‘DIM’ (do-it-myself) approach to summer air and lawn care may not be so dim

On June 4, 2013 in Fresno, California there was a referendum to determine whether the city’s residential trash pickup would stay a city-provided service or become privatized. Privatization was voted down. Affected, apparently, are 105,000 residents in all. What this tells me is that at least that many residents and possibly more have lawns. Now bear … Read more

Summer in the Valley: ‘Heat’ and ‘smog’ familiar (if not infamous) four-letter words

Heat and smog are no strangers to the San Joaquin Valley of California and its denizens this time of the year. As a matter of fact, in the Valley the heat is on and for that matter so too is smog. Reasons for the heat and smog are pretty straightforward. “Valley geography as it were … Read more

Naturalist’s view of San Joaquin Valley, California air pollution from high, high up

A “naturalist” would, by definition, be into, well, “nature.” John Muir was a naturalist. But he was also big on protecting nature. Meanwhile, an “environmentalist” would, by definition, be into the “environment” and one would think environmentalists would “naturally” be big on protecting the environment. Where a naturalist might be an observer or documenter of the goings on … Read more

Uptick in road congestion in 2013 means worsening air quality?

The focus of “Fifty years of American commuting – 1960-2009: What the numbers say,” is, as the title suggests, about commuting and associated patterns and changes. The primary difference between that report and today’s is today’s looks at year-over-year traffic congestion comparison data for two years – 2012 and 2013 – but only for April. Information … Read more

Dimethyl ether as diesel fuel alternative could be going places

There are things I get excited about and dimethyl ether (DME) is one of them. I’ll explain. On June 19th I wrote about the fuel in “CATS: Biogas producer may be onto something with DME.” I asked: “But what if DME production were upped significantly? Doing just that would be far-reaching in terms of its … Read more

Diesel: It isn’t just for trucks, buses and locomotives anymore

There are heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses and there are even heavier-duty diesel railway locomotives. So, why not diesel for automobiles? This is not some newfangled idea. It was at one time, but not anymore. The difference today is that diesel cars are cleaner – much cleaner – than their forerunners. How much more? Diesel Technology … Read more

CATS: Biogas producer may be onto something with DME

Number 20 in the Clean Air Technologies Series. Reducing (if not completely eliminating) particulates from the atmosphere – typically introduced via the burning of fossil fuels – and therefore lowering exposure to such pollutants, would go a long way in not only helping improve the quality of the air we breathe but that of life … Read more

‘Dump the Pump Day’: What I see

National Dump the Pump Day is just two days away but today’s story begins in Maryland in the mid-Atlantic port city of Baltimore, only in 1828, for it was right about then that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad came to be. Just for your information, at about the time I arrived on scene in 1953, railroad mainline steam … Read more