Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
WASHINGTON — The signs of climate change are all around us, and children are uniquely vulnerable to its impacts. Climate change-related impacts in childhood can have lifelong consequences due to effects on learning, physical health, and housing security. A new national-scale, multi-sector EPA report showcases some of the ways children are especially vulnerable to a variety … Read more
With atmospheric CO2 levels rising unabated, the climate system is warming at the fastest rate in human history. It has long been known that the vast bulk of extra heat associated with anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions is entering the ocean (e.g., Hansen et al., 1988; Levitus et al., 2000; Barnett et al., 2005), causing warming at the surface and … Read more
More needs to be done to protect the health of children and adolescents from the negative impacts of air pollution, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) air quality assessments published [Sunday, Apr. 23, 2023]. Air pollution causes over 1,200 premature deaths per year in people under the age of 18 in Europe and significantly … Read more
SACRAMENTO — California today [Apr. 17, 2023] released its annual report for California Climate Investments, which highlights that 74% of investments from 2022 — almost $1 billion — supported communities and households facing greater economic and environmental challenges. The statewide California Climate Investments initiative is a critical component of the state’s transition to a carbon neutral, more equitable … Read more
On a per-capita basis, Americans are the biggest consumers of energy, anywhere. And, to keep up with demand requires a dependable energy source supply; one that can deliver the amperes (of current) or watts (of power) unfailingly all day and every day. Where this is concerned there is far more going on than meets the … Read more
Where climate change is concerned, there are only three so-called “worldview” positions: Non-acceptance of climate change as a real phenomenon; acceptance that cc is real but rejection of notion that human activity is driver; and, acceptance that cc is real and embrace the “human-activity-is-behind-it” notion. That’s it. Now, if you’re of the opinion that the … Read more
The American Lung Association’s new “State of the Air” report finds that nearly 120 million people in the U.S., or more than one in three, live in counties that had unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. Overall, air quality has improved across the nation; however, major differences exist between air quality in eastern and … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today [Apr. 12, 2023], EPA unveiled two regulatory proposals to lower tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. The cars proposal seeks to modernize the nation’s car standards and gradually shift passenger vehicles in the United States to non-polluting, zero emissions vehicles. The standards will cover model years 2027 to 2032, and build … Read more
Conservation and community groups sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security today [Apr. 11, 2023] over their plans to rebuild Puerto Rico’s centralized electric grid back to the fossil fuel status quo instead of investing in the distributed renewable energy Puerto Ricans need. “Fossil fuel power plants produce pollutants that … Read more
When the then Altamont Commuter Express (since renamed the Altamont Corridor Express) inaugurated commuter rail service – between Stockton in California’s northern San Joaquin Valley and San Jose in the south San Francisco Bay Area in 1998 – San Jose went from being yet another town that, ho-hum, happens to have a railroad traverse through … Read more