Center for Clean Air

“Los Angeles used to be nearly as polluted as Beijing is today,” said Yifang Zhu, co-lead author of the study and professor of environmental health sciences at the Fielding School. “A city’s air quality can improve markedly when effective environmental policies are put into place,” Zhu said

As a technology, air purifiers land somewhere between legitimate health device and dubious wellness product. Many health researchers suggest that certain purifiers can reduce harmful airborne pollutants. “I recommend that people buy HEPA-based filters,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies the effects of air quality on...

“We’re expecting to see more and bigger wildfires if the climate continues in its current path,” said Yifang Zhu, environmental health sciences professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. The climate crisis has created conditions across the American west more favorable for wildfires, including drier and warmer forests.

Experts say there are simpler ways to help fix climate change, particularly using less energy from fossil fuels. Suzanne Paulson, director at UCLA’s Center for Clean Air, said although much has been done, the waiver was a safety net for California skies. “There are always further steps that can be taken to clean up the...

“Our geography is perfect for forming ozone, and that’s what makes it such an intractable problem,” said Suzanne Paulson, a professor of atmospheric chemistry who directs the Center for Clean Air at UCLA.

Cars clog the freeways day and night, causing a grayish-brown haze that can be seen for miles. But the dirty air doesn’t stop there. According to Yifang Zhu, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, when outdoor air quality is bad, chances are, the air quality...

Yifang Zhu is the Center for Clean Air Associate Director and a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. In this Washington Post article, Zhu talks about the environmental impact of ride-hailing services on UCLA’s campus.  UCLA students use ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft for about 11,000 trips a week to get from one...

On the popularity of brief Uber and Lyft rides around campus Yifang Zhu, associate director of the Center for Clean Air and an environmental health sciences professor said, “Even though these are short trips, they still produce a large amount of carbon emissions.”

89.3 KPCC discussed a  UCLA study authored by IoES faculty member Suzanne Paulson and affiliated faculty J.R. DeShazo that found moving bus stops further from vehicle stops and accelerations at intersections can help decrease the amount of inhaled pollution (unregulated by the EPA) almost by half. 

Los Angeles is the poster child for a city that has worked hard to dramatically reduce its air pollution levels. Over the past 50 years, most pollution levels are down more than 75 percent compared to their highs, and that’s despite massive population and economic growth, according to Paulson. 'No other city comes close,' she said. Los Angeles saw tremendous economic development over the past century. But as more people moved in, the city’s blanket of smog grew thicker and thicker. The main culprits were, and still are, vehicle emissions, fumes from industrial plants and the city’s proximity to two of the country’s largest ports.

Suzanne Paulson, Santa Monica Airport Commissioner and UCLA professor, is asking for permission from the City of Santa Monica to conduct a study on the change in pollution levels before and after the Santa Monica Airport closes temporarily. Read more about why how this study could benefit the residents in this Santa Monica Lookout article.

Yifang Zhu, professor of environmental health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, says there are steps we can take to protect ourselves and our families from air pollution, which has well-documented negative consequences for childhood asthma, birth outcomes, pregnancy risks, cardiovascular health, and other diseases.