Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
Washington, DC – Today, the White House released the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) that shows the climate crisis is upon us and impacting every community and person across the country. Since the NCA4 in 2018, improvements in scientific research have made even clearer the impact of our greenhouse gas emissions on global warming and the … Read more
Open-access railroading is not a figment of someone’s wild imagination: It really does exist. In fact, according to Robinson Foster in a Jan. 16, 2023 column at climaterailalliance.org, he says the concept has been successfully applied in Europe for nearly three decades. So, what is “open-access railroading”? “Open-access railroading” is a type of operational arrangement … Read more
In 1978, when I moved from Maryland to California (now my permanent home), there were only a smattering of railroads across the U.S. that served the commuting public. Caltrain – before it was called “Caltrain” (providing such service between San Francisco – also known as the City by the Bay – and San Jose – … Read more
Over the past two years, Congress has passed several much-needed laws and allocated over a trillion dollars to grow and update infrastructure and clean energy technology in the United States to combat climate change and lower consumer energy costs. However, these projects cannot become a reality under the current regulatory structure, which takes several years … Read more
Helena, MT – A judge ruled in favor of Montana youth climate plaintiffs today, declaring the state is violating its own constitution by not protecting the right to a clean environment. Held v. Montana was the first-ever youth climate case to go to trial in the U.S. and now is the first victory, setting a … Read more
It’s been over 10 years and it’s about time we had this talk. Air quality, quality of life, quality assurance, quality control, quality this, quality that and quality the other. Quality – more or less – connotes a condition or a state, as in the condition or state of some thing. Take quality of life, … Read more
Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicles or PZEVs for short, seem to be one of those “oddball” classes of vehicles. PZEVs have internal combustion engines but their engines produce no what are referred to as evaporative emissions. Hybrids, unlike PZEVs, emit exhaust but the amount of emissions emanating from the exhaust is comparatively much lower than that coming … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2023—An overwhelming majority of Californians say that extreme weather events are a problem in their part of the state, including about one in three who say they are a big problem. A majority of Californians think the use of electric vehicles (EVs) helps address climate change; half of the state’s residents … Read more
WASHINGTON – Today [Jun. 21, 2023], the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that establishes the biofuel volume requirements for 2023 to 2025. This final rule builds on the RFS program’s progress over the previous two years and reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthen the … Read more
There is much debate over how best to achieve net-zero emissions. While I don’t have the definitive answer, I surely have an opinion. Keep in mind that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide are still rising. But, understand also that transportation contributes significantly to that increase. The biggest atmospheric-GHG contributor within the transport sector, meanwhile, is … Read more