Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
GILLETTE, WY — The Biden administration announced today that it will end coal leasing in the Powder River Basin – the largest coal-producing region in the United States. The decision represents an historic shift in federal management of coal in the region, recognizing that the market has shifted away from coal as an electricity source … Read more
Um, no. Background The average global surface-air-temperature-rise — compared to that which was present at the time the Industrial Revolution first became a thing back in year 1750 — must climb by no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (C), in order “to reduce the greatest global risks and avoid significant, wide-ranging, and severe impacts,” as … Read more
There is no doubt in my mind that times have changed. Life has emerged from the pandemic business as usual, I’m afraid. Okay, so where exactly am I going with this? To provide perspective, let’s look at just one piece of the entire worldwide greenhouse-gas-emissions-reduction picture, or dare I say, puzzle: California. On this very … Read more
WASHINGTON— The Biden administration announced today [Jan. 26, 2024] it would freeze approvals of new gas export projects, signaling a major pivot in how it considers climate and health harms from oil and gas projects. The White House is directing the Energy Department to expand its criteria for evaluating new gas exports and take a hard … Read more
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) today published their latest Greenhouse 100 Polluters Index, Toxic 100 Air Polluters Index and Toxic 100 Water Polluters Index, revealing the top industrial polluters in the United States. PERI has also updated its Air Toxics at School database, which tracks air pollution at every … Read more
In 1978, when I moved from Maryland to California (now my permanent home), there were only a smattering of railroads across the U.S. that served the commuting public. Caltrain – before it was called “Caltrain” (providing such service between San Francisco – also known as the City by the Bay – and San Jose – … Read more
Over the past two years, Congress has passed several much-needed laws and allocated over a trillion dollars to grow and update infrastructure and clean energy technology in the United States to combat climate change and lower consumer energy costs. However, these projects cannot become a reality under the current regulatory structure, which takes several years … Read more
Helena, MT – A judge ruled in favor of Montana youth climate plaintiffs today, declaring the state is violating its own constitution by not protecting the right to a clean environment. Held v. Montana was the first-ever youth climate case to go to trial in the U.S. and now is the first victory, setting a … Read more
It’s been over 10 years and it’s about time we had this talk. Air quality, quality of life, quality assurance, quality control, quality this, quality that and quality the other. Quality – more or less – connotes a condition or a state, as in the condition or state of some thing. Take quality of life, … Read more
Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicles or PZEVs for short, seem to be one of those “oddball” classes of vehicles. PZEVs have internal combustion engines but their engines produce no what are referred to as evaporative emissions. Hybrids, unlike PZEVs, emit exhaust but the amount of emissions emanating from the exhaust is comparatively much lower than that coming … Read more