School Notes: School of the Environment
July/August 2007

Air pollution leads to low birth weight in infants

The exposure of pregnant women to air pollution can increase their risk of having low-birth-weight babies, according to a Yale study. Researchers at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the School of Medicine found that the higher the level of exposure to nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, the greater the risk of having lower-weight infants. The study's results imply that even low levels of air pollution can have harmful effects: average concentrations for all pollutants in the study were in compliance with federal air quality standards. Further, exposure to a fine particulate matter from vehicle exhaust had a greater negative effect on infants of black mothers than those of white mothers. "This study indicates that some populations may face disproportionate health burdens of air pollution," said Michelle Bell, assistant professor of environmental health and co-author of the study with Keita Ebisu ’04MS and Kathleen Belanger ’85PhD, both of the Yale School of Medicine. For more, see the Yale Alumni Magazine report, "Breath and Birth."

Graduates offset travel emissions

The 117 members of the F&ES Class of 2007 will invest in projects that sequester carbon dioxide or develop renewable energy, in an effort to offset the pollution that their families' vehicles emitted as they traveled to commencement on Memorial Day. The class will spend $2,340, or $20 per graduate, to offset 330 tons of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas linked to global warming. Offsets have been arranged through three organizations -- the Conservation Fund, Native Energy, and CarbonFund.org -- which are involved in reforestation, renewable energy, and energy-efficiency projects throughout the United States. The students used a travel calculator on the Native Energy website to determine the carbon emissions from their families' travel. Some of the families came from as far away as China, India, and Nepal.

FES journal explores environmental impact of cities

A special issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE) examines the global environmental impact of cities in Singapore, Barcelona, Toronto, China, and Southeast Asia, and discusses such topics as the prospects for addressing global warming in urban policy and resource flows in cities. Gus Speth ’64, ’69LLB, dean of the environment school, says, "We have always known that cities are a fundamental piece of the environmental equation, as a source of both challenges and opportunities. What is new here is recognition, front and center, that they have a global role to play." JIE is a peer-reviewed international quarterly owned by Yale University, published by MIT Press, and headquartered at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.