Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
In the Nov. 15, 2012 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s “Airborne particles smuggle pollutants to far reaches of globe” news release, Mary Beckman wrote: “Floating in the air and invisible to the eye, airborne particles known as secondary organic aerosols live and die. Born from carbon-based molecules given off by trees, vegetation, and fossil fuel burning, … Read more
I once saw a documentary called either “Super Trains” or “Supertrains” where I believe it was explained that one way of increasing the power output of a steam locomotive was, dimension-wise, to neither go broader in breadth nor higher in height (due to horizontal width and vertical height clearance limitations in effect at the time in the railway operating environment), … Read more
If I hadn’t read it with my own two eyes I never would have guessed that what’s in some furniture can potentially make people sick. The more I read, the more my interest was piqued. I, in fact, was quite taken aback once learning chemicals like chlorinated Tris, one of the more common, was removed from children’s pajamas … Read more
The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) states: “CA’s population reached 24 million people. Total registered vehicles surpassed 17 million and vehicle miles traveled is 155 billion. Cumulative CA vehicle emissions for [nitrogen oxides] and [hydrocarbons] remain at 1970 levels of 1.6 million tons/year despite a rise of 45 billion in VMT over … Read more
The Public Policy Institute of California in its report: “Planning for a Better Future: California 2025: 2010 Update (Transportation),” revealed based on California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board data, in California in 1975, and within the transportation sector, smog-forming emissions generated via passenger vehicles accounted for a full 70 percent with the remainder being released from heavy duty … Read more
Based on my reading of “California ships required to use cleaner fuel benefits public health,” written by Melissa Lin Perrella with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), it is my understanding a federal district court on Nov. 16, 2012 agreed to reject a lawsuit having to do with the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association’s (PMSA) challenge of a California regulation that requires … Read more
Number 13 in the Clean Air Technologies Series. If you recall, at the end of “Airing (and sharing) some thoughts about indoor air quality,” I wrote: “Incidentally, indoor air purifiers are available, but I’ve not done enough research on these so as to learn which ones add ozone to the indoor air and which do … Read more
First things first. Keep in mind that from now until the middle of February the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting aerial air pollution reconnaissance in the skies over the San Joaquin Valley, a purpose of which is “… to help scientists better understand how to observe ground-level pollution from space,” according to NASA. … Read more
Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Dec. 14, 2012 announced the health standard for fine particles (PM 2.5) and soot had been tightened from the previous standard of 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air set 15 years ago to 12 micrograms per cubic meter, this has prompted both discussion and debate. Sentiment is … Read more
A new national standard for fine particle pollution (PM 2.5 or particulate matter pollution 2.5 micrometers in diameter) was issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Dec. 14, 2012, set at 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This replaces the previous standard of 15 micrograms per cubic meter, established in 1997. By year 2020 projections are 99 … Read more