Particulates

On-the-move pollution more health-impacting than once thought, study reveals

There is much that is being learned about air pollution on the move. For example, the distances Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons or PAHs traveled, how they are affected while in flight and what their impact is on human health are all areas researchers explored in a recent collaborative study conducted by Oregon State University (OSU), the … Read more

‘(I Did It) My Way’: May be SoCal’s goods movement air-cleanup anthem…or maybe not

So, sitting in my living room on Wed. evening Feb. 1, 2017, I watched intently the PBS (Public Broadcasting System) NOVA episode “Search for the Super Battery,” some of the program content shown previously on the Jan. 29, 2017 edition of CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” Batteries being the NOVA program’s key highlight, such others as energy … Read more

Whole lot of leaf…scratch that: Whole lot of dust blowing going on. Ouch!

Yesterday, I gave inconspicuous gazes as the neighbor, quite in vain, I might add, dutifully used his trusty leaf-blowing appurtenance in an all-but-futile attempt at bringing a prim and proper look to his yard, that is, after having tended to lawn-mowing and edging chores. What I observed from my across-the-street vantage point was the cloud … Read more

What’s that smell?! Sniffing out trouble at first whiff

If there’s a scent to be sensed, yoo hoo, over here, wind of it (pun intended) I will get! Trust me. Very little, if anything, ever, blows by, pleasant and unpleasant alike, the latter of which I would much prefer to forego completely. And, I’m not going to say “if you get my drift,” so … Read more

Though an intensifying global bad-air problem, not all doom and gloom, World Bank report shows

The World Bank with assistance from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Seattle, last year, released its The Cost of Air Pollution: Strengthening the Economic Case for Action study. As to the seriousness of the air-pollution problem, The World Bank shared some sobering thoughts. “Air pollution is recognized … Read more

Now arriving: 40 new low-emissions locos for commuter-rail system

There’s a new train on the block, engine, actually, and it’s clean as well as lean. The locomotive? A Progress Rail Services product; an EMD F125 diesel, which was first introduced in Los Angeles, California on Jul. 18, 2016. What makes this model unique is that this first-of-its-kind diesel locomotive is designed to meet stringent U.S. Environmental … Read more

Making a clean sweep: Up the chimney, down the street

In my home, there’s a fireplace. From the backyard, visible is a chimney (if you want to call it that). A vertical pipe would be more like it (galvanized steel, I think) projecting up out of the house’s back portion. Its purpose is to exhaust fireplace discharge, but, I’m having none of that – literally. … Read more

Food for thought: Re polluted air: To 86 is to fix. Get my drift? We can do this!

You’re familiar with the idiom “fish out of water” right? I sometimes wonder if that’s what we’re becoming like. The World Health Organization tells us that 92 percent of the world’s people are breathing polluted air. That’s profound! It’d be so much better if only eight percent did, but even that’s not good. No one … Read more

An air cleaner: Amtrak’s ‘Capitol Corridor’ service celebrates 25 years

In six days, Amtrak California’s Auburn to San Jose Capitol Corridor service marks 25 years of operation Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains hit the rails running, as it were, on Dec. 12, 1991. Such marked the first time since 1974 in California that a “new” regional Amtrak passenger-rail service was established – the regional San Joaquin … Read more