Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
Transportation needs fixing – plainly and simply put, it needs to be overhauled. Carbon emissions from this sector worldwide have now reached 29 percent, thereby contributing the largest percentage of emissions of all emissions-generating sectors, cars, trucks and buses being the primary contributors. In California, meanwhile, as environmental reporter Julie Cart at CALmatters has suggested, … Read more
I think it’s silly: There are people who get all worked up over the mention of light rail and/or streetcar transit. What appears to get their gooses more than anything else is the thought of unsightly overhead catenary wire (the electrical distribution system for powering such networks – hint: there are some that operate catenary-free … Read more
Living in a part of the U.S. – California’s San Joaquin Valley (Valley) – that year after year experiences some of the worst episodes of air pollution – ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) – well, in this regard, there is certainly much to be desired. I speak from experience. So, now that … Read more
It has been reported that if high-speed rail were placed on the California ballot today the electorate would vote it down. While that may be true, it would not be a landslide defeat. There are still a considerable number of Californians that continue to support the project, myself included. So, keep in mind that California … Read more
In the past on the Air Quality Matters blog and elsewhere I have talked quite a bit about transit-oriented development or TOD. But, I’ve yet to discuss – here or elsewhere – development-oriented transit or DOT. That stops right here, right now. Whereas TOD is development that is built up around transit stops and train … Read more
I can’t count the times I’ve been stuck in freeway traffic. I remember driving from Long Beach, California to Phoenix, Arizona one Friday afternoon and returning on Sunday. The drive out: 9 hours. The drive back: 7 hours. What we are effectively looking at is stop-and-go driving – at least until I got beyond the … Read more
The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) in its latest report suggests that without a significant change in the way Californians move about the state, greenhouse gas emissions will climb and reaching the 2030 GHG target – a level of 40 percent below that which was present in 1990 – won’t happen. A … Read more
It seems lately like American transportation-infrastructure building has been in a state of limbo. I know it hasn’t; it just seems that way. Why? It’s because as a nation on the move in the transportation and travel senses it appears we are slowing down. As a matter of fact, the American motorist forfeits an average … Read more
Whether people realize it or not, California’s high-speed rail system is too important to emissions-reduction in state. It is a key component in the state emissions-reduction effort. And it is critical the high-speed rail project is built correctly. In fact, it was in the “Restoring unity, order, smarts, meaning, sanity and balance in the space … Read more
From the time transportation first entered the automation age until this day in 2018, the science, platform and industry regarding such have indeed come far. When that happened, what began was a revolution and that same revolution continues today. There have been so many field-related developments that to try to name them all in this … Read more