Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
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
There is a chill in the air. The smog in it – the air – is fading. Not because of diminishing daylight but, presumably, on account of lower ambient levels of heat. That could change; Monday in Fresno is forecasted to be 91 degrees. Parents picking up their children from schools in air-conditioned automobiles are … Read more
It is hard to believe it has already been a week since the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit was held on Sept. 23, 2019. It was an unprecedented gathering. For one day (Sept. 23, 2019) a summit was convened at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The assemblage was for the purpose of … Read more
The vehicle-emissions-standards waiver that California currently has in place may get rescinded. If California has a say in the matter which, hopefully, it will, the waiver won’t be revoked. One organization, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), appears ready to take the fight to court if need be. EDF President Fred Krupp in a press release … Read more
I don’t know why, but in 2019 it seems like there are more earth-moving air-quality-news-related items than usual. And, the year isn’t even over yet. The American Lung Association in April issued its latest findings of the quality of America’s air in its 20th annual “State of the Air” report as well as in a … Read more
The below Sept. 9, 2019 press release from the Natural Resources Defense Council. General Electric, which boasts of being a clean energy leader, is quietly doubling down on the dirty energy of the past with plans to equip more than a dozen new coal-fired power plants in countries like Cambodia, Kenya, Poland, Pakistan and Vietnam, … Read more
A sign of the times? The Navajo Generating Station (NGS), a coal-fired power plant located in the northern Arizona community of Page, is shutting down. Moreover, the 78-mile Black Mesa & Lake Powell (BM&LP) Railroad – built to haul the black carbonaceous rock between the mine and plant – is likewise itself terminating operations. Peabody … Read more
Eliminating restrictions on damaging and dangerous methane pollution at oil and gas sites nationwide, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to do, would be costly. It was just this past Thursday that the current EPA proposed doing just that. The Center for Biological Diversity (Center) in its “Trump Proposes Killing Methane Pollution Rule” … Read more
The Amazon is burning. The fire is of staggering proportions and was deliberately set. Irreplaceable rainforest land being cleared for, what, so it can be farmed, developed?! Seventy-five thousand: The number of Brazilian fires this year alone! Seven-thousand-two-hundred: Nearly that many square miles (more than 4.6 million acres) burned this year so far. Add to … Read more
Fortunately, the news is mostly good: Greenhouse gas emissions in California fell. Transportation is one trouble spot, however – the main one. Speaking directly to this, on Aug. 12, 2019, the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) released its California Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 2000 to 2017: Trends of Emissions and Other Indicators … Read more