Air Pollution News for 07-24-07

- An organic chemist and two engineers from Wales believe they have developed the answer to our green house gas problem. “Greenbox” is technology that captures GHG emissions such as CO2 and NOx from a car, turning the vehicle’s emissions into mostly water vapor. The box captures emissions, holds the gases in an inert state, where they are then transported to a bioreactor where algae will turn the gases into biofuels. Eventually the Greenbox will be able to be used on most on vehicles, and possibly even buildings and power plants that emit greenhouse gases.

- The Coalition to Build a Cleaner California is asking new chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols to extend the deadline for reducing emissions on off-road diesel vehicles from 2020 to 2025. The Coalition is made up of representatives from the labor unions, construction companies and the airline industry. The construction industry believes that the proposed regulations will cost up to $13 billion and a loss of 30,000 jobs, causing many companies to retire old equipment, creating a loss of income and jobs. CARB and environmentalists believe that without strict regulations to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter and NOx, air pollution will put many lives at risk in California. An estimated 180,000 off-road diesel vehicles operate in the state.

- The LA Times reports that China has stopped two environmental reports that would have opened up embarrassing and serious facts on their increasing problems with air and water pollution. China is now considered the most polluted country in the world, with an estimated 600,000 citizens dieing each year due to air pollution. Although China is putting in place stringent regulations, enforcement is often spotty or not implemented at all due to attitudes by regional officials.

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Motoring
San Francisco Chronicle
LA Times