have been part of a healthy forest's life cycle for centuries, the rate and intensity of recent fires has ramped up. As Oregon faces yearly major wildfire seasons, Farmer said it's important to find ways to mitigate the smoke exposure.

"As we move to stronger effects of climate change, and global change induced by human activity, we know we are going to be seeing more of these wildfire events," she said. "And so, the best way to reduce smoke exposure - whether it's to humans or to plants - is really to reduce the number of wildfire events."

She added that human behavior led to this increase in wildfire smoke - and emphasized the smoke will, in turn, affect human behavior. She recommended that people advocate for better firefighting techniques for at-risk areas and promote better climate policies.


get more stories like this via email

Under the federal Clean Air Act, Kentucky is required to keep haze air pollution under control in Mammoth Cave National Park.

Critics said the state's current plan falls short. Coal-fired power plants are the driving cause of air pollution impairing visibility in the Commonwealth, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

Ashley Wilmes, executive director of the Kentucky Resources Council, said the state's current Draft Regional Haze State Implementation Plan only considers two facilities as significant pollution emitters, despite evidence there are more.

"There has to be a detailed analysis of additional major polluters in Kentucky that are contributing to this haze," Wilmes asserted. "They did not do this analysis for other major coal plants, including Ghent and Mill Creek, Trimble Station and others."

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet hears virtual public comments on the plan tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET.

Ulla Reeves, clean air program director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said several major polluters in the region are contributing to poor air quality.

"We see in Kentucky that Mammoth Cave is actually one of the most polluted national parks in the entire country," Reeves pointed out. "It is surrounded by polluting facilities."

Bryon Gary, program attorney for the council, said advocates are asking the state to include additional pollutants and facilities, and address environmental justice impacts to surrounding communities. He added residents' input will be considered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

"The public will have the opportunity to give those comments," Gary noted. "Then at some later point, the Energy Environment Cabinet will develop a written response to comments that will be submitted to EPA, along with their final state implementation plan."

Exposure to the air pollution particles triggering haze can cause breathing problems, lung cancer, heart attacks and low birth weight in newborn babies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.