Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), in a company news bulletin, announced it will commence with the testing later this year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on a limited quantity of locomotives. The pilot program is being conducted to evaluate the practicability of LNG as a viable diesel fuel alternative. “‘The use of liquefied natural … Read more
In 1977, traveling to and from work required driving six miles (one way). What I could count on was the drive taking at least half an hour to work and 45 minutes from. I lived in Mountain View and worked in Sunnyvale on California’s San Francisco peninsula. That the distance driven was half a dozen … Read more
It is obvious I have done quite a lot of writing on air quality matters in the San Joaquin Valley. The Valley is where I live and, sadly, it is among this nation’s most notorious or worst offender areas for polluted air. Both childhood and adult asthma numbers here seem disproportionately high compared to other regions. These … Read more
Americans, more and more, are taking to the rails. In fact, in 2012, those riding Amtrak, the national passenger rail network, swelled to 31 million – a record. Relative to 1997’s Amtrak ridership stats, it’s an increase of 55 percent. Curtis Tate of McClatchy Newspapers in “Largest metro areas lead growth in Amtrak ridership, report … Read more
On Nov. 19, 2012, in “Air pollution: The enormity of it all,” I wrote: “More importantly, with the pollution already present, the very same that is causing a number of health issues for those people adversely affected by such, how does society effectively mitigate the impact, so that the numbers in this regard do not increase … Read more
Today’s thread: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. Being that on the world stage California contributes a sizable chunk of GHG emissions, I would like to think the state is among an amalgamation of front-lines leaders making progress on the fight against global greenhouse gas emissions. I believe California is and that is good. To understand the magnitude of the Golden … Read more
Regarding your next vehicle purchase, what’s it going to be? Will it be a hybrid? Will it be an electric (EV)? None of the above? As far as motorized vehicles go, hybrids and electrics are both, relatively speaking, economical, that is, once paid for. But there is the obvious trade off in terms of electric … Read more
When queried on environmental matters, many cite polluted air as a problem, responses reflecting that the problem is somewhat serious, serious or very or extremely serious. Now add to this the attention paid the issue at times. Such was the case with the gathering in the nation’s capital on Feb. 17, 2013 of an estimated … Read more
The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) states: “CA’s population reached 24 million people. Total registered vehicles surpassed 17 million and vehicle miles traveled is 155 billion. Cumulative CA vehicle emissions for [nitrogen oxides] and [hydrocarbons] remain at 1970 levels of 1.6 million tons/year despite a rise of 45 billion in VMT over … Read more
Global air travel is not receding. In fact, in several places triple-digit percentage increases are not uncommon. Katherine Rowland in OnEarth magazine in “Infographic: Flying the Friendlier Skies,” writes: “In emerging economies, the growth has been dramatic: between 2007 and 2010, passenger volume in China increased by almost 50 percent — another 84 million fliers. … Read more