Millions of children die every year as a result of environment-related diseases. Their deaths could be prevented by using low-cost and sustainable tools and strategies for improving the environment. In some countries, more than one-third of the disease burden could be prevented by environmental changes. According to a WHO study carried out in 23 countries, more than 10 percent of deaths are due to unsafe water and indoor air pollution, particularly from solid fuel used for cooking.

The Environmental Protection Agency will not take legally mandated steps to protect clean air or the climate from coal-mine pollution, according to an agency decision announced late Tuesday. In a five-page statement responding to the Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups, the EPA refused to establish any schedule or plan for using the Clean Air Act to reduce the millions of tons of air pollutants produced by coal mines because the agency has “other priorities.”