By Tom Frantz Most people living in the San Joaquin Valley are concerned about air pollution and drought. A warming planet can make both situations worse, so solving climate change could help [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air
Clearing the Air: The Unborn Child Most Affected by Air Pollution
During 2014, there were 150 days in the San Joaquin Valley when monitors recorded air pollution levels that were either “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or worse. These are the Orange days on the air [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air– Fireplace Madness
By Tom Frantz San Joaquin Valley residents may have noticed there are new air district rules this year for wood burning in fireplaces and woodstoves. There have been ridiculous ads on TV recently with [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air: Valley Industry Pollutes More than Cars
By Tom Frantz Believe it or not, fewer than 30 large companies in the San Joaquin Valley pollute our air as much as all of the Valley’s approximately 1.3 million personal vehicles driven regularly by [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air – December 2014: FAQs About Winter Air Quality in the San Joaquin Valley
By Tom Frantz Q: What kind of pollution is most common during the winter in the San Joaquin Valley? A: During the months of October through March there is a significant drop in our ozone pollution [...] Continue Reading
Dust and Almonds: Clearing the Air – November 2014
By Tom Frantz The almond harvest finished this year a few days earlier than normal in mid-October. As usual, this activity produced a horrible 10 weeks of choking dust for many San Joaquin Valley [...] Continue Reading
Fireplace Burning: Clearing the Air, October 2014
By Tom Frantz The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (Air District) is contemplating a change this summer to its fireplace rule, which is also known as District Rule 4901. The change [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air: Air District Guidance Undercuts Public Health – September 2014
By Tom Frantz The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (Air District) is making a document available to the public called Guidance for Assessing and Mitigating Air Quality Impacts [...] Continue Reading
Moving Backward on Two Related Fronts — Clearing the Air – August 2014
By Tom Frantz Two disturbing items for air quality advocates slipped under the media radar recently. First, California is moving in the wrong direction with greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Carbon [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air: Myths and Facts about Truck Pollution
By Tom Frantz Without a doubt, a significant portion of our pollution comes from large diesel trucks. They emit about a third of all the nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions in the Valley. The oil industry, [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air: Embracing New Sources of Pollution
By Tom Frantz There may be a need to clear up public misunderstandings about different types of air pollution. Under the federal Clean Air Act, there are several different categories of harmful air [...] Continue Reading
Clearing the Air: Ozone From China and Emission Reduction Credits
By Tom Frantz Sometimes you just have to laugh when you read about San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (the Air District) attempts to pass the blame for our air pollution onto sources [...] Continue Reading