Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
California has the nation’s worst air. That fact should be an eye-opener. Moreover, knowing this, serious effort should be prompted to clean it up. More on this in a moment. My position is: since the majority of pollutants come from transportation, that sector should be getting anything but short shrift when it comes to finding … Read more
The sources for air pollution are several: Agricultural Commercial (Business) Construction (and Demolition) Energy Production Industrial (and Dredging, Drilling, Excavating and Mining) Natural Residential Transportation Other And the sources there are fit two groups: mobile and stationary. That’s the easy part. The difficulty is in trying to find clean-up solutions that work and can be … Read more
A colleague and I go around and around over what type of transportation system is better at reducing emissions. In the automotive realm, indeed significant strides have been made. There are battery powered cars and hybrids already sharing space with other less-environmentally friendly types on the road. In the grand scheme of things, however, if there … Read more
Living in California’s San Joaquin Valley, I can’t tell you how much I look forward to and appreciate an exceptionally clear day. On days like this the majestic and towering Sierra Nevada Mountains can be seen from miles away as can the Coast Range flanking the west. Worth its weight in gold is this sight to behold. More than that the … Read more
In America in 2012, according to the American Lung Association (ALA), the good news is the air in much of the country has gotten cleaner. Credit improvement to Clean Air Act standards. The not-so-good news, on the other hand, is that since the ALA released its first State of the Air report in 2000, in other places polluted air … Read more
Progress, quality-of-life and standard-of-living matters are front and center in Part 1. In this, the second – and last – installment of this two-part air-quality series, I am going back in time – figuratively speaking, of course – to find reasons on how, when and maybe why this whole air pollution dilemma came to be. … Read more
Nothing like a lively debate to get the heart racing and blood pumping. On November 7th, I attended a Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS) public workshop for the county of Fresno in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The purpose of this gathering, attended by a hundred or so people, was to discuss and present ideas about how to shrink … Read more
Deep reflection on standard-of-living and quality-of-life matters is well warranted here if for no other reason than due to the importance of one knowing how the air got the way it is, why it should be cleansed and what can be done to do just that. In the first of this two-part air-quality conversation, talk … Read more
Not all air quality related news is bad. When real progress is made in areas that count more bad-air days than good, that’s a favorable sign and such news can be uplifting. And such is the case in Orange County in Southern California as it relates to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) in regards to … Read more
In the United States, transportation accounts for about 28 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In California’s San Joaquin Valley, GHG emissions are estimated to be as high as 40 percent. Compared to other sectors, emissions from transportation have been increasing more rapidly. “In fact, between 1990 and 2006, growth in U.S. transportation GHG … Read more