Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
This past weekend on both Saturday (Apr. 29, 2023) and Sunday (Apr. 30, 2023), I watched two of what I thought were powerful, made-for-television programs. The first “In Real Life,” the Mining for Clean Power, episode, and first aired on the Scripps News network on May 15, 2022, dealt with one aspect of the renewable energy … Read more
More needs to be done to protect the health of children and adolescents from the negative impacts of air pollution, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) air quality assessments published [Sunday, Apr. 23, 2023]. Air pollution causes over 1,200 premature deaths per year in people under the age of 18 in Europe and significantly … Read more
On a per-capita basis, Americans are the biggest consumers of energy, anywhere. And, to keep up with demand requires a dependable energy source supply; one that can deliver the amperes (of current) or watts (of power) unfailingly all day and every day. Where this is concerned there is far more going on than meets the … Read more
Conservation and community groups sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security today [Apr. 11, 2023] over their plans to rebuild Puerto Rico’s centralized electric grid back to the fossil fuel status quo instead of investing in the distributed renewable energy Puerto Ricans need. “Fossil fuel power plants produce pollutants that … Read more
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards that will accelerate the ongoing transition to a clean vehicles future and tackle the climate crisis. The proposed standards would improve air quality for communities across the nation, especially communities that have borne the burden of polluted air. Together, these proposals … Read more
Despite game-changing climate policies and pledges, nations around the world are reckoning with historically high demand for fossil fuels. But at the same time, investment in clean energy technologies is reaching new peaks. The future is uncertain, but a new report from researchers at Resources for the Future (RFF) concludes that the public and private … Read more
U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions drop 25% to 38% below what they were in 2005 by 2030, according to projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023). By the end of the projection period, 2050, U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions are 17% lower in this year’s Reference case compared with last year, … Read more
Information I read recently regarding plane versus train travel asserted that Acela trains on the Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor (NEC) running between Washington, D.C. and New York City enjoy a 75 percent market share of air/rail-based commuter traffic in that service lane. Wow! Seventy-five percent! So, there are any number of reasons for the 75/25 train/plane … Read more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today unanimously rejected a challenge to the most recent update of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which protects millions of Americans from dangerous air pollution that blows across state lines from upwind coal-fired power plants. Today’s decision means those protections will remain … Read more
Living in areas of the United States with higher levels of air pollution is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a preliminary study released today, February 23, 2023, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from … Read more