Discourse for all interested in all things air-quality related
The fossil fuel industry has not just bought US senators and members of congress; it’s even buying school board and state board of education members. And, in some states, they’re demanding books or course instruction materials that explicitly lie — or at least confuse students — about the connection between fossil fuels and our climate … Read more
Decisive, far-reaching efforts to cut methane emissions from fossil fuel production and use must go hand-in-hand with decarbonisation of our energy systems to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Analysis from Closing the Climate Investment Gap, a groundbreaking new report from NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) on California’s state transportation infrastructure investments, shows a distinct misalignment between budgetary allocations and the state’s overarching climate goals. “California is not only depriving communities of clean mobility choices by continuing to fund projects that increase … Read more
AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) today [Oct. 6, 2023] released the second annual edition of the Greenhouse 100 Suppliers Index, a comprehensive ranking of corporations that contribute to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by supplying fossil fuels. For the first time, PERI has also released the companion Greenhouse … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO – The carbon emissions associated with materials used in the built environment, referred to as “embodied carbon,” are estimated to contribute up to 11% of all global energy-related carbon emissions. According to a new report from sustainable development consultancy Arup, developed on behalf of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), California is one of … Read more
AMHERST, Mass. – rStream, a robotics company focused on waste management and recycling formed by two UMass Amherst students and incubated at Greentown Labs, Somerville, is rolling out a pilot program with UMass Dining Services. Running through the fall semester, the program will test the AI’s ability to identify in real time what is going … Read more
OAKLAND, Calif. — Conservation and public health groups filed a lawsuit today [Sept. 28, 2023] challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to review and update air-quality standards that protect people from harmful nitrogen pollution nationwide. Federal law requires the EPA to review the pollution standards every five years and improve them as needed to ensure … Read more
Yay!! Yay? For once I feel like a climate study is not predicting the absolute worse [sic] possible scenario, it’s just predicting a serious and pressing one. Roy Spencer and Ron Christy published a paper entitled Effective climate sensitivity distributions from a 1D model of global ocean and land temperature trends, 1970–2021. Phys.org has a version … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Environmental and health groups celebrated an important step toward clean air after a federal appeals court today [Sept. 25, 2023] denied the requests of states and industry groups to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Good Neighbor Rule.” The rule, designed to address cross-state air pollution and the adverse health effects of … Read more
I’ve seen this happen on the news and now I’ve seen it in the press. And, I’ve probably even done it myself. What is it? Write an article and fail to include key information. That this happens, that’s got to be a journalist’s greatest fear. In that regard, we can thank our lucky stars for … Read more