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
Environment
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
California Environmental Justice Groups Unite to Fight Government and Industry
By Vic Bedoian Environmental activists from throughout the state got together Nov. 8 in the Central Valley to form a new coalition they hope will enhance their campaigns for healthy communities. Their [...] Continue Reading
Seven Months after Evacuation, Families Still in Limbo
By Gustavo Aguirre, Jr. Arvin, CA: Oct. 15, 2014—On March 18, at 7 p.m., Matt Constantine, the director of public health, County Supervisor Leticia Perez and the Kern County Fire Department declared [...] Continue Reading
What’s So Deadly about Dust?
By Hannah Brandt With the surge in Valley Fever cases over the past few years, are we amid a new Dust Bowl? If you live outside California or the Southwest, you may never have heard of Valley Fever, [...] 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
Poetry Corner – October 2014
Edited by Richard Stone This month’s selections are by Wayne Warkentin, longtime peace activist, a board member of Peace Fresno for five years, an environmentalist (Sierra Club, Earth First! [...] Continue Reading
Water is Everybody’s Business
By Stan Santos (Author’s note: This article is based on research done in July 2014 and presented in the Spanish language section of the August Community Alliance.) In September 2013, a nonprofit [...] 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
How Fresno Became a World Class City
By Mike Rhodes In the not too distant future (or maybe a parallel universe)... Ashley Swearengin, Lee Brand and Steve Brandau were defeated but not surprised as they fell from political power. The [...] Continue Reading
“Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream”
By Robert Pethoud The earth’s forests are being cut down, fisheries are collapsing, water tables are falling, grasslands are becoming desert, glaciers are melting and all of this is taking place at [...] Continue Reading