Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
Number 37 in the Clean Air Technologies Series. There are different methods by which energy can be captured and applied. Are you ready for this: How about an electricity-producing tree? Now, it is widely known that Thomas Alva Edison was one of the first to harness electricity and use it to create artificial light. He … Read more
There is something to be said for this idea of doing/going without. This is what this Earth Day (Apr. 22nd) message is about. I look around, take an inventory of my personal space and, lo and behold, I find there are things in my life that could be done differently. Inner space Starting with the kitchen … Read more
Based on a request to review current domestic vehicle-emissions standards – a change that, if advanced, would likely soon take effect – apparently, for motor vehicles traversing America’s roadways in the not-so-far-off future, air, as well as vehicle fuel economy could suffer. Puzzling it is why most of the motoring public is not standing tall … Read more
As with air quality, when it comes to infrastructure, condition matters. So, right now, according to one measure – the one just out Mar. 9, 2017: the American Society of Civil Engineers’ “2017 Infrastructure Report Card,” condition-wise, overall, America’s infrastructure got a D+. A serious situation: make no mistake. So, what is going on here? In … Read more
“The science is clear: breathing polluted air increases the risk of debilitating and deadly diseases such as lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and chronic bronchitis. Air pollution is now the world’s fourth-leading fatal health risk, causing one in ten deaths in 2013.”1 Air in California, America’s 31st state, is under repetitious attack via a hail … Read more
The below in its totality was originally published by Jayant Kairam on the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Exchange blog.1 The late California historian Kevin Starr once wrote, “California had long since become one of the prisms through which the American people, for better and for worse, could glimpse their future.” These words have never felt … Read more
With energy demand in the U.S. expected to increase 22 percent by 2040, according to information presented on the PBS NewsHour (via a factoid displayed during the Jan. 4, 2017 broadcast), having enough electricity to meet America’s growing energy needs, needs to be assured. It’s a pretty good bet that more and more of this … Read more
Ozone exceedances in the San Joaquin Valley in California’s interior, preliminarily speaking, in 2016 numbered 88. This is six exceedances more than the year before. 2015’s numbers are preliminary also. The ozone season in the Valley roughly lasts from March through October. So, why the increase? Keep in mind that a big part of the … Read more
Imagine residing in an area where more than a quarter of one’s days in a given year, are spent breathing smog. And, it’s not only the smog that’s at issue: it is the degree or level of smog, or rather, ozone that is in air and in the South Coast Air Basin of California on … Read more
We all know the old saw: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’m not sure I would completely concur, because it all depends on what our definition is of “ain’t broke.” The same sort of reasoning behind the expression: If it isn’t broken or damaged, then don’t repair or replace it. Exemplifying the latter … Read more