EPA has till Dec. 10, 2024 to update soot, sulfur, nitrogen pollution limits

The below is from the Oct. 12, 2022 press release from the Center for Biological Diversity.* A federal judge approved a legal agreement today requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to update measures protecting the environment from soot, sulfur and nitrogen air pollution by Dec. 10, 2024. “Under this agreement, the EPA can no longer skirt … Read more

Toxic lakebed dust: Worsening with climate change

Fallout: That’s nasty stuff. Well, that’s exactly what we’re talking about with wind-blown toxic lakebed dust. And, if that weren’t enough, conditions are being exacerbated by the effects of a changing climate. In order to fully understand what’s on the line here, we need to understand both the problem and its extent. Because of climate change coupled … Read more

Air pollution: Coming to terms with what’s acceptable, what isn’t

It is safe to say there will never be such thing as zero polluted air. Even Mother Nature adds her own share: Think dust storms, volcanic eruptions and lightning strikes. With this knowledge, what amount of pollution in the air, then, is acceptable? To try to provide an answer, that would seem to be contingent … Read more

Cars cleaning the air: An outlandish idea?

A while ago I reported on testing on school buses in the Los Angeles region a concept known as HECA or High-Efficiency Cabin Air filtration. Filtering units were placed inside designated L.A. region school bus interiors, done expressly for the purpose of determining device effectiveness as it has to do with its abilility to remove … Read more

Extreme Sept. heat tests grid, degrades air in San Joaquin Valley

For those who don’t know, California’s approximately 300-mile-long by roughly 80-mile-wide San Joaquin Valley has some of America’s worst air quality. For the past 20 years or so, such Valley cities as Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford, Madera and Visalia, for example, have consistently ranked among those places in the United States with the highest amounts of … Read more

Up and away: Car travel’s next frontier?

Developers, engineers and entrepreneurs alike are fixing their sites on the skies as the next great space in which to operate cars. This, apparently, is being driven by a quest to improve the travel landscape with regard to safety, efficiency and appeal if not user- and eco-friendliness. We’re talking flying-car travel here. So, pertaining to … Read more

Air report finds 137 million Americans lived in counties impacted by harmful smog, soot levels

(The below Apr. 21, 2022 press release is from the American Lung Association). A news report from the American Lung Association reveals that nearly 9 million more people were impacted by particle pollution, which can be deadly, than in last year’s report. The Lung Association’s 23rd annual “State of the Air” report, released today, also … Read more