Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
BUSAN, Republic of Korea, December 2, 2024 — Plastics treaty negotiations have concluded in Busan after a week of largely closed-door sessions. The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to advance a plastics treaty (INC-5) was meant to deliver what would be the final text of a future plastics treaty. Instead, negotiations were deferred … Read more
Seaweed is once again showing promise for making cattle farming more sustainable. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by almost 40% without affecting their health or weight. The study was published today (Dec. 2) … Read more
So, on the Air Quality Matters blog, what do I do for my 1,500th post? That’s right: This is my 1,500th. I’ve been posting here for 12 years now. More than 12, actually. Well, I thought for a moment and all of a sudden this idea popped into my head. My mind focused on the plastics … Read more
In 2023, according to data in the latest (2024) Emissions Gap Report from the United Nations Environment Programme with the clever title “No more hot air … please!,” greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale totaled 57.1 billion (giga) tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. America’s contribution to that total weighs in at 11 percent, … Read more
UN Climate Change News, 24 November 2024 – The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) closed today with a new finance goal to help countries to protect their people and economies against climate disasters, and share in the vast benefits of the clean energy boom. With a central focus on climate finance, COP29 brought together nearly … Read more
Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles (left), and Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s interim chancellor, hold the memorandum of understanding signed by the two institutions on Nov. 15, 2024. UCLA and the Port of Los Angeles signed a memorandum of understanding based on their mutual dedication to sustainable operations and the health and … Read more
So, a friend texted me a link to a BBC article — which I read — having to do with India smog. The article’s writer made clear that the enveloping smog in Delhi has pushed its air quality into the category of “extremely severe.” Much more, the Air Quality Index (AQI) for the Delhi region … Read more
Caltrain will send its retired diesel fleet to the Municipality of Lima, Peru to continue operating passenger service. An official solicitation process was initiated to find a new home for this long-serving equipment. Lima, Peru expressed its desire to acquire all of the retired fleet. Following negotiations with the government of Lima, Caltrain has finalized … Read more
New England is warming faster than any other part of the United States due to climate change. Part of the havoc a warming world wreaks is on the “water budget”—the frequency, timing and amount of precipitation, where that moisture goes once it lands, how it interacts with trees and plants, how much evaporates and how … Read more
Ahead of the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29), the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for an end to reliance on fossil fuels and advocates for people-centred adaptation and resilience. Launching the COP29 special report on climate and health and a technical guidance on Healthy Nationally Determined Contributions, WHO urges world leaders at … Read more