Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
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
Way back when on Nov. 7, 2012, I wrote about air quality improvement at the Port of Long Beach. Time has come to turn attention to The Port of Virginia’s Hampton Roads Harbor. On The Port of Virginia’s blog, the post dated Jan. 30, 2013 is titled: “Report: Port Cuts Emissions While Increasing Cargo Volumes.” … 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
This is not complicated. California’s 27,000-square-mile San Joaquin Valley, which is better than 250 miles long by approximately 80 miles wide, is a hotbed of air pollution activity. That air here is frequently polluted is troubling. It is also unhealthful. Coming from a variety of sources – mobile and stationary alike, it’s both all-enveloping and persistent, … Read more
In the skies above California’s San Joaquin Valley between roughly Bakersfield in the south and Fresno, located right smack-dab in the Valley’s middle, aerial-air-quality surveillance, via National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aircraft, is in progress. Incidentally, I see this as a good thing. According to a NASA press release, the aerial (in the air) … Read more
A quick assessment of all of my prior blogposts reveals 31 out of 64 deal with air quality or air pollution issues as it relates to transportation. That’s nearly half. If you’re wondering why such a high concentration, what I can tell you is the majority of the world’s air pollution is transportation sourced. As it … Read more
There appears to be growing consensus world air quality is worsening. Recognizing polluted air is a problem is one thing. Cleaning it up is a whole ‘nother matter entirely not to mention doing so is easier said than done. “According to the latest research, a majority (56 %) of Europeans believe that air quality has deteriorated … Read more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Dec. 14, 2012 announced it had adopted a national ambient air quality standard for annual fine particle pollution (particulate matter pollution 2.5 micrometers in diameter or PM 2.5) of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air. On Thurs., Dec. 20, 2012, almost one week later, California’s San Joaquin … Read more
The San Joaquin Valley of California is nearly 300 miles long by 75 miles wide give or take. Roughly 4 million people call the “Valley” home. It’s bordered by mountain ranges on three sides – the east, south and west. Joined by its southern neighbor, the South Coast Air Basin, when it comes to soot … 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