Move over Los Angeles, the city of Houston, Texas is now also officially on the "severe smog problem" list. The reclassification was requested by Governor Rick Perry last year and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made the change last Thursday. This move from "moderate" bypasses the level of "serious" and gives the state an additional nine years to meet federal health standards that were originally set in 1997. They were supposed to meet the goal by 2010. Although the 1997 levels are now no longer deemed safe, EPA spokesperson Catherine Milbourn said progress towards that original goal will help protect people and help the area move closer to today's requirements. We not sure how making a classification change and a nine-year extension counts as progress but it seems that the regional business association, the "Greater Houston Partnership," is down with the decision. Their spokesperson said, "The partnership believes that improvement in air quality is important in order to maintain a robust, viable economic climate and to improve public health in the region." Huh? It sounds like a lot of talking and not much doing. The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) agrees. Their executive director, Matthew Tejada, said of the decision, "We've just done a bureaucratic dance, and we're not any closer to clean air."

Its not only Houston residents that are responsible for the problem. The area is home to many oil refineries that handle product bound for markets throughout the South of the country. While the region has taken some steps to improve the air quality, we all can help out by reducing our personal petroleum usage.

[Source: Associated Press]

Subaru doesn't have any hybrids in its line up and its electric car program, based around the R1e, is still in its (seemingly never-ending) infancy, but it does have partial zero-emission vehicles (PZEVs) and , apparently, pogo sticks. In an effort to promote the sale of its PZEV vehicles in Canada, the company offers a website to explore the two options. It's a close call but we really have to go for the PZEV, if only to avoid any sudden onset of motion sickness.

Although we have our suspicions about whether the car maker is actually a pogo provider, we are certain they make PZEVs. They are already on sale in the US but are mostly sold in California so as to to meet that state's SULEV (Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle) exhaust emission standard. The provinces of Quebec and British Columbia are said to be wanting to adopt those same standards. Seeing which way the wind is blowing, Subaru is offering the PZEV system as standard in its Legacy model and as an option in the Outback. It doesn't change the horsepower rating but it does reduce smog-producing emissions by some 90 percent, when compared with the average new car. Same power with cleaner air sounds like a great combination to us and we only wish it was much more widely available since the benefits would be astounding. No pogoing required.

[Source: The Canadian Press / Subaru]

The question of whether or not people should be forced into driving smaller cars with engines that emit less pollutants is one that is likely to be debated for quite some time. Many believe that it is their "right" to drive whatever kind of car they want as long as they are willing to pay for it, while others believe that it is their "right" to breathe less polluted air. Granted, cars do not make up the majority of all pollution or greenhouse gases, but they do add to the problem. Obviously, sweeping changes have been and must continue to be made to all facets of the problem; cars, factories and the rest of the gang should all be treated equally. But, the results of the pollution that each of these industries contribute to the air we breathe is not in question.

Take for instance the town of Alvin, California. This is a quiet town with almost no pollution-generating factories and little in the way of traffic from its 15,000 residents. However, the area has the unlucky distinction of being downwind of several large metropolitan areas, and its surrounding mountains trap the air in place, giving this city the dubious honor of having the worst air quality of anywhere in the United States.

This story reminds me of the debate that is brought up regarding our environment. Are we ruining the earth for our grandchildren, just as others are seemingly ruining the air quality for the residents of Alvin?

[Source: Physorg]

Whether or not you believe in global warming, nitrogen-oxides, or NOx, definitely does contribute to acid rain and smog, which are not debatable. Because NOx is emitted in large quantities from the exhaust of diesel engines, something needs to stop it from entering our atmosphere. One way to do this is with urea, which is being used in the Bluetec systems installed by various automakers. Because people don't like to think about carrying around a container of urea (think urine, although it is usually created chemically, not gathered "naturally"), it is often referred to as Adblue, and because it is a source of ammonia, must be metered properly as ammonia is rather toxic by itself. Are there any other solutions?

The Chemical Engineering Division of Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S. has come up with a possible alternative to ammonia and urea. Their process uses Cu-ZSM-5, a zeolite with copper ions attached within its micropore structure, "with an external coating of cerium oxide", according to Christopher Marshall, who helped develop the technology. The technology also does not contain platinum, which is expensive and not compatible with the older diesel fuels which contained high amounts of sulphur.

This catalyst is currently under testing, but is proving to work out well enough that Argonne is expecting to have the product commercially available in as little as two years. I think it sounds pretty promising myself, because while I don't mind using urea at all, I think it is good that the consumer would not be left in charge of being sure that the Adblue tank was not empty.

[Source: Argonne National Laboratory]

This is a pretty compelling picture as far as I am concerned. According to this site, which is where I got the information I'm relaying to you from, says that this balloon, which is attached to the tailpipe of a car in China, is filled with the exhaust from one day's worth of driving. That does not look like a very large displacement car, either, but I have to be honest and admit that I'm not familiar with that car.

If you get a chance to visit the site that was behind the picture, click here. I was interested in some of what they were promoting there, especially the idea of driving a vehicle with a smaller displacement engine. Americans have long been known to always purchase the largest engine available in any particular vehicle, whether they needed the extra power (and subsequent fuel mileage penalty) or not. What are the chances that will change any time soon?

P.S. Sometimes we can have fun with our categories... notice I labeled this one "Carbon Capture"... get it?

[Source: www.20to20.org via Frederik Samuel via Hugg]

Smog, a word made up of equal parts smoke and fog, is a problem affecting many urban areas in the U.S. and abroad. Smog is caused in part by automobiles and trucks, power plants and refineries. We don't really need to talk too much about it, we are all familiar with smog, whether we personally deal with it in the city we live in or not. Of course, directly or indirectly, we are all dealing with it.

Each adult on the earth breathes over 3,000 gallons of air a day on average, with children breathing more per pound of body weight. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and ozone all make up smog, and major smog occurrences are linked with heavy motor vehicle traffic.

So lets revisit the topic, as CBS News did, and remind ourselves how to do better. The EPA tells us to drive less, using buses, trains or bikes more; carpool or van pool or use public transportation. Learn how to drive in a way that saves gas and improves mileage. Make sure your vehicle is maintained, pick the right vehicle and even give biofuels a try. And don't forget to breathe.

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[Srouce: cbsnews.com]