Teachable moments at the electric school bus stop

'Unclean' cooking - rudimentary, open-fire cooking practiced by millions of people around the world - is one of the leading causes of respiratory disease and death, especially for women, in developing countries; it is also a serious contributor to deforestation, air pollution, and continued poverty (due to the cost of fuel). But a solution has been gaining momentum in Malawi with help from the UN, in the form of clean, more efficient cookstoves that not only emit less smoke, but use less fuel and reduce the risk of burns to family members.

Respiratory diseases caused by air pollution now account for more premature deaths in people worldwide than malaria and HIV combined. To address increasing contamination levels, particularly in cities, scientists have developed a new kind of cement that absorbs pollutants like CO2. The special cement is being manufactured in Milan, and used around in the world in cities like Paris and Chicago.

The poorest are the ones living in the most unhealthy neighbourhoods where air particles are more detrimental. The Climate Action Plan is dedicated to using cleantech while also using this as an opportunity for job creation for city's poorest as a way to help them live above the poverty line.

Caltrain's $2.4 billion electrification of 51 miles of track replaced diesel trains with faster electric ones, resulting in ridership increases (it doubled on weekends) and shorter trips. This also led to an 89% reduction in riders' exposure to toxic pollution and an estimated 250,000 metric tons of annual carbon emissions reductions.

Ice rinks in Canada are swapping ice resurfacers that run on fossil fuels and propane for electric models. The electric resurfacers don’t emit pollutants like nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, so they improve air quality inside the arena and reduce environment-harming emissions.

Geoengineering, a term used to cover a broad range of large-scale, drastic measures to combat climate change, has the science and policy communities divided. These measures are currently being explored across the world, and while they could work as a response to climate change, many cite them as temporary band-aids that will only delay the effects of global warming. Many cite the need to understand the complexity of the issue and, rather than bandaging the issue, take a comprehensive, structural approach.

Kathmandu is one of the most polluted countries in the world--a title once caused by the excess smoke produced by brick creation in the city. However, after a 2015 earthquake destroyed much of the old technology used to fuel the brick industry, leaders took to leveraging updated technology with an increase in energy and production efficiency.

Solar-powered dryers are enabling women in India to produce and sell dried fish at markets in a manner that is healthier for them and the environment. It's also proving economically profitable.

In New England, government incentives and education are supporting and encouraging residents to swap their wood-burning stoves for high-efficiency models that burn less wood and emit less smoke. The aim is to reduce air pollution and its public health and climate impacts.

A professor at Keene State College, her students, and community volunteers installed affordable, commercial air monitors throughout the New Hampshire town to fill gaps in available data. The monitors help them track air quality in real time and alert the public when pollution levels rise.