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Some media coverage relevant to our region's air quality, sorted by topic area and date. Updated regularly.
* Articles are posted for background and informational purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Cleaner Air Partnership.
Air Quality in the Sacramento Region
Are air masks the solution against smoke? Not always
Not all masks are created equal. One that's rated N95 blocks 95 percent of particulate matter, good for use against smoke. But
masks without ratings are useless at filtering tiny smoke particulates, experts say... Sacramento Bee, 7/08
Air quality worsens as fires continue to burn
Wildfires burning throughout the region and state continue to challenge firefighters, threaten
homes and worsen air quality... Sacramento Bee, 6/08
"Clearing the air on California's success in pollution fight"
One of the biggest successes of government regulation over the past generation has been the project to clean California's air. But most of the state's residents have no idea how things have changed, or why... Sacramento Bee, 6/06
“San Joaquin tops list for worst smog”
The Sacramento area continues to rank among the 10 most persistently smoggy regions in the United States, placing eighth... Sacramento Bee, 4/06
“America’s most polluted cities”
The state's capital manages to take seventh place with its heavy traffic along U.S. 5, U.S. 80 and Route 50... Forbes.com, 3/06
Top
Bicycles and Pedestrians
"Editorial: A timely Bike Month”
Caltrans is preparing to shut down a downtown section of Interstate 5 for repairs on May 30,
leaving thousands of commuters wondering how they will get to work. As it happens, today is the start of the Sacramento region's annual bicycle commute month... Sacramento Bee, 5/08
Top
Business and Economic Impacts
"Climate change worries vintners"
Optimism in the California wine business is as widespread as it has been in years, but a growing number of industry leaders worry that global warming is a serious long-term threat, according to a survey of wine and grape executives to be presented today...Sacramento Bee, 9/07
“Study puts a price tag on smog”
San Joaquin Valley residents effectively are paying an average of $1,000 a year just to breathe. That's the cost of shortened life spans, hospitalizations, job absences and other economic and health effects of the region's chronically poor air quality... Sacramento Bee, 3/06
"Breathing Easier"
Regional planners have updated transportation and air quality plans that may soon free up more than $1 billion in federal funds earmarked for major road projects that have been frozen by federal agencies since October 2004... Sacramento Business Journal, 3/06
Top
Cars and Commuting
“Businesses awarded Best Workplaces for Commuters”
The region's transportation planning agency is highlighting 64 employers and a South Natomas district that offer benefits to commuters... Sacramento Business Journal 10/06
Top
Clean Energy and Fuels
 A group of 75+ clean energy leaders from around the Sacramento region are working together as the "Clean Energy Action Team" to advance our region's promising and fast-growing clean energy tech sector. Read more on the Partnership for Prosperity website's Clean Energy Technology page.
Top
Climate Change
"Climate change's effect on state air detailed"
Global warming is making breathing more hazardous for Californians than other Americans, says a pioneering Stanford University study scheduled for release today...Sacramento Bee, 1/08
"States join emissions battle"
From Oregon to Maine, a multistate groundswell emerged behind California's struggle to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions law...Sacramento Bee, 12/07
"'Greenhouse' ruling: An exhaustive look"
A federal court decision upholding California's pioneering "greenhouse gas" law last week illuminated the state's unique right to set its own vehicle emission standards. Here's a primer on the controversy and what's at stake for consumers...Sacramento Bee, 12/07
"Funds stepping up on climate"
California pension fund leaders are going international with their climate change campaign, joining 150 corporate executives from around the globe in demanding mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions...Sacramento Bee, 12/07
"EPA rebuffs state on warning"
Ratcheting up a fight between Washington and Sacramento over global warming, the Bush administration Wednesday blocked a landmark California law aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles...Sacramento Bee 12/07
"Global warming turning point"
With the introduction Thursday of broad legislation to curb global warming, a key committee is hoping to move the bill for Senate consideration by the end of the year...Sacramento Bee, 10/07
"Air board OKs six measures to cut emissions"
The state Air Resources Board approved six measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a proposal aimed at making big rigs more fuel-efficient... Sacramento Bee 10/07
"Warming-risk filings proposed"
State officials, joined by California's two public employees' pension funds, petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday to require publicly held companies to disclose their potential financial risks from global warming...Sacramento Bee, 9/07
"Greenhouse gas proposals unveiled"
State air pollution chief Mary Nichols on Thursday unveiled six new measures to trim California's greenhouse gas emissions, including requirements to streamline big rigs, keep vehicle tires properly inflated and stop cargo ships from idling their engines in port... Sacramento Bee 9/07
"Forest Service rethinks strategy"
As wildfires burn across the West this summer, the nation's forests have become entwined
in the larger debate over climate change. They are both a victim of global warming and a potential solution in helping reverse the trend, by sopping up huge amounts of greenhouse gases... Sacramento Bee 7/07
"Laying down the law on global warming"
Squeezing the trigger on the 37- year-old California Environmental Quality Act,
Brown is pressuring high-growth cities and counties such as Sacramento and Yuba
to immediately include climate change -- alongside traffic congestion, sewage
treatment capacity and water supplies -- in assessing environmental impacts of
major proposed projects... Sacramento Bee 7/07
"Polls find global warming is generating heat"
According to recent state and national polls, global warming far and away tops the list of Americans' environmental concerns. And citizens are demanding more of elected officials when it comes to fightinggreenhouse gases blamed for climate change... Sacramento Bee 7/07
"Warming is serious, say Californians"
Californians overwhelming believe global warming is a serious problem, according to a Field Poll. Eight in 10 California voters in the poll expressed concerns about global warming blamed for climate change. Some 56 percent said the problem is "very serious" and 25 percent said it is "somewhat serious..."
"Business group calls for federal greenhouse gas curbs"
A consortium of ten large energy and industrial companies, including California energy giant PG&E Corp., has broken ranks with some other U.S. business groups by calling on the federal government to enact strict limits on emissions... Sacramento Business Journal 1/07
“Meeting greenhouse gas limits might be tricky ”
Sacramento Bee, 12/06
"County tackling emissions"
Sacramento Bee, 12/06
"Editorial: Sac goes global"
Sacramento Bee, 12/06
“Greenhouse gas plan may waft across U.S.”
Sacramento Bee, 10/06
"UC Davis takes stock of its own air impact"
At the University of California, Davis, which prides itself on environmental research, eight cents of every research dollar goes to air-quality studies... Sacramento Bee 9/06
Top
Health Impacts
"Editorial: Don't fund roads and rails at expense of health"
Nearly every part of California feels the brunt of the state's congested ports. The state's roads and rail systems can't quickly move the massive volumes of cargo that are being shipped from these international trade zones, adding to traffic congestion and air pollution...Sacramento Bee, 11/07
"Health risks rise as earth warms"
From algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay to heat waves, drought and fires consuming the
West, global warming is stirring up health problems that are likely to worsen, witnesses told a Senate committee...Sacramento Bee, 10/07
"Warning on auto exhaust"
Sacramento Bee, 12/06
"Study puts a price tag on smog"
San Joaquin Valley residents effectively are paying an average of $1,000 a year just to breathe. That's the cost of shortened life spans, hospitalizations, job absences and other economic and health effects of the region's chronically poor air quality... Sacramento Bee, 3/06
Top
Off-Road Pollution Sources
"Editorial: Hot air over fireplaces"
If you or your loved ones don't suffer from asthma, heart problems or lung disease, the effort of the Sacramento Air Quality District to curb wood burning on still winter days may seem silly. It isn't...Sacramento Bee, 10/07
"Wood-burning limits set"
By an 8-3 vote, Sacramento air quality managers approved a two-stage plan to curtail wood burning in Sacramento County during winter...Sacramento Bee, 10/07
"Officials: Burn wood only as last resort"
Sacramento Bee, 1/07
"New fireplaces to go up in smoke"
Sacramento Bee, 11/06
Top
Smart Growth and Land Use
With Gas Over $4, Cities Explore Whether It's Smart to Be Dense
Sacramento has become one of the nation's most-watched experiments in whether urban planning can help solve everything from high fuel prices to the housing bust to global warming...The Wall Street Journal, 07/08
"Lincoln tops fastest-growing suburbs list"
Lincoln's one-time booming new-home market made the city the nation's fastest-growing suburb during the past six years, according to a Forbes Magazine report... Sacramento Business Journal, 7/07
"No land left behind"
Sacramento Bee, 12/07
"Accessibility tops list of transportation priorities"
Accessibility and mobility and smart land use are the top transportation priorities for the Greater Sacramento area, the results of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments show... Sacramento Business Journal, 11/06
“Infill-site homes offer an escape from sprawl”
Statewide, developments such as Signature's Washington Park Village could accommodate one-fourth of the new housing needed in California during the the next 20 years... Sacramento Bee, 7/06
Top
Transit
$4M allocated to Sacramento-area transit projects
Included in the latest allocation of Proposition 1B bond funding is $4 million for transit projects in Sacramento, including replacing older buses with more fuel efficient models.
Placer residents get relief: New commuter
bus
The Placer County Transportation Agency, with help from Caltrans, has found a
pot of money to pay for a fourth bus. The extra bus, expected to be in service by mid-May, will increase the
number of people able to commute between downtown Sacramento and Placer on buses by one-third, from a
maximum limit of 150 riders a day now to 200 riders... Sacramento Bee, 4/08
"Editorial: Google maps, RT routes: A perfect marriage"
So I was wandering around maps.google.com, looking for a business that recycles computer printers and monitors. I was looking at the intersection of Fulton Avenue and Arden Way when I noticed little blue bus stop icons...Sacramento Bee, 12/07
"Editorial: Getting to the future: Transit plan is key to region's well-being"
How will the Sacramento region cope with the growing population, and what role will transit play? Those are questions two sets of planners are studying...Sacramento Bee, 10/07
"Suit fights transit shift"
Public transit advocates sued to prevent the Schwarzenegger administration from dipping into a
transportation account to help balance California's budget -- a move that threatens to knock the spending plan off track just weeks after it was enacted... Sacramento Bee, 9/07
"Trains, trolleys finally hook up"
For two decades, Sacramento's light-rail system has been running on its own loop, unconnected to the greater train-travel world.Until today...Sacramento Bee, 12/06
Top
Trucks, Freight and Goods Movement
"Union Pacific to test anti-pollution equipment in Roseville"
"This project has a great deal of potential for this local railyard, but also for ports and railyard facilities across the country," said Placer County air pollution officer Tom Christofk... Sacramento Business Journal, 5/06
"Air Resources Board measures reduce port pollution"
Aimed specifically at curbing emissions from port-based cargo-handling equipment and diesel engines used to produce electric power on ocean-going vessels, the measures are aimed to reduce the exposure of coastal and port community residents to harmful air pollutants... Sacramento Business Journal, 12/05
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