Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
It’s no secret transportation emits more greenhouse gas pollutants (carbon mostly) than any other single sector and that emissions from transportation worldwide are on the rise. And, it should be no mystery either that for every gallon of gasoline burned in an internal combustion (IC) engine, 19.64 pounds of carbon dioxide from said burning is … Read more
From wood and coal and oil (for steam generation) to electricity, gasoline, diesel, liquefied natural gas, linear induction, magnetic levitation, vacuum tube and hydrogen propulsion (did I miss any?) the world of train-power generation has experienced it all. What we’re talking about here are generations of train-propulsion techniques, some of which were tried but never … Read more
So, I spotted this Nov. 14, 2019 “StreetsBlog USA” headline “Prominent Democratic presidential candidates have all put forward plans for clean energy, limiting drilling and subsidies for electric vehicles. Yet they have nothing to say about Americans’ addiction to driving – and if they don’t wean Americans off cars, they’ll never meet climate goals.” A … Read more
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) way back on Jan. 24, 2019 released its Annual Energy Outlook 2019 with projections to 2050 (AEO2019) report. From a related press release, the EIA announced, “The AEO2019 Reference case projects that in 2020, for the first time in almost 70 years, the United States will export more energy … Read more
It’s incredible! We 221.71 million American motorists in 2016, with our roughly 268.8 million motor vehicles, each drove an average 14,317.7 miles. Meanwhile, in narrowing the focus, recent related Federal Highway Administration data show male drivers between ages 35 and 54 drive the most; in this case, a total annual average 18,858 miles, with the … Read more
The fracked gas and oil industries are large contributors of photochemical smog. So says who? Well, for one, information on Wikipedia supports this finding. “The major culprits [to smog formation] from transportation are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO and NOx), volatile organic compounds [VOC], and hydrocarbons [HC] (hydrocarbons are the main component of petroleum … Read more
The below Oct. 21, 2019 news release is from the California VW Mitigation Trust. Today [Oct. 21, 2019], the first Volkswagen (VW) Environmental Mitigation Trust funding program launched for projects throughout California. The Zero Emission Transit, School, and Shuttle Bus program provides $130 million to replace internal combustion engine transit, school, and shuttle buses with … Read more
A concluding thought in “Road expansion or repair: Can either do anything to lower burden on air?” (Part 1) had to do with whether road-based projects – expansion or repair thereof – could have “an air-remedying effect.” Affirmative is the answer. Though “yes,” it’s conditional. A new overpass used to replace a physical intersection, for … Read more
Despite there being a wealth of disappointing news lately having to do with environmental matters one can take heart in knowing that not all news making the rounds related to the environment in this day and age is bad. Some of it is even downright good. As a case in point, the American Council for … Read more
Complete and total computerization of automobilization holds tremendous promise. Hey, that’s like the next revolution in road-based transportation. Admittedly, there is work to be done there still. So, why do we need this or do we? If you think the status quo is acceptable, then you haven’t been paying close enough attention. The status quo: … Read more