Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
Right around this time last year, I put up the “Need to further reduce smog, soot, world-warming pollution in new report emphasized” post. Not good was the air-quality picture in the U.S. then. So, some of what I had conveyed in writing supporting that premise at that time was: “According to Environment America, people in … Read more
Information below comes from the Environmental Defense Fund and was released June 26, 2018. (Image below from Tennessee Valley Authority). With serious reservations expressed by three judges, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has again issued a limited 60-day abeyance of litigation over the Clean Power Plan. The court also … Read more
“’California’s GHG emissions have followed a declining trend since 2007,’ the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) emphasized in the Overview section of ‘California Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 2000 to 2015 – Trends of Emissions and Other Indicators,’ an adjunct or supplement to its ‘2017 Edition California GHG Emission Inventory’ document. ‘In 2015, … Read more
Imagine a city, any city, having to contend with smog for three-quarters of a century. Seventy-five years; that’s a lifetime! Recognizing Los Angeles’ 75-year battle with smog is what this thread is about. How it happened On July 8, 1943, Los Angeles smog was born. The smog was so thick, in fact, that area visibility … Read more
One could argue a proposed regional passenger-rail service between the South San Joaquin Valley community of Porterville and Huron located in southwestern Fresno County, for all intents and purposes running alongside California State Route 198 or SR 198 (see: “Valley could get regional passenger rail: Tulare County Association of Governments has plan” Air Quality Matters … Read more
Regarding sulfates, nitrates, organic and elemental carbon in California air, there is good news. According to information in a Jun. 5, 2018 California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) news release, those substances in Golden State air are becoming fewer and farther between. In the “NASA satellite helps collect 15 years of Southern California air … Read more
I can’t tell you how many times I have traveled Interstate 5 (I-5) over the Grapevine. Let’s just say it’s been a lot. For those who don’t know, the Grapevine is the section of I-5 that traverses the Tejon Mountains between California’s southern San Joaquin Valley and South Coast regions. For that matter, I can’t … Read more
Before the construction of California high-speed rail got underway in mid-2015, as far as I am aware, there hadn’t been a new railroad of any kind built in California’s San Joaquin Valley since the 20th century’s early days. But, if all the stars align a new, additional passenger rail service in the Valley could be … Read more
Broadway. The term originally had to do with the former Pennsylvania Railroad’s 4-track-wide right-of-way (hence the term “broad way”) between Chicago and New York City. The term has since come to take on and be associated with a different meaning. It’s now tied in with the performing arts world. That’s enough history for right now. … Read more
One of the reasons I so enjoy watching travel-type shows is because on the preferred ones watched, water, rail and roadway travel all get equal billing. Imagine if that was the norm, I mean, regarding everyday travel. That would be great! Now, the method relied on most heavily, of course, is the last – roadway … Read more