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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Michigan Hit Hard by Ozone, Ragweed Pollen Combo

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Wednesday, July 19, 2017   

LANSING, Mich. - If you're sneezing and coughing your way through summer, you're not alone. New research finds close to 70 percent of Michiganders live in counties plagued by a double whammy of high ragweed pollen count and excessive ozone days - and that's eighth-worst in the nation.

Researchers from the Natural Resources Defense Council say it's a big problem for the nearly 1 million adults and children with asthma across the state. Study author Kim Knowlton, a senior scientist with the NRDC and a professor in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, called on lawmakers to create an effective climate action plan to combat the problem at its source.

"Supporting state and national initiatives to reduce carbon pollution is going to pull us back from the brink of more of these effects in the future, and more and more air-pollution challenges," she said.

The research showed that the combination of high ozone and ragweed is a significant problem in the metro Detroit area, on the west side of the state and in portions of the Upper Peninsula. It said rising temperatures fueled by climate change speed up ozone production. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, helps ragweed flourish, while additional hot days mean more pollen over a longer time period.

Knowlton said there are steps people can take to reduce their exposure to these allergens.

"If it's a really high-pollen day, save your outdoor activity for a day later in the week when conditions are better," she said. "When you come indoors, you can take a damp washcloth and towel off your hair, launder your clothes, so that you're not breathing the pollen indoors as well."

Nationwide, the report found that 127 million Americans, or 40 percent of the population, live in counties plagued by ozone and ragweed. The NRDC website has a searchable map to help people learn more about their local conditions.


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