Hindustan Times writes "Mumbai New Pollution Capital"?

On August 24th, 2009, an article titled “Mumbai new pollution capital” was published in the Hindustan Times (HT), on the front page. The title suggests big things and sadly, I was quoted in the article.



The day I came back from trekking in the Zanskar and Ladakh ranges of the Himalayas, I was interviewed by phone for this piece. The article is based on one of my papers in the SIM-air working paper series, No.24 titled “Motorized Passenger Travel in Urban India - Emissions & Co-Benefits Analysis”, which presents the emissions analysis of the motorized “in-city” passenger travel from twenty cities in India, covering the current trends in four modes of transport (passenger cars, motorcycles, 3 wheelers, and buses), estimated energy consumption for the assumed growth patterns, and possible co-benefits of three combined scenarios (public transport, policy reforms, and non-motorized transport).

The 20 cities included in this analysis are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kanpur, Agra, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Jaipur, Surat, Pondicherry, Bhubaneswar, Panaji, Patna, Kochi, Nagpur, and Guwahati.

The paper also discussed the urban passenger travel statistics in India formerly published by the Ministry of Urban Development titled "Transport Strategies for Urban India" in May 2008.

A topic that WAS NOT discussed in the paper is the pollution ranking of the cities. This is the contentious part of the piece published in the Hindustan Times, related to the misunderstanding of the air pollution sources and the information available to the media and the media publishing the titles like “Mumbai new pollution capital” without fully understanding the material in front of them.

1. The numbers presented in the paper are emissions only and do not translate to the pollution that one observes on the roads or residential areas or industrial zones.
2. More importantly, the numbers presented in the paper relate only to the passenger travel and the word “pollution” encompasses a whole lot of sources from domestic to long range, which is not covered in the paper. By quoting some numbers based on one source, it is FALSE and UNETHICAL to make up titles like “Mumbai new pollution capital”.
3. The references in the article are also false. The table quotes the number from the SIM-air working paper series and refers to it as based on CPCB data. The data used in my analysis is from multiple sources (mostly academic) and does not involve CPCB in any form in providing the data. This was clearly mentioned and the sources of the data for various cities is also discussed in the paper, and yet the HT author choose to misquote the references.
   

Finally, I am based in Delhi and the work presented in SIM-air working paper series is conducted as independent research @ www.urbanemissions.info and should not be linked or referred to the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, USA (and NOT in New York as quoted in the HT article).

I am an affiliate assistant research professor at DRI, but DRI neither supports nor funds the research presented under the SIM-air working paper series, in any official form, which was clearly conveyed to the HT author on phone and by email.

Bottom line is that the pollution awareness and the seriousness of the multiple air pollution sources is necessary and the media can help with the public awareness in a lot of ways, but NOT by misinforming the public using partial information and shifting priorities by ranking pollution among various cities.

Air Pollution Alerts - August 30th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on August 23, 2009)

Mother Nature Network, August 29th, 2009
Destination of the Week: Hong Kong.
Cosmopolitan Asian city offers green attractions, but smog remains a problem.

Granta Magazine, August 29th, 2009
Capital Gains - Story of Delhi, India.

Wall Street Journal, August 28th, 2009
Technology Can Fight Global Warming.

Economic Times, August 28th, 2009
Auto industry demand scrappage incentives in India.

BBC, August 27th, 2009
Hijacked by climate change?

China Dialogue, August 27th, 2009
Do we know change when we see it?

Caijing, China, August 26th, 2009
Experts reveal a new and thus far ignored culprit in China's struggle against air pollution.

Business Standard (India), August 25th, 2009
Mysore gets boost under JNNURM.

Seeking Alpha, August 25th, 2009
Emerging Economies: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Go Kunming, August 25th, 2009
Kunming air quality ranks number two among Chinese cities.

EuroActive, August 25th, 2009
Europe's air quality improving, data shows.

EuroActive, August 25th, 2009
Electric cars: On the road to greener transport?

Economic Times, August 24th, 2009
China's pressing pollution problem.

Australia, August 22nd, 2009
Implications of climate change for Australia's World Heritage properties.

Sydney Morning Herald, August 22nd, 2009
Power plant will put lives at risk.

Derry Journal, August 21st, 2009
City pollution could worsen swine flu.

The News (Pakistan), August 21st, 2009
Pollution on the rise in Lahore City.

Maimi Herald, August 19th, 2009
No more loopholes for King Coal.

World Streets, August 12th, 2009
John Whitelegg on the Global Transport Challenge.

China Daily, August 4th, 2009
Protests help clear the air.

Washington Post, August 1st, 2009
When It Comes to Being Green, Cash for Clunkers Is a Lemon.

Malaysia Star, August 1st, 2009
Building cities which matter to the people.

India Express, July 31st, 2009
Chennai Metro: Will imitating Delhi help?

In Depth News, July 30th, 2009
Polluters Must Inform Citizens.

Telegraph, July 30th, 2009
What can China do about climate change?

AFP, July 30th, 2009
Beijing closing coal plants in environmental move.

Examiner, July 29th, 2009
We can't pin our ozone problems on China.

Reuters, July 29th, 2009
World Bank arm sees China as Africa energy partner.

Urban Vision, July 29th, 2009
Rethinking urban mobility.

India Press Information Bureau, July 29th, 2009
Impact of rising number of vehicles on environment.

The New Nation, July 29th, 2009
Old vehicles causing serious environ threat to Dhaka.

EEA, July 29th, 2009
Ground-level ozone pollution has become a "global air pollution problem".

Earth Times, July 28th, 2009
Cutting Transportation Emissions is 'Critical' to Achieving Goals of House-Passed Climate Bill.

World Watch Institute, July 28th, 2009
World Bank Initiates Carbon Footprint Analysis.

Green Peace, July 28th, 2009
Polluting power: ranking China's power companies.

Ceylon Daily News, July 28th, 2009
Learn from the past to develop the future.

Business Standard, July 27th, 2009
India to host environment friendly vehicles conference in November, 2009.

WBCSD, July 27th, 2009
The planet's 2 biggest emitters open new round of climate talks.

Express, India, July 27th, 2009
Choke factor: 425 new vehicles every day in Hyderabad, India.

WBCSD, July 24th, 2009
Cleaner shipping rules to hit fuel oil market.

Financial Times, July 23rd, 2009
India widens climate rift with west.

Dehli Struggle, July 23rd, 2009
Why delhi’s buses are so deadly: an economic analysis.

WBCSD, July 22nd, 2009
Companies Need to Better Understand Emissions, Impacts from Global Supply Chains.

WBCSD, July 15th, 2009
UK says low carbon sector will grow in recession.

Foreign Policy in Focus, May, 2009
Cities Can Save Earth.

Back from Trekking in Zanskar - Darcha to Lamayuru

Photos from the trek are finally Up. October 18th, 2009.

****

Greetings from Delhi. Hope all is well and enjoying the last days of the summer.

I have been away for a month, trekking through the Zanskar and Ladakh ranges of the Himalayas, starting in Manali and ending in Leh. The foot journey started at Darcha, covering ~350 km over 22 days and ending at the Lamayuru Monastery (a few hours drive east of Kargil). En route, we crossed 11 passes and half the foot distance was along the Zanskar river, passing some very beautiful villages, otherwise a vast land of mountains and full of stars at night.

The most notable pass was the first on the 5th day called "Shingo La" at an altitude of 5050m. This is also the birth place of the Zanskar river. The challenging part of this leg was a river crossing for which we had to be on top of glacier before 10 AM to avoid the glacier melts and the rush of the river. I did take a patel shot standing on top of the glacier, right after which I slipped a few meters towards the river. I ended up sitting there for a few seconds and started climbing again following the expert guidance from Puja. Walking on the glacier knowing that the river is flowing beneath it was exhilarating.

The scenery changes in this region every 2 hours and with every range. Every pass has its beauty trapped in the valley. The gorges with at least 500m walls of the mountains are spectacular. Though the last gorge to the Lamayuru monastery was dry, dusty, and long, which was not fun. My picture attached is from the top of the "Hanuma La" pass at 4800m, where all the eye can see was the ranges of mountains to come. The peak to the right hand side is the "Shinge La" pass, meaning "Lion's Breath" at 5230m (highest on the trek), which we climbed two days later on the Indian independence day (looks very close in the picture).

A noteworthy town after the "Hanuma La" pass is "Lingshed". The monastery is well known and old. We reached this village two days prior to the arrival of His Holiness Dalai Lama. If we had any idea of his coming, we would have planned better. Along the passes, we saw entire villages packed and moving to Lingshed to see His Holiness. Couple of well wishers were carrying sofa's on there backs, hoping that the Dalai Lama might sit on it.

The end of the journey from Lamayuru to Leh was a four hour drive along the Sindhu river. We are still sorting through the 1000 odd pictures and will post a selected bunch in the coming weeks.

One objective that we did not achieve is the weight loss. We had a fantastic support staff and the cook from Nepal even managed to bake a cake in the middle of nowhere. The menu was simple, but included pakoras for evening snacks and bed tea in the tent :-)

As beautiful a trek this has been, the sad part is the construction. There is a road being built along the sections of the trek. This will change the trek route, now supported by the horses and donkeys, to the one supported by the horse power of the jeeps and vans. At the current rate, may be in 5-10 years. On our second last pass "Sirsir La", as we reached the top of the pass, we saw a bulldozer cutting through the other side :-(

We had a fantastic time along the trek, besides complaining about waking up early and having to clear the tent in the cold. We do hope that some of you will have a chance to see this part of the world before the cars and trucks outrun them.

Cheers,
Sarath

Air Pollution Alerts - July 25th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on July 19, 2009)

I am away on vacation till September 5th, 2009 (next post).

About, June 26th, 2009
Kerosene Coal Oil and the Shell Oil Company.

Book, July 26th, 2009
The Fire Dogs of Climate Change.

The Nation, July 25th, 2009
Air pollution costs Tk 134 b a year in capital alone - Dhaka, Bangladesh.

AFP, July 24th, 2009
Hong Kong proposes new air quality targets.

Cycling Botswana, July 24th, 2009
Climate Change in Botswana: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through implementation of non-motorized transport options.

Belfer Center, July 24th, 2009
Realistic Costs of Carbon Capture.

Times of India, July 24th, 2009
Transport strike leaves commuters in the lurch in Kolkata.

Times of India, July 24th, 2009
15 year old vehicles to be banned.

New York Times, July 24th, 2009
An Amazon Culture Withers as Food Dries Up.

Reuters, July 24th, 2009
Singapore keeps top spot in expat survey.

Science Blog, July 24th, 2009
Improved air quality during Beijing Olympics could inform pollution-curbing policies.

Energy Tribune, July 23rd, 2009
Kirk R. Smith – Why the Rural Poor Need Propane and Butane.

Science News, July 23rd, 2009
Pollution and Health Reform.

Examiner, July 23rd, 2009
Clean Energy 101: Can fossil fuels become clean energy?

Xinhua Net, July 22nd, 2009
Chinese city prepares for Asian Games.

Reuters, July 21st, 2009
Parent stress, air pollution up kids' asthma risk.

New York Times, July 21st, 2009
Video: Tata Nano Passes European Crash Test.

Windsor Star, July 21st, 2009
Windsor tests new way to measure air quality.

Times of India, July 21st, 2009
JNNURM Officials to focus on one project at a time in India.

Care, July 21st, 2009
Our Kids' Brains...and Air Pollution.

Foreign Policy, July 20th, 2009
A spot of trouble in the subcontinent.

Mother Nature Network, July 20th, 2009
Are small particulates a big deal?

Guardian, July 20th, 2009
IPCC chief: Benefits of tackling climate change will balance cost of action.

Manila Bulletin, July 20th, 2009
Stepping up pollution control and security measures at Pandacan oil depots.

Dawn (Pakistan), July 20th, 2009
Urban transport policy finalised for Pakistan.

ICTSD, July 20th, 2009
Innovation and Technology Transfer to Address Climate Change.

Wall Street Journal, July 20th, 2009
India and Climate Change.

Climate Progress, July 20th, 2009
Making buses cool again.

Times of India, July 19th, 2009
Price hurdles for LPG switch.

Columbus Dispatch, July 19th, 2009
Looking closely at the climate bill.

Times of India, July 19th, 2009
Choking Callousness: City drives into smog.

Times of Malta, July 19th, 2009
Plan A for better air.

RV.net, July 18th, 2009
Forget CO2: Aerosols are the Global Warming Culprit.

Beijing Minds, July 18th, 2009
Cornell’s Max Zhang Studies Air-Quality In Beijing During Olympics.

Hedon, July 17th, 2009
Commercialization of Improved Cookstoves for Reduced Indoor Air Pollution in Urban Slums of Northwest Bangladesh.

RFF, July 17th, 2009
The Role of Technology Policies in Climate Mitigation.

The Australian, July 15th, 2009
Al Gore and friends create climate of McCarthyism.

Times of India, July 4th, 2009
Cooking fires weakening Indian monsoon.

Vehicle Ownership & Income Groups, Worldwide 1960 to 2030 (by Joyce Dargay)

This paper is published by Dargay et al., 2007 (NYU) has very interesting insights into the evolution of the vehicle ownership and the income groups across the world.

Abstract: The speed of vehicle ownership expansion in emerging market and developing countries has important implications for transport and environmental policies, as well as the global oil market. The literature remains divided on the issue of whether the vehicle ownership rates will ever catch up to the levels common in the advanced economies. This paper contributes to the debate by building a model that explicitly models the vehicle saturation level as a function of observable country characteristics: urbanization and population density. Our model is estimated on the basis of pooled time-series (1960-2002) and crosssection data for 45 countries that include 75 percent of the world’s population. We project that the total vehicle stock will increase from about 800 million in 2002 to over 2 billion units in 2030. By this time, 56% of the world’s vehicles will be owned by non- OECD countries, compared with 24% in 2002. In particular, China’s vehicle stock will increase nearly twenty-fold, to 390 million in 2030. This fast speed of vehicle ownership expansion implies rapid growth in oil demand.

Other resources

• VAPIS - Vehicular Air Pollution Information System
• 2 Billion Cars by Dan Sperling
  
• World Streets by Eric Britton
• CityFix by World Resources Institute
• Street Films
• Report by Prof. Collin Buchanan from 1960, projecting vehicle ownership for London in 2000 and beyond
  

Air Pollution Alerts - July 19th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on July 12, 2009)

Science Alerts, July 18th, 2009
Air Pollution Prevention Applications for the Transport Sector by Integrating Urban Area Transport and Vehicle Emission Models with the Case Study of Bangkok, Thailand.

The Star Online, July 17th, 2009
Settle this burning issue of haze, now.

Earth News, July 17th, 2009
“Black Carbon” Chokes Chilean Towns.

CORDIS, July 17th, 2009
Europeans launch mega campaign to assess air pollution.

UNFCCC COP-18, July 16th, 2009
MTV to lift climate awareness of the young.

Thanh Nien News, July 16th, 2009
Coal mining companies destroy environment in plain view in Vietnam.

Montsame Mongolia, July 16th, 2009
Business cooperation to deepen between Mongolia and Japan.

Global Post, July 16th, 2009
Winter in the time of swine flu in Chile.

Washington Post, July 16th, 2009
Asian Nations Could Outpace U.S. in Developing Clean Energy.

IPS, July 16th, 2009
Take the Squeaky Clean Hydro Bus (Environment Brazil).

Reuters, July 15th, 2009
Hong Kong air pollution worsens but China blamed less.

Sify Business, July 15th, 2009
Volvo expects orders for 600 buses under JNNURM.

Times of India, July 15th, 2009
Don't Miss the Bus.

Environmental Communication Releases, July 15th, 2009
Smog, smog alerts and human health.

Press Information Bureau, India, July 15th, 2009
SO2 and NO2 within prescribed air quality norms in residential areas of cities.

Korea Times, July 15th, 2009
Apocalypse When?

Spiegel Online, July 15th, 2009
Power Plant Battle Goes to International Arbitration.

IBN Live, July 15th, 2009
Why dream cities turn living nightmares in India.

Shanghai Daily, July 15th, 2009
When dark water and polluted air are signs of urban progress.

Bakery Bazaar, July 14th, 2009
Why Environment Management System (EMS) is required in bakery Industry.

Deccan Herald, July 14th, 2009
City’s first Traffic and Transit Management Center in Bangalore, India.

James Hansen, July 14th, 2009
Strategies to Address Global Warming & Is Sundance Kid a Criminal?

Bangkok Post, July 14th, 2009
JBIC sees potential for urban transport.

Ulaanbaatar Post, July 14th, 2009
Mongolia’s Growing Shantytowns.

Towards Freedom, July 14th, 2009
Why Carbon Trading Won’t Save Us From Catastrophic Climate Change.

Examiner, July 14th, 2009
What's in a carbon footprint? Summer heat and pollution.

Retriever Weekly, July 13th, 2009
Green movement has the potential to bolster economy.

New York Times, July 13th, 2009
China Builds High Wall to Guard Energy Industry.

New York Times, July 13th, 2009
Exxon to Invest Millions to Make Fuel From Algae.

New York Times, July 13th, 2009
Designing a Cleaner ‘Tuk Tuk’.

New York Times, July 13th, 2009
A Turning Point for the Shipping Industry?

Rolling Stone, July 13th, 2009
The great American bubble machine.

Reuters, July 13th, 2009
Electric cars could dominate U.S. roads in 2030.

The Guardian, July 13th, 2009
BBC still walking with dinosaurs when it comes to climate change.

The Guardian, July 13th, 2009
The rich can relax. We just need the poor world to cut emissions. By 125%.

Las Vegas Sun, July 13th, 2009
Small steps on energy will add up.

Jerusalem Post, July 13th, 2009
50% of factories fail pollution checks.

The Citizen of Laconia, July 13th, 2009
New database tracks pollution in New Hampshire, US.

Desert Sun, July 13th, 2009
Air pollution linked to increased fire threat.

Press Information Bureau, India, July 13th, 2009
Implementation of emission norms for new and in-use vehicles and fuel quality as per new road map of the auto fuel policy underway.

The Nation, July 13th, 2009
City faces heat and humidity due to air pollution in Lahore, Pakistan.

The Hindu, July 13th, 2009
‘Soleckshaw,’ a boon for rickshaw-pullers in India.

Xinhua Net, July 13th, 2009
Guangzhou to ensure better air quality for Asian Games.

CNN, July 13th, 2009
Greening the Internet: How much CO2 does this article produce?

CNN, July 13th, 2009
Countries betting tech can clean up coal.

CNN, July 13th, 2009
White roofs save energy and address global warming.

China Daily, July 13th, 2009
Clean energy to be focus of Sino-US talks.

Business Mirror, July 12th, 2009
A thorny issue of excise duty on fuels in Philippines.

Fresno Bee, July 12th, 2009
Asthma study finds seasonal surprises.

Dawn, July 12th, 2009
Removal of brick kilns proposed in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Worldwatch Institute, July 10th, 2009
Climate Wake-Up Call In Italy.

Worldwatch Institute, July 9th, 2009
The More Hybrid Drivers the Better?

Scientific American, July 9th, 2009
Why not split harmful carbon dioxide into harmless carbon and oxygen?

Scientific American, July 9th, 2009
EPA Looking to Replace Bush-era Pollution Rules.

US GAO, July 9th, 2009
Clean Air Act: Preliminary Observations on the Effectiveness and Costs of Mercury Control Technologies at Coal-Fired Power Plants.

China CSR, July 9th, 2009
Beijing Eliminates Over 80,000 Polluting Vehicles.

Economist, July 9th, 2009
Climate change talks - Wanted fresh air.

The Scientist, July 9th, 2009
Has China's cleanup been effective?

The Economist, July 8th, 2009
Solar power and the Sahara desert - The start of something big?

CNN, July 7th, 2009
Change in the wind for power firm.

New York Times, July 4th, 2009
Can I Clean Your Clock?

DFID, July 3rd, 2009
The Climate and Development Knowledge Network: Improving access to climate change research and information.

New York Times, July 2nd, 2009
El Niño Variant Is Linked to Hurricanes in Atlantic.

JNNURM, India, June 30th, 2009
Andhra Pradesh places second implementation of JNNURM.

New York Times, May 29th, 2009
Green Promise Seen in Switch to LED Lighting.

One India, April 23rd, 2006
Transport in Asian cities and air pollution in New Delhi.

One India, April 19th, 2006
Environment and air pollution in Asia.

Tata Nano Delivered and It Will be a Good Ride !!

The first three Nano's were delivered today, by none other than Mr. Ratan Tata. Irrespective of all the news coverage and possible negativities because of a cheap car, I think this is going to be a good ride, especially for 10 reasons.

See the SIM working paper "#11 - Not So Fast For Nano Car", reviewing the urban transport sector in India and possible impact of the Nano cars on urban air pollution.

The 10 reasons why we will be OK with Nano cars on the road.

1. The production rates are lower than the consumption rates. Currently at 60,000 a year is only expected to grow as much as 300,000 per year. So, we have other manufacturers to worry about. See the Delhi case.

2. The car is expected to give 20+ km per liter, which is not bad. For in city travel, this is a good measure and means a direct reduction in the air pollution and greenhouse emissions (direct exhaust).

3. The possibility of more vehicles on the road, mostly coming from the conversion of motorcycle folks to first time car owners, is a valid concern. But, the economics of the fuel consumption will be a concern for someone who uses motorcycle on a daily basis.

4. Only the first 100,000 Nano cars are marked for Rs.100,000 per car. So, the cheap price is not for ever. And with all the extra charges for amenities and taxes, there is bound to be an additional cost of at least 15 to 20 percent.

5. With the mounting costs of production, including all the physical movement of the plants from West Bengal to Gujarat, is expected to bring the car costs to as high as Rs. 200,000 when the production reaches its peak in 2010.

6. It's not always about the cars. The question is where is the alternative for the public, if not a motorcycle or a car. While the private sector is promoting (and doing their best) the car culture, the Government is having their share of troubles and delays in getting the buses on road.

7. The cars will be on the road. Somehow, owning a car has become the norm for social status. Most often, the Nano car is being bought as a second car, which means either some substitutional miles reducing the fuel consumption and emissions on the road or more a weekend get away miles. In either case, the problem of congestion should be the same or minimum, given the production rates of Nano alone. The problem remains the overall increase in the number of cars, and not just about the Nano.

8. Parking problems are plenty in the Urban India. With a small car, parking should make it easy.

9. The safety is always an issue - both for the driver and the pedestrian. At least with a small car and a small engine, we are not expecting guzzling speeds on the road.

10. The motorcycles are polluting and the new emission norms make the Nano car cleaner and less polluting, meaning less air pollution, meaning less exposure to harmful pollutants. However, a problem worth looking into is the road dust and not the vehicle emissions.

Some recent coverage on Nano

• Mega Demand for World's Cheapest Car (CNN, May, 2009)
• Nano Mania Grips Corporate India (Economic Times, April, 2009)
  
• Nano Likely to Take Congestion to Tier II and Tier III Towns (Economic Times, April, 2009)
• The Nano and its Discontents (Tehelka, April, 2009)
  
• The Nano Law of Unintended Consequences (Global Post, March, 2009)
  
• Can the Nano Car Solve the Mounting Problems of its Maker? (The Economist, March, 2009)
  
• Small Wonder (DNA India, March, 2009)
• 10 Things You Should About the Nano Car (US News, March, 2009)
  
• Nano will Benefit Rural India (DNA India, March, 2009)
  
• World's Cheapest Car: Boon or Bane? (New York Times, March, 2009)
  
• For Bengal, it is not Just Nano Loss (Times of India, October, 2008)
• Latest Guinness Book Celebrates Tata Nano (IBN Live, September, 2008)
  
• Nano Costs Could Leave Tata Out of Pocket (Times Online, August, 2008)
• India's 50 mpg tata Nano - Auto Solution or Pollution (The Wired Magazine, June, 2008)
• Easing the Pain Caused by High Fuel Prices (The City Fix, June, 2008)
• Small, it's the New Big (NewsWeek, February, 2008)
  
• The Nano-Flyover Syndrome (Down to Earth, February, 2008)
• Tata's Nano and Global Warming (New York Times, January, 2008)
  
• India's Cheapest Car Comes at a Cost (Asia Times, January, 2008)
• No, No, No, Don't Follow Us (New York Times, November, 2007)

MEGAPOLI - Megacity Pollution Management Program

MEGAPOLI
Megacities: emissions, urban, regional and global atmospheric pollution and climate effects, and integrated tools for assessment and mitigation

The MEGAPOLI campaign is being carried out as part of the EUR 3.4 million EU-funding under the Environment (including climate change) Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). MEGAPOLI is coordinated by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and involves 22 partners from 12 European countries including the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.

Similar Programs

• Greenhouse gases and Air pollution INteractions and Synergies (GAINS) by IIASA, Vienna, Austria
• URBAIR by the World Bank, Washington DC, USA (closed)
  
• Clean Air Initiative for Asia, Latin America, and Sub Saharan Africa
  
• CURB-Air

Hong Kong air pollution worsens but China blamed less

"Hong Kong air pollution worsens but China blamed less" in Reuters on July 15th, 2009, is probably the best news we heard about China's air pollution problems in the last couple of months. Starting with the controversies surrounding the air quality in Beijing during the Olympic Games 2008.


Live from Beijing, June 3rd, 2009
New report shows widespread air quality manipulation.

China Air Pollution in News..

Previous posts on Beijing/China Air Pollution

• Beijing to Delhi - Traffic problems highlighted
• Mortality due to air pollution
• Air Quality Index (AQI) in urban centers
• Articles on air pollution and climate change by "China Dialogue"
• Beijing announced cleanest month in 9 years
• Environmental assessment of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (UNEP)
• Dust Storms, Fires, and Haze Pollution in Asia
• Particulate Pollution in Asia
  
• More new cars are registered in 2009 in Beijing, China
  
• Transport Emissions Inventory for China
• Photo Diary of Air Pollution in Beijing
• Sensing air quality in Beijing (Interactive Maps)
• Beijing still hazy !!
• Air pollution in Beijing

Push for More Public Transport in India

This past week, a news report by the Center for Science and Environment, New Delhi, India, on June 22nd, 2009, presented a case for further taxation and new reforms to promote public transport in the growing cities (in size and pollution).

Says Narain: “In view of these environment and economic concerns, urgent steps are needed to rationalise taxation policy to remove incentives for diesel cars. The option we propose is to increase the Central excise duty on small diesel cars to 24 per cent and on bigger diesel cars to 32 per cent. This will provide an important disincentive, and give the right signals to city governments to increase taxes on diesel vehicles.”

An article in the Down to Earth magazine, discusses the affordability of the buses in India and an example caught my eye, "London authorities are charged by bus operators for congestion—if the bus cannot complete its journey in time because of traffic on the road, it is London that pays, and charges road users for it. The bottom-line is somebody will have to pay."

This is an interesting strategy to bring balance between the operators and the enforcement (traffic management/police) agencies. However, the implementation in the Indian cities, with no regards for traffic rules and poor governance at the enforcement, will be challenging.

The question raised in the article on "how to cut down on the capital costs of the public transport", one by not buying modern low-floor buses and replenishing the fleets with the regular buses, which will not require all the new infrastructure needs".

The question of BRT in India is never far from the news. See a review of the new BRT system in Ahmedabad by the CAI-Asia Center. It will be interesting to see the developments and the implementation progress in the coming months, given the history of BRT system has been meagre to none in Pune and Delhi.



Elisabeth Rosenthal in the New York Times on July 9th, 2009, makes a candid case for BRT systems based on the Bogota case study (video link) and how promoting the bus culture will help the climate fight. However, the article focuses more on the possibilities of BRT in the developing countries, and the less pressure on the developed countries, where the share of the GHGs from the transport sector is the highest.

Non-motorized transport still rules when it comes to pollution friendly and climate friendly measures, but the review of the walkbility in Delhi is BAD.

Air Pollution Linked to Increased Fire Threat

The article published in Desert Sun, July 13th, 2009, states that the pollution-created nitrogen in the soils (mostly from the vehicle exhaust and deposited), the invasive grasses (which grow wildly and freely in the presence of the nitrogen in the soils), and the wildfires all create a vicious cycle that works against native desert species in US.

Links satellite images of pollution haze due to forest fires and dust storms.

Air Pollution Alerts - July 12th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on July 05, 2009)

Science News, July 18th, 2009
Studies are homing in on which particles polluting the air are most sickening — and why.

Zee News, July 12th, 2009
Scientists develop eco-, user-friendly solar powered rickshaw in India.

Times of India, July 12th, 2009
China overtakes US to become world's largest auto market.

Engaging China, July 11th, 2009
Pollution victory short-lived.

Times of India, July 11th, 2009
Early morning air no longer fresh.

Bloomberg, June 11th, 2009
China Car Sales Jump ‘Beyond Imagination'.

Lahore Nama, July 10th, 2009
Islamabad choking on exhausts.

MSN News, July 10th, 2009
Two-wheelers bring cheer to auto sales in June in India.

Mother Nature Network, July 10th, 2009
Weekend Briefing.

Innovations Report, July 10th, 2009
Post-Olympics Emissions from China Studied.

ETA, July 10th, 2009
Council considering air quality steps.

New York Times, July 10th, 2009
Buses May Aid Climate Battle in Poor Cities.

Israel MEP, July 9th, 2009
Environmental Protection Ministry Promotes Regulations on Air Pollution Prevention from Electricity Production.

PBS, July 9th, 2009
Cote d'Ivoire: Up in Smoke.

VOA News, July 9th, 2009
Reducing Ship Emissions.

Science Daily, July 9th, 2009
Some Particles Cool Climate, Others Add To Global Warming.

Market Oracle, July 9th, 2009
This Company is About to Clean Up in China.

Business Mirror, July 9th, 2009
World Bank pitches gas excise-tax hike in Philippines.

Science Daily, July 8th, 2009
Power Of US Cities To Mitigate Climate Change And Steps They Need To Take To Adapt.

Railway Board, July 8th, 2009
Air Pollution in Mumbai and people’s perception victoria-terminus-in-mumbai.

Press TV, July 8th, 2009
Tehran dust pollution under control.

Forum of Asian Engineers, July 7th, 2009
South Asia and Climate Change.

Guardian, July 7th, 2009
Why going to South Africa for the World Cup terrifies me.

Cloud Computing Journal, July 7th, 2009
Envirofit Expands Clean Burning Cookstoves to Meet Global Demand and Help Solve Indoor Air Pollution Problem.

Center for American Progress, July 7th, 2009
Clean-Energy Legislation Is an Opportunity for Farmers and the Economy.

Market Wire, July 7th, 2009
European End-of-Pipe Air Pollution Control Equipment Market Report.

Google News, July 7th, 2009
Fuel Tech to Host China Workshop on Energy Efficiency Improvement and NOx Emissions Control Technologies for Fossil Power.

AlterNet, July 7th, 2009
The Dark Side of Climate Change: It's Already Too Late, Cap and Trade Is a Scam, and Only the Few Will Survive.

Press, July 7th, 2009
Tehran pollution unprecedented in 30 years.

TIME, July 7th, 2009
Getting Your Slice of the Cap-and-Trade Pie.

CNN, July 7th, 2009
World's rich targeted in new model for carbon cuts.

AlterNet, July 6th, 2009
Wildfires Are Linked to Global Warming -- But Media Obscure the Relationship.

AlterNet, July 6th, 2009
Finally, Someone Has Made Fighting Global Warming Cool.

UNDP July 6th, 2009
Latin America’s first water-powered bus on the streets of São Paulo.

Physorg, July 6th, 2009
China environmental phenomena monitored from space.

Physorg, July 6th, 2009
New method may help allocate carbon emissions responsibility among nations.

The News, July 6th, 2009
CNG Buses are window dressing in Pakistan.

US EPA, July 6th, 2009
U.S. EPA Expedites Economic Recovery Funding to Reduce Diesel Emissions, Create Jobs in Miami, Florida.

Blog, July 6th, 2009
E-Scooters in Ahmedabad, India.

Forbes, July 6th, 2009
Who's Measuring Your Carbon Footprint?

Japan Times, July 6th, 2009
Forum to seek 50% CO 2 cut, 80% by rich nations.

TPM, July 6th, 2009
Between bamboo and brazenness.

Vietnam Business News, July 5th, 2009
All Motors Vehicles To Use 10 per cent Smokeless Fuel By 2020.

US-China Today, July 5th, 2009
Caution:Traffic in China.

Malta News, July 4th, 2009
It’s not ‘just dust’ after all.

Softpedia, July 4th, 2009
Los Angles to Renounce Coal Power by 2020.

Xinhua Net, July 4th, 2009
Chinese Minister refutes doubts over air quality results during Olympics.

Upstate Today, July 3rd, 2009
Venting about our air quality in South Carolina.

Times of India, July 3rd, 2009
Knowing the Air Quality in Varanasi.

Straits Time, July 3rd, 2009
Best air quality in near decade in China.

TIME, July 3rd, 2009
Cleaner Skies in Beijing.

AlterNet, July 3rd, 2009
Thanks to Our Fossil Fuel Addiction, We May Be Setting Ourselves Up for a Catastrophic Natural Event.

BBC, July 3rd, 2009
Japan rethinks silent hybrid cars.

TPM, June 29th, 2009
The Global Warming Lie Detector.

Transport Politic, June 23rd, 2009
Lagos Light Rail Delayed by Cash Shortage.

Air Pollution Alerts - July 5th, 2009

News & Information; Every Sunday (Last on June 28, 2009)

Guardian, July 3rd, 2009
China mulling new air quality regulations.

Telegraph, July 3rd, 2009
Change but no change in China.

The Hindu, July 3rd, 2009
More BRT corridors, more buses in Indian Cities.

Mercury News, July 3rd, 2009
California's tough new smog rules take effect for ships.

Los Angeles, July 2nd, 2009
U.S., California programs to reduce ship emissions.

Perthshire, July 2nd, 2009
Clearing the air over pollution.

Guardian, July 2nd, 2009
Low carbon economy will transform world like the first industrial revolution.

Washington Post, July 1st, 2009
Local Students Do Their Share for Cleaner Air.

China Daily, July 1st, 2009
Jiangsu builders will be fined for raising dust.

Web Newswire, July 1st, 2009
World Bank Approves US$535 Million Package for Ghana.

Oil & Gas Journal, July 1st, 2009
Recent reports reveal shifting LNG trends in 2009.

Urban Watch India, July 1st, 2009
JNNURM-II Failure is its own reward for MoUD.

BBC, July 1st, 2009
From bush to bike - a bamboo revolution.

Webwire, July 1st, 2009
Global car survey finds six in ten lean toward green, if money no object.

EPA, July 1st, 2009
Global car survey finds six in ten lean toward green, if money no object.

Reuters, June 30th, 2009
Natural Gas: The Rodney Dangerfield of Fuels.

BBC, June 30th, 2009
Mobile pollution sensors deployed.

Common Dreams, June 30th, 2009
Dependence on Big Oil, Dirty Coal Could Cost U.S. $30 Trillion By 2030.

Science Daily, June, 30th, 2009
Particulate Pollution Combined With Airborne Soot Adds To Global Warming.

China Daily, June 30th, 2009
US embassy relying on own air monitoring system.

Wheels Unplugged, June 30th, 2009
ATMA anticipates nearly Rs. 2,615 crore investments in radial tyres by 2011 in India.

Science Daily, June 30th, 2009
Peer Pressure Plays Major Role In Environmental Behavior.

Wheels Unplugged, June 30th, 2009
JNNURM bus supply deadline again extended to Dec 2009 in India.

Brazil News, June 30th, 2009
Brazil's First Hydrogen Bus Enters Service in São Paulo.

Oil & Gas Journal, June 30th, 2009
IEA: World oil demand seen reaching 89 million b/d by 2014.

Oil & Gas Journal, June 29th, 2009
Survey: US public underestimates role of oil, gas in energy future.

The News (Pakistan), June 29th, 2009
Lahore launches bus service with Chinese cooperation.

AMR Research, June 29th, 2009
The New Age of Carbon.

Wallet Pop, June 28th, 2009
How a cap and trade bill will affect you.

Blog, June 28th, 2009
How regulations came to be.

Mangalorean, June 28th, 2009
Karnataka should check air pollution- study.

Strait Times, June 28th, 2009
Indonesia's traffic nightmare.

World Bank, June 26th, 2009
Global Environment Facility Funds Benin Energy Efficiency Project.

Telegraph (India), June 26th, 2009
Old taxis touch phase-out line - Final push for exit of 7,600 vehicles in Kolkata.

New Scientist, June 25th, 2009
Methane controls before risky geoengineering by Kirk Smith.

India Express, June 1st, 2009
Can Delhi come clean before Games 2010?