Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
Air conditioning: an ingenious invention – an almost indispensable addition to the home, that is, where appliances are concerned. Whether inside or outside the domicile (and automobile too, if you want to get real about this), being able to take air and “condition” it so as to provide one a level of comfort, most especially … Read more
What should be the aim of transportation development? Place-to-place mobility? Efficiency? Connectivity? Economic prosperity? Environmental sustainability? All of the above? All of the above. It isn’t enough anymore, or so it would seem, just to be able to travel, move cargo from one location to another. That was fine for an earlier time – life … Read more
It cannot be emphasized enough the need to reduce pollution in air. According to Environment America, people in 72 metropolitan areas located across the U.S. were exposed to unhealthy particulate matter levels in 2015 on 100 days or more, information brought to bear in the concern’s new report: “Our Health at Risk: Why Are Millions … Read more
I’m thinking of the scene in the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – the original (1951) “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” motion picture, a classic, with actress Patricia Neal and actor Michael Rennie, each of whom had leading (starring) roles – that shows a blackout of sorts: anything and everything electricity-driven is … Read more
Researchers in Belgium have created a device which can convert polluted air into energy. That’s just one of the device’s capabilities. The other is its ability to make air pollution harmless. The catch: light from the sun is needed to facilitate both processes. “‘We use a small device with two rooms separated by a membrane’, … Read more
Number 37 in the Clean Air Technologies Series. There are different methods by which energy can be captured and applied. Are you ready for this: How about an electricity-producing tree? Now, it is widely known that Thomas Alva Edison was one of the first to harness electricity and use it to create artificial light. He … Read more
As with air quality, when it comes to infrastructure, condition matters. So, right now, according to one measure – the one just out Mar. 9, 2017: the American Society of Civil Engineers’ “2017 Infrastructure Report Card,” condition-wise, overall, America’s infrastructure got a D+. A serious situation: make no mistake. So, what is going on here? In … Read more
“The science is clear: breathing polluted air increases the risk of debilitating and deadly diseases such as lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and chronic bronchitis. Air pollution is now the world’s fourth-leading fatal health risk, causing one in ten deaths in 2013.”1 Air in California, America’s 31st state, is under repetitious attack via a hail … Read more
The below in its totality was originally published by Jayant Kairam on the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Exchange blog.1 The late California historian Kevin Starr once wrote, “California had long since become one of the prisms through which the American people, for better and for worse, could glimpse their future.” These words have never felt … Read more
With energy demand in the U.S. expected to increase 22 percent by 2040, according to information presented on the PBS NewsHour (via a factoid displayed during the Jan. 4, 2017 broadcast), having enough electricity to meet America’s growing energy needs, needs to be assured. It’s a pretty good bet that more and more of this … Read more