Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
ST. JAMES PARISH, LA — Formosa Plastics wants to build a massive petrochemical complex with 14 facilities that make single-use plastic products. Even though the facility is not yet built, the company must renew its operating permits under Title V of the Clean Air Act. Since Formosa Plastics last applied for these permits in 2020, … Read more
Emissions-reductions’ the word! Pollutant emissions in California have been on the retreat for quite some time now. And, for good reason. According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, in 2023 just in the Valley alone, 8,492 tons of fine particulates (PM2.5), 10,383 tons of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 7,179 tons of … Read more
STOCKTON, CA – June 20, 2024 – This week representatives of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC), the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA), and South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) officially broke ground on the Lathrop Wye Box Culvert (Box Culvert) project, marking the first major step in the construction phase of the … Read more
As California transitions rapidly to renewable fuels, it needs new technologies that can store power for the electric grid. Solar power drops at night and declines in winter. Wind power ebbs and flows. As a result, the state depends heavily on natural gas to smooth out highs and lows of renewable power. “The electric grid … Read more
“Essentially, there’s no chance for native species to keep up with climate change without human help.” (Bethany Bradley, Professor of Environmental Conservation at UMass Amherst) An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human … Read more
Climeworks is future-proofing its technology for scaling globally to gigaton carbon removals by using the latest research and development findings in its filter materials and plant design. At its annual Carbon Removal Summit in Zurich, Climeworks showcases the success of its Generation 3 direct air capture (DAC) technology: doubling CO₂ capture capacity per module, halving … Read more
SANTA FE, NM— A district court today [Jun. 10, 2024] rejected requests from the state of New Mexico and fossil fuel industry to dismiss a landmark lawsuit against the New Mexico governor, legislature and state agencies for failing to uphold their constitutional duty to control oil and gas pollution. The case was brought by Indigenous, frontline, … Read more
SACRAMENTO — The sales of new zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks in California in 2023 have doubled from the prior year, now representing 1 out of every 6 new vehicles sold for services that include last-mile delivery, freight transportation, and school buses, according to a report released by the state today [Jun. 6, 2024]. With 18,473 medium- and heavy-duty … Read more
Los Angeles has been given the infamous, inglorious distinction of being labeled as the smog capital of the United States. Coupling injury with insult, it was in the early 1940s when the scourge first surfaced in the south-state region. The early 1940s! Though there are still dangerous smog episodes that crop up from time to … Read more
In its “State of the Air” 2024 report, the American Lung Association reported that 131 million Americans (39 percent) are exposed to harmful-to-health air pollution. At least four million of that total make California’s San Joaquin Valley their home. This demographic is exposed to, among other toxic pollutant emissions, carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen … Read more