The cleanest cities in Europe in terms of air quality during 2020 and 2021 were Umeå in Sweden, and Faro and Funchal in Portugal according to the updated European city air quality data viewer published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) recently. In addition to the viewer, the EEA also published two reports looking at … Continue reading New EEA reports on which European cities have the best air quality
Category: air pollution
“The return to the electric motor is only just beginning and is still stumbling over the distribution network”
'The return to the electric motor is only just beginning and is still stumbling over the distribution network,' said economist Pierre-Cyrille Hautcœur in his column on the Le Monde website. And it needs public investment into infrastructure not to fail as it did in the early 20th century. 'In 1905, half the world's cars were … Continue reading “The return to the electric motor is only just beginning and is still stumbling over the distribution network”
New EEA report on the pollutants causing over 10% of all cancer cases in Europe
Exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke, radon, ultraviolet radiation, asbestos, certain chemicals and other pollutants causes over 10% of all cancer cases in Europe, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published this week. The good news is that these risks are preventable. Exposure to pollution causes 10% of all cancer cases in … Continue reading New EEA report on the pollutants causing over 10% of all cancer cases in Europe
The Supreme Court limited the EPA’s authority on emissions, dealing a blow to efforts to address climate change
The EPA ruling means it may now be mathematically impossible through available avenues for the US to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions goal. Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist and author of Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution, provides his views in an article on The Guardian website. The US supreme … Continue reading The Supreme Court limited the EPA’s authority on emissions, dealing a blow to efforts to address climate change
The economic lockdowns imposed across many parts of the world to stop the spread of Covid brought clear skies to some areas only temporarily
Discouragingly, any improvements in air quality during the Covid lockdowns were only temporary according to recent analysis. Rebecca Ratcliffe discusses the developments in an article on The Guardian website. Air pollution got worse during lockdown in many countries, study finds Lockdowns imposed to stop the spread of Covid led to “virtually no change” in … Continue reading The economic lockdowns imposed across many parts of the world to stop the spread of Covid brought clear skies to some areas only temporarily
Read all about it – important new publications
New JRC report – Prosumerism and energy sustainability This report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre develops a sociotechnical understanding of energy prosumerism to investigate how energy prosumerism can lead to actual reductions of energy and resource demand. The report starts out by explaining what a sociotechnical and broad understanding of prosumerism means. Thereafter, … Continue reading Read all about it – important new publications
Ranking the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decade
Kimberly Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science at Lund University, in an article on The Conversation website, provides the results of latest research to provide evidence-based ways to reduce car use in cities. 12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research Question: what do the following statistics have … Continue reading Ranking the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decade
New EEA briefing: Europe’s air quality status 2022
Ninety-six percent of Europe’s urban population was exposed to fine particulate matter above the health-based guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the latest annual European Environment Agency (EEA) air quality assessment published this week Vast majority of Europe’s urban population remains exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution Despite a … Continue reading New EEA briefing: Europe’s air quality status 2022
A “solar-canal solution” is about to be tested in California
While there have been solar panels installed over canals before in other countries, two academics explain how they could provide many benefits to California’s climate change objectives. Roger Bales, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of California, Merced updates a post on EiD from May 2021 on The Conversation website. First solar canal … Continue reading A “solar-canal solution” is about to be tested in California
New EEA briefing on breaches of EU air quality standards
Breaches of EU air quality limits for nitrogen dioxide across Europe were predominantly due to road traffic, while domestic heating lay behind the majority of exceedances for particulate matter, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment on air quality plans published this week. Emissions from road traffic and domestic heating behind breaches of … Continue reading New EEA briefing on breaches of EU air quality standards
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 