The Return of the Smaze: Canada's Wildfires Bring a Familiar Toxicity Back to the US The acrid air enveloping Buffalo this week is a stark reminder of the challenges still facing the US in cleaning up its skies.
Canadian wildfires, combined with a "heat dome" trapping hot, smoky air close to the earth, have brought fine particulate matter to much of the Northeast and Upper Midwest.
In 1957, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, landmark legislation that spurred research into monitoring and control, laying the groundwork for a federal regulatory system to limit polluters.