Pollution Found to Inhibit Rainfall in China
Pollution in central China has caused a steady decrease of rain in the mountains, according to new research. As an example, scientists say small particles from air pollution in the city of Xi'an are causing clouds to hold on to their moisture rather than dropping it on nearby Mt. Hua. On the haziest days, rainfall can be reduced by half.
- NPR's Richard Harris reports on a study that attempts to explain elevated rate of breast cancer in the San Francisco Bay area. When researchers factored in known risk factors, the increase in breast cancer incidence was entirely explained...women in the Bay area start out with a greater risk of cancer because of later childbirth and other factors. Some activists are not convinced and believe there is an unknown environmental factor at work.