Posts Tagged ‘air pollution’
Djibouti, a geothermal model? Dji’betcha!
August 31st, 2009 | 
Author: 
One of the curious ironies within this renewable energy debate is that regions of the world that have the least access to capital investment may be most ripe for adopting new ways to provide energy for its citizens. At solar power conferences that I've recently attended, there's been a lot of buzz over Africa. At first I raised my eyebrows, but then the logic settled in. Wide swaths of land within African nations lack infrastructure--forget utilities lines, we're talking roads. There is no incentive for power companies to expand their reach within rural regions if they cannot even safely and efficiently move and build there in the first place! However, in areas that receive much sunlight, solar panel installations can provide electricity at a price much more cost effectively than fossil-based fuels. Likewise, turbines can provide much needed power to people living where the winds are strong. (more...)
Posted in International, energy | 
Tags: air pollution, clean energy, Djibouti, geothermal, international development, Reykjavík Energy Invest, sustainability | 
No Comments »
Danes on Bikes
I miss my bicycle. Years ago, I lived in Gainesville, Florida, and as a poor graduate student, a car was out of the question. I had just moved from Baltimore, where I got by without a car because downtown was compact enough to walk around, and when venturing out, I could take water taxis to Fell's Point, a free shuttle to UMBC, or the light rail to the northern suburbs. Then I moved to Gainesville, and for $300, I bought a bike that I loved. Gainesville was small enough to navigate with a bike, and I did: I bought my groceries home by bicycle, rode to a nearby wildlife reserve, maneuvered around the alligator ponds, and I even rode it to the DMV for my driver's license.
Posted in International, transportation |
Tags: air pollution, bicycles, Copenhagen, Denmark, Los Angeles |
No Comments »
The La Canada / Flintridge Fires – Photos
The La Canada Flintridge fire, along with the other fires consuming California, has been devastating. Here are some pictures I took yesterday along CA-2. (more...)
Palms Away
When one thinks of Los Angeles, palm trees immediately come to mind. Hardly a city block lacks a business with Palm in its name, and whether you’re in affluent Brentwood or the effluent neighborhoods near downtown, palms line the streets. When visitors send postcards home, most likely they’re showing off palm trees. We’ve got a few on our property. They are an LA icon.
But they are not native to Los Angeles.
And they are dying off.
(more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life |
Tags: air pollution, invasive species, Los Angeles, native plants, palm trees, Silver Lake |
No Comments »
Let’s Just Blow Them Off
Last Saturday morning, I was walking Cosmo before it got too hot for him . . . forgetting that the problem with walking him in the morning is like playing dodge ball—we are always avoiding the neighborhood nemesis, the leaf blower. Discussions on pollution often focus on cars, factories, and LA, the ports: but these leaf blowers are a pesky problem that communities throughout the US are constantly discussing. (more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life, energy |
Tags: air pollution, gardening, lawn blowers, leaf blowers, Los Angeles, pollution |
5 Comments »
Grand Central
Los Angeles is often the straw man when you read about California’s environmental problems. The left screams bloody murder at the thought of offshore drilling. Conservative farmers ask why “their” water is going to swimming pools in Southern California. LA = smog, which is the view of many people, including one former college pal who stopped contacting me when I challenged her view that there’s so much more to LA than smog. Oh, and the San Pedro Bay is a Superfund site. I can go on and on and on about the Southland. But there’s another environmental disaster underway in the Golden State. (more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life, business, water |
Tags: air pollution, central valley, environmentalism, farming, Fresno, Merced, Modesto, pollution, San Joaquin Valley |
No Comments »
Green Travel
I love to travel. Well, not air travel--American carriers are atrocious, from their fight against security measures, horrific service, and filthy planes. Southwest and Virgin America have become our luxury airlines, while the legacy carriers have become Greyhound with wings. Sorry, that's unfair to Greyhound.But I'm not taking the Queen Mary to Asia or South America anytime soon, so I have to fly--and therein lies the problem: the evidence suggests that air travel has a hideous effect on our atmosphere. Hotels use up a lot of water and energy. And tourists can make quite a mess. (more...)
Posted in International, air - land - quality of life, business, energy |
Tags: air pollution, air travel, couchsurfing, hotels, travel |
No Comments »
The heartbreak in Iran
Unless you’re completely apathetic, it’s painful to see what’s going on in Iran.
What was once one of the world’s most powerful and important powers is now a tragedy. Years of plundering by the shahs’ regimes, and the rigidity and incompetence of the Islamic Republic has left this nation of over 70 million in economic shambles and a world pariah. (more...)
Less NOx and SOx = more tots?
I love The Economist. I guess the UK has to have one tame level-headed publication considering its outrageous tabloids and magazines. The latest little tidbit I ran into on their web site quoted an MIT professor’s study that basically says
Not that a recession is good . . . it means promising economic initiatives such as renewable energy projects get canned . . . and hospitals and health services get cut . . . but then again, those kids who survive will contribute to our economy and culture in a generation’s time . . .
(more...)
Cap-n-Trade . . . or Cap’n Crunch?
There’s been much discussion in the US and abroad about moving to a cap-and-trade system. How can I put this term in layman’s terms? Okay, I’m a dog owner, so let’s give you a real life scenario (if there’s such a thing in LA): Pollution, Climate Change, and Henry Waxman
Every day I check the green tech news feeds and the biggest boldest headline today was titled, “US Lawmakers Formally Unveil Climate Change Bill.” I haven’t read it yet—I’ve been following the debate, and I’m fearful of what the bill will say. Overall, I tend to side with the Democrats on the environmental issues, but I find that the biggest hypocrites on such matters are in the Democratic caucus. (more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life, politics, transportation |
Tags: air pollution, Henry Waxman, LA Metro, public transportation, Red Line |
No Comments »