Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
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
SACRAMENTO — California today [Apr. 17, 2023] released its annual report for California Climate Investments, which highlights that 74% of investments from 2022 — almost $1 billion — supported communities and households facing greater economic and environmental challenges. The statewide California Climate Investments initiative is a critical component of the state’s transition to a carbon neutral, more equitable … Read more
The American Lung Association’s new “State of the Air” report finds that nearly 120 million people in the U.S., or more than one in three, live in counties that had unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. Overall, air quality has improved across the nation; however, major differences exist between air quality in eastern and … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today [Apr. 12, 2023], EPA unveiled two regulatory proposals to lower tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. The cars proposal seeks to modernize the nation’s car standards and gradually shift passenger vehicles in the United States to non-polluting, zero emissions vehicles. The standards will cover model years 2027 to 2032, and build … 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
Technology is what’s responsible ultimately for today’s climate anomaly. Yes, anomaly; that’s what some are calling it. Many are saying that technology is what it’s going to take to resolve it. When we talk about technology applied to changing climate or weather, what we’re really talking about is the concept of geoengineering. Geo what? Geoengineering. … Read more
Over the past decade, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids have become increasingly popular, in part due to their perceived environmental benefits. But to what extent do reduced tailpipe emissions benefit human health and the climate? According to a new paper by scholars at Resources for the Future (RFF), these vehicles provide sizable benefits determined by … Read more
U.S. vehicle travel miles (VMT), for two consecutive years (2021 and ‘22), rebounded some, this after VMT during 2020 retreated to 2.903 trillion, down from 2019’s record high of 3.262 trillion miles driven. Total miles driven during 2021 and 2022 were 3.14 trillion and 3.169 trillion, respectively, according to U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), … 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