The Philadelphia Diesel Difference Working Group has been formed to help build a coalition of diverse partners with a mutual interest in reducing air pollution from diesel engines in the greater Philadelphia area through voluntary programs and the use of innovative strategies including market-based approaches.

An accord was struck on Dec. 18th, 2009 in the Copenhangen Climate Talks which establishes goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while failing to create a legally binding structure to enforce these commitments. While some lauded the deal as an unprecedented achievement, others argue that the resolution is unlikely to constrain future global temperature increases to two degrees–the threshold recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to prevent catastrophic effects of climate change.

http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=3078

West Philadelphia High School has taken home another honor, facing down some formidable competition. This time, they are in the final running against 42 other competitors, having eked out dozens of oppenents including MIT in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize, worth $10 million.

From the University of Southern California:

By Meghan Lewit on November 4, 2009 1:00 PM

Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at USC.

The study, which appears in an online edition of the American Journal of Public Health, estimated that 9 percent of all childhood asthma cases in Long Beach and 6 percent in Riverside were attributable to traffic proximity.

The study also found that ship emissions from the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex contributed to the exacerbation of asthma. For example, approximately 1,400 yearly episodes of asthma-related bronchitis episodes in Long Beach (21 percent of the total) were caused by the contribution of ship emissions to nitrogen dioxide levels in the city.

Although there has been extensive research on the effects of traffic proximity on asthma risk, this study is one of the few that has estimated the number of cases — or “burden of disease” — associated with traffic in specific high risk communities, said principal investigator Rob McConnell, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and deputy director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at USC.

“The traditional approach to estimating the burden of air pollution-related disease has markedly underestimated the true effect,” McConnell said. “Our results indicate that there is a substantial proportion of childhood asthma that may be caused by living within 75 meters (81 yards) of a major road in Long Beach and Riverside. This results in a much larger impact of air pollution on asthma symptoms and health care use than previously appreciated. This is also one of the first studies to quantify the contribution of ship emissions to the childhood asthma burden.”

Such specific data about the local health burden of air pollution is useful for evaluating proposals to expand port facilities or transportation infrastructure in the L.A. area, McConnell noted. Both Long Beach and Riverside already have heavy automobile traffic corridors, as well as truck traffic and regional pollution originating in the port complex, which is the largest in the United States.

The study drew upon data from the Children’s Health Study, a longitudinal study of respiratory health among children in 12 Southern California communities, including Riverside and Long Beach.

Researchers estimated the number of asthma cases and related complications that occurred because of air pollution, using information from epidemiological studies that they then applied to current exposure to air pollution and traffic in Southern California. The results showed that approximately 1,600 cases of childhood asthma in Long Beach and 690 in Riverside could be linked to living within 81 yards of a major road.

“The impact of roadway proximity on the overall burden of asthma-related illness is remarkable,” McConnell said. “Air pollution is a more important contributor to the burden of childhood asthma than is generally recognized, especially to more severe episodes requiring visits to a clinic or emergency room.”

Unlike regional air pollutants, the local traffic-related pollutants around homes and their effects are not currently regulated, he noted.

“This is a challenge to communities, to regulatory agencies and to public health,” McConnell said. “Traffic-related health effects should have a central role on the transportation planning agenda.”

The study, an international collaboration between USC, the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Spain and the University of Basel in Switzerland, was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the Hastings Foundation, the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (Switzerland) and the Fundacion Insitut Municipal d’Investigacio Medica (Barcelona).

The authors acknowledged the insights of the staff and members of the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.

From PADEP:

Beginning October 10, 2009, the Pennsylvania Climate Change Action Plan is available for a 30-day public comment period.

Click here to access the full report or individual chapters.

Pennsylvania is responsible for 1% of the planet’s man-made greenhouse emissions. On July 9, 2008, Governor Rendell signed the Climate Change Act (Act 70), which included a number of goals, including the preparation of an action plan detailing measures Pennsylvania could take to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Working with the Climate Change Advisory Committee, the Department has prepared this Climate Change Action Report, which identifies 52 specific actions that would result in a 95.6 Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MMtCO2e) reduction of Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Interested persons may submit written comments on Pennsylvania’s Climate Change Action Plan by November 9, 2009. The Department will accept comments submitted by mail or by e-mail. A return name and address must be included in each e-mail transmission. Email comments should be submitted to epclimatereportcomments@state.pa.us . Written comments should be submitted to Joseph Sherrick, via the U.S.P.S. to the Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17105. The Department will not accept comments submitted by facsimile.

This new study by the National Institute of Health estimates that high levels of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as those emanating from vehicles, is associated with a roughly four-point drop in child intelligence by age five.  

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/49433

The New York/New Jersey Port Authority is putting stimulus money to work, funding a truck replacement program that would replace pre-1994 drayage vehicles at the port. The program offers 25% toward the cost of a new truck, and low-interest loans to finance their purchase.

http://www.joc.com/node/412547

On June 26, 2009, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) which includes a provision to reauthorize the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), originally included in der the Energy Bill of 2005. If passed in the Senate and signed by President Obama, DERA will be reauthorized through 2016. Currently, it is set to expire in 2011. To track the status of this legislation, please visit http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2454/show.

EPA has given California the go-ahead to implement its more stringent fuel economy requirements to reduce the State’s impact on global warming. Other states are likely to match.

http://www.philly.com/philly/living/green/20090630_ap_epaapprovescaliforniapollutionrule.html

From the Inky:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Nutter_Opens_Biodiesel_Station_for_City_Vehicles.html

WHO:    Mayor Michael A. Nutter

               Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson

               Fleet Manager James Muller

WHAT:  Mayor Nutter will announce the opening of a biofuels refueling station.  Currently 100 trash and recycling trucks use biofuel.  Each vehicle running on alternative fuel produces 20% less hydrocarbons and results in a 10% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gases.

WHERE:                Biodiesel Fueling Station, 3303 S. 63rd St. near Passyunk Ave

WHEN:                  Wednesday May 27, 2009                            12:00 pm