Air Pollution Alerts - May 24th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on May 17, 2009)

American Thinker, May 23rd, 2009
The Geography of Carbon Emissions.

Daily Herald, May 23rd, 2009
To curb smog, banks ask customers to cut engines.

Guardian, May 23rd, 2009
Climate change and the everyday.

NPR, May 23rd, 2009
Concrete And Global Warming: A Mixed Bag.

XinhuaNet, May 23rd, 2009
China says stimulus won't endanger environment.

Clean Air Through Green Roofs, May 23rd, 2009

Wall Street Journal, May 22nd, 2009
Light Cars Are Dangerous Cars.

Telegraph, May 22nd, 2009
Lack of action is a dereliction of duty.

PHYSorg.com, May 22nd, 2009
Traffic's true toll: Researchers explore the health effects of vehicle exhaust.

Guardian, May 21st, 2009
Carbon emissions.

BBC, May 21st, 2009
US CO2 goals 'to be compromised'.

Scientific American, May 21st, 2009
China's Tire Demand Rolls over Southeast Asian Forests.

World Watch Institute, May 21st, 2009
India Election May Renew Climate Leadership.

China Daily, May 21st, 2009
World Bank to lend $80 million for clean coal technology in China.

Climate of Our Future, May 21st, 2009
“Clean” Coal: Energy Answer or Oxymoron?

WWI, May 21st, 2009
Winds of Change in the U.S. Auto Industry.

Breakthrough Institute, May 21st, 2009
Waxman-Markey Climate Bill's Emissions "Cap" May Let U.S. Emissions Continue to Rise Through 2030.

Reuters, May 21st, 2009
U.S. EPA to rely more on scientists for air rules.

Oil & Gas Journal, May 21st, 2009
Experts urge US policymakers to address long-term challenges.

Economist, May 21st, 2009
America & Climate Change - Cap and trade, with handouts and loopholes.

Camden News, May 21st, 2009
Pollution: ‘We break the law and people know nothing about it’.

PRN News Service, May 21st, 2009
Air Quality Action Day Forecast for Friday for Three Pennsylvania Regions.

CNN, May 20th, 2009
Bill Clinton to cities: Act on climate.

Sentinel Tribune, May 20th, 2009
Environmental students spend spring break in Ethiopia testing air pollution.

Science Daily, May 20th, 2009
Climate Change Odds Much Worse Than Thought.

Herald Tribune, May 20th, 2009
Better cars, cleaner air.

China, May 19th, 2009
Is China choking to death?

NPR, May 19th, 2009
New Carbon Emissions And Mileage Standards.

Straight.Com, May 19th, 2009
Is Canada a petro-state or prosperous nation?

Market Watch, May 19th, 2009
Speeding down a Brave New Road.

Economist, May 19th, 2009
American Car Emissions.

Scientific American, May 19th, 2009
New fuel efficiency standards: Too much or not enough?

Science Daily, May 19th, 2009
European Industry Dominates Climate Lobby.

Science Daily, May 19th, 2009
Ecologists And Ethicists Urge Scientists To Speak Out On Environmental Policy.

Los Angeles Times, May 19th, 2009
China's edge in the energy-efficiency industry.

Science Daily, May 19th, 2009
Nitrogen From Human Activities May Be As Damaging As Phosphorus.

China Dialogue, May 18th, 2009
One year of open information.

Guardian, May 18th, 2009
Wandsworth Council outlines response to air pollution crisis.

Oil & Gas Journal, May 18th, 2009
Study says oil sands boost emissions 5-15%.

WHO, May 17th, 2009
Priorities for Climate and Health Research.

Times of Malta, May 17th, 2009
Vehicle emissions top air pollution concerns.

MSNBC, May 15th, 2009
Earth Talk: Climate Peat & People.

IEA, May 13th, 2009
IEA Contributes to Renewables Global Status Report.

Berkeley, May 1st, 2009
Life-cycle Energy and Emissions Inventories for Motorcycles, Diesel Automobiles, School Buses, Electric Buses, Chicago Rail, and New York City Rail.

Concrete = 5% of Global Carbon Footprint (NPR)

On NPR, May 22nd, 2009

Concrete may be responsible for as much as five percent of the global carbon footprint, taking into account the energy required to make it and the CO2 emitted by the kilning process. But a new study by engineer Liv Haselbach finds that concrete may also be an important CO2 sink.

Listen to the show here.

Cost of No-Action - Timing is Everything !!

Price of doing nothing costs the earth, says George Monibot of the Guardian.

Air Pollution Decision Support Timing Is Important

Air Pollution & Management in Delhi (SIM Series)

This paper, SIM-22-2009, presents the past and the current air quality management in Delhi, India, including the discussions on the air pollution levels, sources of air pollution, and policy interventions of the past and on-going.

This paper is based on a presentation delivered at the BioVision Conference in Lyon, France, in March, 2009.

Image below presents monthly 24 hour averages of PM10 and NOx concentrations at one of the monitoring stations (Siri Fort) in Delhi, India, including variance over each month. Click on the image to enlarge view and download the report for further details.



Also see

• Megacities threaten to choke India
• Coal use and air pollution
• BRT guide and India
• Carbon monitoring for action in India
  

Articles on Air Pollution & Climate Change by "China Dialogue"

Here is a list of interesting articles on Air Pollution & Climate Change by "China Dialogue".

Getting out of the shade, May 13th, 2009.
Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
In the second segment of a three-part article, Julian L. Wong argues that solar energy should be viewed as a crucial part of China’s national security strategy.

Energy integration for China, May 11th, 2009.
Faced with worsening energy scarcity, environmental damage and climate change, China is striving to develop renewable energy sources; in particular, large-scale wind power generation... Large-scale development of wind power is the current trend, but the connection to the grid is a major issue.

Reducing energy use at low cost, May 04th, 2009.
Energy saving in buildings may be the most cost-effective and achievable strategy to address climate change. Collaboration between China and the US, writes David Hathaway, demonstrates that the best strategy is decidedly low-tech.

Low carbon living begins at work, April 21st, 2009.
We need an office revolution to combat these environmental challenges. Green offices will retain or improve on current levels of productivity, but use less energy and create less pollution.

Climate on the Couch Part 1 and Part 2, April 10th, 2009.
Western culture lives in fear of wild nature, both external and internal, writes ecotherapist Mary-Jayne Rust. How can we find a way of working with nature in this consumerist age?

Fixing Beijing's Transport Nightmare, April 9th, 2009.
The surprising insight is that mitigating climate change through transport demand management is highly beneficial for car drivers, who can enjoy relatively free roads – and for citizens who will love more “blue sky days”. Of course, political courage is required to take the automobile lobby out of the proverbial driver’s seat, and discourage, if not ownership, at least car usage.

A High Cost to Hong Kong, April 7th, 2009.
Hong Kong has traditionally been China’s most dynamic city, at the cutting edge of economic development and a leader in introducing international best practice to China. Yet, in air quality management the city lags far behind other world cities. As one of Asia’s premier financial centres, we need to ask what air pollution is really costing us.

A New Approach at Copenhagen, Part 1, Part2, and Part 3, April 06th, 2009.
To classify a nation as “developing” or “developed” is insufficient to decide its climate-change responsibilities.

Paint it White, March 10th, 2009.The idea is a form of geo-engineering, a broad term used to cover all schemes that tackle the symptoms of climate change -- namely catastrophic temperature rise, without addressing the root cause, our spiralling greenhouse-gas emissions. And if altering all of the world's roofs and roads sounds extreme, then take a look at some ideas from the other end of the geo-engineering scale: giant mirrors in space, shiny balloons to float above the clouds and millions of fake plastic trees to suck carbon from the air.

The High Cost of Low Carbon, March 02nd, 2009.
Is leading a low-carbon lifestyle too expensive, particularly for ordinary Chinese people? Do you buy environmentally friendly goods and services despite the cost? If not, would you switch to more eco-friendly products and practices if the costs were lower? How important is this lifestyle decision to you?

Mountains of Concrete, February 26th, 2009.
Against these dramatic changes, the governments of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan are planning to transform the Himalayan rivers into the powerhouse of south Asia. They want to build hundreds of mega-dams to generate electricity from the wild waters of the Himalayas. With over 150,000 megawatts (MW) of additional hydropower capacity proposed in the next 20 years across the four countries, the Himalayan region could potentially have the highest concentration of dams in the world. At what cost?Road to Rapprochement, February 09th, 2009.
It is essential that both the Obama administration and the Chinese leadership engage at the highest levels to begin a new programme of significantly scaled-up cooperation on energy and climate change as soon as possible. Successful US-China cooperation on energy and climate security will substantially enhance prospects for a new international climate agreement as well as bolstering political support in each country for climate change mitigation policies. It will also build mutual trust between the United States and China, strengthen the US-China partnership for tackling a wide range of common strategic challenges in the twenty-first century, and be a constructive force in US-China relations at a point in time when the American public is increasingly sceptical of the benefits of bilateral economic integration.

Winds of Change Blow in India, January 26th, 2009.

A Tax on Breathing? January 09th, 2009.

Can Congestion Charging Soothe Beijing's Woes? October 27th, 2008
The geography of Beijing, with its various ring roads, would lend itself very easily to congestion charging. At the beginning, a congestion charge zone could be introduced within either the second or third ring road and then be extended outwards depending on the success of the scheme and public demand for it. In order to win public support, the funds raised from the congestion charge would have to be reinvested into public transport.

Slideshow: Air Pollution in Beijing. July 15th, 2008.

Air Pollution Alerts - May 17th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on May 10, 2009)

New York Times, May 16th, 2009
From a Theory to a Consensus on Emissions.

New York Times, May 16th, 2009
2 Studies Tie Disaster Risk to Urban Growth.

Money Control (India), May 16th, 2009
Ashok Leyland stutters but JNNURM bails it out.

The News, May 15th, 2009
Missing Opportunities to control air pollution in Pakistan.

In Forum, May 15th, 2009
Keep North Dakota air quality the best.

Wall Street Journal, May 15th, 2009
Garbage Gets Fresh Look as Source of Energy.

Reuters, May 15th, 2009
Draft U.N. climate texts mark step towards treaty.

New York Times, May 14th, 2009
Empire of Carbon.

CNN, May 14th, 2009
What if global-warming fears are overblown?

Science Daily, May 14th, 2009
Working On The Railroad? Using Concrete Could Help Environment.

Guardian, May 14th, 2009
The public deserves the full picture on climate change.

Scientific American, May 14th, 2009
How Should U.S. Government Apportion the Right to Pollute?

Pasadena Weekly, May 14th, 2009
Breaking the smog bank.

China Daily, May 14th, 2009
Urumqi hits environmental target.

Center for American Progress, May 14th, 2009
The Road to a Clean-Energy Future Begins Now.

LA Times, May 13th, 2009
EPA's greenhouse gas ruling draws criticism.

Thanhnein, May 13th, 2009
Doctors point traces of air and noise pollution.

Wall Street Journal, May 13th, 2009
Megacities Threaten to Choke India.

The New Nation, May 13th, 2009
World Bank to cut Urban Air Pollution.

Guardian, May 13th, 2009
Climate change biggest threat to health.

The Hindu, May 13th, 2009
Delhi govt. faces cancellation of bus funding under JNNURM.

Times of India, May 13th, 2009
Low floor buses delayed in Delhi, India.

Guardian, May 12th, 2009
100 million early deaths could be prevented by cutting global emissions by 50% by 2050.

Financial Times, May 12th, 2009
UK car emissions exceed forecasts.

Chron Business, May 12th, 2009
Ethanol bankruptcy filing a blow to biofuels industry in US.

New York Times, May 12th, 2009
Document Is Critical of E.P.A. on Clean Air.

New Kerala, May 12th, 2009
'Vehicle-free day' to be observed on June 5 in Bhopal, India.

World Over, May 12th, 2009
Russia, Mongolia to cooperate on nuclear energy.

China Dialogue, May 11th, 2009
Energy integration for China.

Desert News, May 11th, 2009
Clear the Air Challenge aims to reduce air pollution.

Discovery Channel, May 11th, 2009
Coal supply may be vastly overstated.

The Californian, May 11th, 2009
What you can't see can hurt you.

Times of India, May 11th, 2009
Car sales up 4.20%, bikes jump 12.11% in April, 2009.

New York Times, May 11th, 2009
China Outpaces U.S. in Cleaner Coal-Fired Plants.

Scientific American, May 11th, 2009
Why European Diesel Cars Are Not Available in the U.S.A..

Express India, May 10th, 2009
GSFDC to develop biomass briquettes as alternative fuel.

Center for American Progress, May 6th, 2009
Wildfires Heat Up in the West.

2009,
Urban Growth Management Initiative Working Papers.

Geology.com, March, 2008
Satellite Measures Pollution From East Asia to North America.

Media, Climate, & Pubic Awareness

The media is the main conduit for people to learn more, but the disconnect between the need for education and the journalistic mission to provide news means that climate stories are often missing the context needed to understand the bigger picture. Read the article on Guardian.

By Marc Roberts (Throbgoblins) on May 15th, 2009


Urbanemissions.info listed as a reference. Thank you Marc.

Megacities Threaten to Choke India (WSJ)

In Wall Street Journal,

Can People Really Have Carbon-Neutral Lives? (Scientific American)

From the Scientific American article - What does "carbon neutral" really mean? And is it really possible to live in such a manner without just resorting to buying carbon credits?

One comment -
Absolutely. The amount of carbon created at the big bang was fixed. Therefore, the amount of carbon on the planet is fixed. By definition, we will all live carbon neutral lives.

See examples of carbon calculators.

Coal Use & Air Pollution in China, India, UK, & USA

This is a repository of publications, news, and information on coal use and related air pollution/climate change discussions in China, India, and USA, and updated periodically.

If the reader has similar links, please forward by email.

• China outpaces U.S in cleaner coal power plants (New York Times, May, 2009)
• China to shut small oil refineries and metal smelters (Bloomberg, May, 2009)
• How much fossil fuel can we burn? (Guardian, May, 2009)
• Coal fired power plants: The writing on the wall (Economist, May, 2009)
• U.S coal power plants scuttled (Reuters, May, 2009)
• Clean air act and climate change: Killing old power plants (Gazette, May, 2009)
• Climate countdown: Half a trillion tonnes of carbon left to burn (Guardian, April, 2009)
• World can burn 25 percent of oil and coal "safely" (Reuters, April, 2009)
• '60 Minutes' blows on coal segment (AlterNet, April, 2009)
• Coal: Capturing the future (Guardian, April, 2009)
• 'Clean' coal plants get go ahead in UK (BBC, April, 2009)
• Bound to burn (City Journal, Spring, 2009)
• In areas fueled by coal, climate bill sends chills (New York Times, April, 2009)
• E.ON's 'integrated' technology claim is a shameless spin (Guardian, April, 2009)
• Debating a clean coal future (Council for Foreign Relations, March, 2009)
• The clean coal myth (Market Watch, March, 2009)
  
• Plea for clean coal investment (BBC, March, 2009)
• Are we breeding ourselves to extinction (AlterNet, March, 2009)
• U.S Energy department said to Err on coal project (New York Times, March, 2009)
• It's time to clear the air - Polluting industries should pay (Guardian, March, 2009)
• What to do about coal? (Scientific American, March, 2009)
• Research matters for clean technology fund (CARMA, March, 2009)
• Cleaning up the dirtiest fossil fuel (Scientific American, March, 2009)
  
• Why I'll get arrested to the stop burning coal (Yale e360, February, 2009)
• Doing nothing is too costly a solution (Carbon Based, March, 2009)
  
• Carbon capture - scrubbing the skies (Economist, March, 2009)
• The illusion of clean coal (Economist, March, 2009)
• Coal and climate change - Can king coal clean up (Ethical Corporation, March, 2009)
  
• Coal becomes future fuel (US DoE, December, 2008)
  
• 'Clean' coal plant canceled - Hydrogen economy too (Scientific American, February, 2008)

More articles will be posted shortly.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Based Resources for Energy & Environment

• An interactive map of suitable areas for wind and solar energy harvesting in America. This map was developed by Natural Resouces Defense Council (NRDC)
• 3-dimensional map of air pollution in London (UK)
• Visualizing the Electric grid in US (Fossil, Solar and Wind)
• Gridded global population and population density of the world is available at 2.5' (~3,000 meters) or 1/4 or 1/2 or 1 degree grid resolution for the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. These datasets are developed by the SocioEconomic Data & Applications Center (SEDAC)
• Satellite images of dust storms and haze pollution around the world by NASA Earth Observatory
• Urban Development Growth Initiative Working Papers
• China Population: 5th Census data
• City population with GIS overlay

This list is under development and will be updated shortly.

Air Pollution Alerts - May 10th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday
See the last issue on May 03, 2009

DNA India, May 9th, 2009
Damn carwallahs, trains are better.

Science Daily, May 9th, 2009
Way To Cut Cattle Methane.

Khaleej Times, May 8th, 2009
Environmental Pollution in Arab Countries will Increase.

Tennessean, May 8th, 2009
We must invest far more in transit.

Times Herald, May 8th, 2009
US Report on air ties refinery to ozone woes.

Yale 360, May 8th, 2009
Burning Corn More Efficient Than Manufacturing Biofuels.

Scientific American, May 7th, 2009
What Is The Best Way to Turn Plants into Energy?

Queens Chronicle, May 7th, 2009
Bad air days: Queens fails pollution test.

The Economist, May 7th, 2009
Coal Fired Power Plants, the Writing on the Walls.

Global Post, May 6th, 2009
Santiago struggles to deal with its longtime smog woes.

Guardian, May 6th, 2009
How much fossil fuel can we burn?

Guardian, May 6th, 2009
China ready for post-Kyoto deal on climate change.

The News, Pakistan, May 6th, 2009
Pollution in air on the rise in Lahore.

Jakarta Globe, May 6th, 2009
Choose People Over Cars.

Guardian, May 6th, 2009
Barack Obama's $1.8bn vision of greener biofuel.

Nanyang 100, May 6th, 2009
Test-bedding of Electric Vehicles in Singapore from 2010.

Digital Journal, May 6th, 2009
More Urban Transport means less Pollution and Illness.

Railway Gazette International, May 5th, 2009
Abu Dhabi unveils transport master plan.

Guardian, May 5th, 2009
Car ads 'should carry climate health warnings'.

BD News, May 5th, 2009
Study to ease city air pollution, jam okayed.

Science Daily, May 5th, 2009
Climate Experts Warn That Short-Term Snapshots Of Temperature Data Can Be Misleading: Focus Instead On The Bigger Picture.

Science Daily, May 5th, 2009
Mercury Levels In Arctic Seals May Be Linked To Global Warming.

Reuters, May 5th, 2009
Asia construction frenzy needs green injection.

Global Post, May 5th, 2009
The Nano's Burning Rubber.

Guardian, May 5th, 2009
Nicholas Stern on "Why global warming could make or break south-east Asia".

Guardian, May 5th, 2009
US climate change denier James Inhofe joins Al Gore in fight against soot.

PR News Wire, May 5th, 2009
Clean Air Partners Joins EPA Campaign to Reduce the Effects of Climate Change.

Reuters, May 5th, 2009
U.S. drafts rule to lower CO2 output from biofuels.

Bloomberg, May 4th, 2009
China to Shut Small Oil Refineries, Metal Smelters.

The World Bank, May 4th, 2009
Bangkok's Skytrain an example of the good infrastructure and services Thailand needs.

Cape Argus, May 4th, 2009
Cape Town City to debate revised air pollution bylaw.

Thaindian News, May 4th, 2009
Asthma control is appalling in most countries.

China Daily, May 2nd, 2009
Beijing has 'cleanest month' in 9 years.

BBC, May 2nd, 2009
Cairo's terrifying traffic chaos.

Asahi.com, May 2nd, 2009
China's pollution issues.

Star Tribune, May 1st, 2009
State should stay with EPA ozone standard.

LA Times, April 28th, 2009
Southern California's air pollution remains high.

Economist, April 27th, 2009
Two wheels good.

CAP, April 27th, 2009
Helping Vulnerable Countries Adapt to Global Warming.

Technology Review, April 23rd, 2009
Does Anyone Understand Geo-Engineering?

CAP, March 23rd, 2009
Retiring Old Cars, Creating New Jobs.

Indian Express, June 17th, 2008
Delhi Traffic at Saturation.

Air Pollution Due to Brick Kilns in Dhaka, Bangladesh (SIM Series)

This paper, SIM-21-2009, presents the results from the dispersion modeling of the brick kiln cluster emissions and their impact on the air quality in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Image below presents monthly average PM2.5 concentrations in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with the brick manufacturing season (October-March) separated. Click on the image to enlarge view.