Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
If you are a motorist you should be aware that there is advocacy out and about to advance increased truck weight limits from the current 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. That’s a 21.25 percent weight increase. In “Tracks vs. Trucks: Industry groups battle over highway weight limits,” in the May/June 2015 Spudman magazine issue, contributing … Read more
For quite some time – from 2004 on, actually – the number of per-capita vehicle travel miles in America had been falling. Well, that is no longer true. In 2014, that number rose. According to the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI), the number jumped a modest 0.9 percent over what it was in 2013. Meanwhile, … Read more
Air pollution is causing even more deaths than previously thought prompting a call for a stepped-up response. Three-point-seven million people are dying yearly from the effects of polluted air outdoors. Even more – almost four-and-a-third million – can be attributed to the effects of health-damaging indoor air pollution. That’s eight million; up from 7-plus-million as of 2012, … Read more
Imagine 600,000 Europeans losing their lives each and every year due to the harmful effects of polluted air, plus all the others whose lives have been negatively impacted suffering from disease and illness that’s related to this. The 600,000 number is based on World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. It is estimated by the WHO also … Read more
You could probably see this entry coming. The writing was on the wall. After all, there have already been entries for automobiles and locomotives. As far as I’m concerned, aviation can be classified into two sub-groups: General and Specialized. The first is commercial in nature; the second is aviation that is anything other than commercial. … Read more
It shouldn’t be any mystery that the main Air Quality Matters focus this month is transportation. That topic continues today with trains. Just in case you were not aware, National Transportation Week this year was May 11th to May 15th. Train of thought It is no secret that one of the world’s main air pollution … Read more
There are many besides myself who have a deep interest in the railway realm. If you think about locomotive development over the ages, there have been many types or classes. When you get right down to the basics, locomotives are nothing more than power plants; power plants on wheels, that is. Really quickly, there are … Read more
For two consecutive winters (2013-’14 and 2014-’15) in the San Joaquin Valley, air quality has been quite problematic. In Nov. and Dec. 2013, and in Jan. 2014 and Jan. 2015, many were the number of days where fine particulate levels exceeded the federal PM 2.5 daily standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Meanwhile, the … Read more
Growth in San Diego, as is true of growth in general, is inevitable. So growing responsibly is key. A 20th or 21st century San Diego? Located in coastal California’s southern-most portion, San Diego already has one of the most dynamic mass transit systems in all of America, of which the area should be especially proud. … Read more
Bicycling is not something I talk or write about that much. Though there’s an irony in this because it was not too many years back that several people assembled to discuss the prospect of launching a magazine, the content of which was to be all about the great outdoors. Meeting were myself (to serve as … Read more