Toads have been disappearing for many years, and scientists have theorized the cause could be everything from pesticides to voracious trout. A study released this month suggests air pollution, too.
The study in the latest issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry says these sensitive amphibians react like mammals. In humans, ozone oxidizes the skin, eyes and lungs. Scientists concluded that ozone might be a factor in amphibian declines.
Studies in the Sierra Nevada over the last decade have shown alarming drops in mountain yellow-legged frogs. The San Joaquin Valley's ozone is known to drift into the mountains. Last year Sequoia had more violations than any place in the Valley.
Biologists probably will continue intensely studying amphibians because they are viewed as indicators of environmental health.
Bicycle riders will gather at Manchester Center near the Fresno Area Express site on Blackstone Avenue at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday for a group ride to downtown Fresno.
It's part of a bicycle-intensive month, which will include a Fresno County Bicycle Coalition program Thursday that encourages people to ride their bikes to work. May is bike month.
How much pollution will bicycling prevent?
It depends on how old the participants' vehicles are, how far they would normally drive them to work, how they maintain their cars, how they drive, the temperature outside -- there's no simple answer.
But there are a few generalizations you can make for cars and trucks, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
If you drive a car that is less than 8 years old, you would prevent 31 pounds of global-warming carbon dioxide from going into the air by biking for a day. And you would prevent the release of about a tenth of a pound of nitrogen oxides, which help form ozone or smog.
If you drive a similar-age light truck, such as a pickup, you would prevent the release of 44 pounds of carbon dioxide and 0.15 of a pound of nitrogen oxides.
Are those significant numbers? Maybe, maybe not. But most air quality regulators would tell you every bit of pollution prevention is significant, and they encourage more people to bicycle. Read between the lines: If you get enough people bicycling, it will make a dent in air pollution.
The San Joaquin Valley's clean-air spring is just about over. Figures show state ozone violations have occurred on 10 of the last 12 days.
And Arvin, usually the smog kingpin in the Valley, is not the worst place in the region. Clovis has claimed that spot for now.
Ozone forms best in heat and sunshine. With 90-degree heat on the way this week, there may be more violations on the way.
The Valley already leads California in state violations. The California Air Resources Board revised its data and discovered Clovis in April had two violations of the federal standard, which is more lenient than the state standard.
Clovis also has 20 violations of the state standard -- most in the state. Arvin and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks both have 13.
For total violations over the past five years, Arvin is the worst place in the country. Will Clovis continue to lead the Valley and the state in ozone violations? Only time will tell.
Regional air quality officials have cautioned San Joaquin Valley residents to avoid dusty conditions this afternoon and evening by staying indoors.
Gusty wind has produced areas of blowing dust throughout the Valley, said the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Officials said the problems are noticeable in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties, as well as western Madera, Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties.
Microscopic specks of dust can aggravate lung disease, cause asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and increase risk of respiratory infections.
In people with heart disease, short-term exposure to particle pollution has been linked to heart attacks and arrhythmias, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information, visit www.valleyair.org or call the nearest District office: Modesto (209) 557-6400, Fresno (559) 230-6000 and Bakersfield (661) 326-6900.
Staffers for the California Air Resources Board on Thursday will explain studies on San Joaquin Valley particle pollution and answer questions about a new plan to clean up airborne soot and chemical specks.
The meeting will be from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Fresno-Madera Medical Society, 1382 E. Alluvial Avenue, Suite 106, Fresno.
The CARB staff is recommending approval of the PM-2.5 plan when the governing board meets May 22 in Fresno. The plan was passed by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District on April 30.
PM-2.5 specks can trigger asthma and heart disease as well as causing early death. The Valley has some of the worst PM-2.5 pollution in California.
For details, e-mail szulawni@arb.ca.gov, or call (916) 324-7163.
Your deodorant is a source of air pollution. Really.
The state on June 26 will hold a public hearing on amendments to rules governing such sources of so-called "consumer" pollution.
The hearing at 9 a.m. at the Byron Sher Auditorium, 1001 I St., Sacramento, will cover everything from personal fragrance to carpet cleaners. Before you charge up there for the hearing, you should realize it will be very technical and probably pointed mostly at manufacturers, importers and distributors of these products.
You will still be able to paint your toenails without having to worry about controlling your nail polish emissions.
But it's probably not a bad idea for the public to be aware that many products create volatile organic compounds or VOCs, which combine with oxides of nitrogen from vehicles to make ozone.
Here's a few examples of how many tons per day -- yes, per day -- you are contributing in the San Joaquin Valley: Hair spray, 2.16; underarm antiperspirants, 0.69; charcoal lighter fluid, 0.44; crawling bug insecticide, 0.42, and laundry pre-wash, 0.13.
A new state study shows California's new stricter vehicle emissions law would remove 41% more greenhouse gas than the recently proposed federal fuel standards by 2020.
Problem is, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won't allow California to use the law. Twenty other states have either adopted California's regulations or are in the process of doing so. But they won't be able to enforce the regulations either.
California has sued EPA in federal court, hoping to overturn the agency's ruling.
Meanwhile, the argument over whether to even regulate greenhouse gas emissions went below the radar. The proposed fuel economy standards issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration last month included an attempt to prevent California and other states from enforcing standards on greenhouse gas emissions from cars.
State staff gives thumbs up to Valley's PM-2.5 plan
The staff of the state Air Resources Board (ARB) is recommending state approval of the Valley's plan to clean up microscopic soot and chemical debris. The plan drew heavy opposition from activists last month.
The governing board of ARB will vote on the staff recommendation – at a hearing in Fresno on May 22. The hearing will be at the headquarters of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave. The district board approved the plan April 30 on a split vote, 8-3.
ARB staffers said the district's measures on residential wood smoke rule and boilers and glass furnaces will combine with state rules to help the Valley reach attainment for the so-called PM-2.5 standard by 2014.
The Valley is now represented on the ARB board by Fresno cardiologist John Telles, who is also on the Valley air district board. At his first Valley district board meeting on April 30, he voted against the cleanup plan. Many believe he again will turn thumbs down on the plan at the state meeting in Fresno.
Motorized off-road vehicle use in California releases as much greenhouse gas as 1.5 million car trips from San Francisco to Los Angeles, according to a report from the Center for Biological Diversity and Clean Air Initiative.
Yet California continues to exempt the most-polluting off-road vehicles from state air-quality laws, the study said. The loophole should be closed, said the Center for Biological Diversity.
Pollution from off-road vehicles in California has doubled in the past 15 years, the study reported. Some off-road vehicles emit as much pollution in a single hour as more than 30 cars. Off-road vehicles include dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.
The ozone violations come in bunches after June 1 in California, but the San Joaquin Valley gets a jump on the rest of the state in most years. Last year, the Valley had its first federal ozone violation the day before St. Patrick's Day.
But here's the kicker: San Diego has. Lovely San Diego -- land of surf and balmy days -- had only seven violations last year. The Valley had 65.
What happened this year? The answer is easy. The spring has been mild and breezy, with emphasis on breezy. The breeze has blown the Valley bowl clean for the last two months. San Diego caught one windless day in April, and that was enough.
It's time for Round 4 of public meetings on the diesel truck rule. Or, maybe you could call it Round 3 of the revisions to the proposed rule.
Whatever you call it, the development of this unprecedented rule probably will go on the rest of the summer. The first public discussion about this rule took place more than two years ago.
This time around, both Fresno meetings will be on June 10 -- one from noon to 4 p.m. and one from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They are planned in the Fresno County Plaza Ballroom, 2220 Fresno St.
Truckers are saying the rule will put many small operators out of business. On the other hand, diesel trucks are the No. 1 source of nitrogen oxides, or NOx, one of two key ozone gases.
The issue boils down to health, money and timing. Slow down the cleanup, and more truckers will stay in business, industry officials say. Speed it up, and fewer people will be exposed to lung disease, heart problems and early death, environmentalists say.
It is a balancing act that the California Air Resource must perfect with the help of the public. Mark your calendars.
The state has $7.7 million to spend on improving and building hydrogen-fueling stations, which dispense the environmentally friendly fuel of the future. Guess where they're going to spend the money?
Los Angeles and San Francisco. Nothing apparently is planned in the San Joaquin Valley. Bay Area air is much cleaner than the Valley's. And the Valley's air is just about as bad as Los Angeles' air.
There are 24 hydrogen stations operating in California, according to the California Air Resources Board. There are roughly 200 hydrogen-powered vehicles operating throughout the state -- the majority of which are in the metropolitan areas. Which may be the reason the state wants to expand service in LA and San Francisco.
This is all part of Gov. Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway initiative on the creation of a hydrogen refueling network. The state is pursuing clean energy and energy diversity by promoting use of hydrogen as a power source for vehicles and electricity production.
Hydrogen can provide energy with minimal-to-zero pollution, according to the state. When
produced from a clean renewable source -- such as water, wind, sun, biomass or biogas -- and used in fuel cells, hydrogen use has extremely small effects on the environment.
The California Air Resources Board -- the state's air quality cop -- is scheduled to hold its May 22 board meeting in Fresno. The main topic: the controversial PM-2.5 cleanup plan that the regional district approved on Wednesday.
Last year, the same scenario developed for the embattled ozone plan. The state, which approves all air plans for the various districts in California, convened its meeting in Fresno and listened to a passionate argument from activists against the ozone plan. Then the ARB board approved it.
So, there is a distinct possibility that the Valley's own representative on that state board will vote against the Valley's plan while much of the state board votes in favor. The meeting will be at the district office, 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave. Stay tuned
After hearing objections from two dozen health, environmental and community activists, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District board approved a cleanup plan for dangerous soot and chemical debris, called PM-2.5.
The three dissenting votes came from city council members Henry T. Perea of Fresno and Raji Brar of Arvin as well as the board's newest member, Dr. John Telles of Fresno.
Activists, who protested before the meeting, said there are not enough stringent Valley pollution controls in the plan, which relies instead on a state diesel truck rule that has not yet been approved.
Regional air authorities are advising San Joaquin Valley residents to spend more time indoors today and Wednesday and avoid strenuous activities or heavy exertion as gusty winds stir up dust.
People with heart or lung diseases should follow their doctors’ advice, said the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Officials said older adults and children, whose lungs are more susceptible to dust and other air pollution, should limit their exposure.
“Take precautions to protect your health if you are in an area experiencing blowing dust,” said Gary Arcemont, senior air quality specialist with the district.
Such particle pollution can aggravate lung disease, cause asthma attacks and increase risk of respiratory infections. This pollution also has been linked to heart attacks, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information, go to www.valleyair.org or call the district at (559) 230-6000.
Activists are planning a demonstration at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the headquarters of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District where board members are scheduled to hear about a new cleanup plan.
Activists and health advocates already have urged the district to improve the plan by attacking more sources of the pollutant. One groups, the Coalition for Clean Air, is calling it a "clean-air showdown."
How much would change in this showdown? That is uncertain. The board is expected to approve the new plan to clean up PM 2.5, tiny bits of soot and chemical debris that can be deadly.
The California Air Resources Board already has the plan on its agenda to consider approving it on May 22.
The Valley air district hearing begins at 9 a.m. at 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave.
Telecommuting has become a hot trend over the last few years at IBM. More than 40% of IBM's workers do not start up a car and come into the office every day, saving gas and reducing air pollution.
But there are challenges, according to a study by Northeastern University. People often feel isolated from their work colleagues and supervisors. And sometimes it's hard to separate work from the rest of their lives.
Managing an at-home employee is different from supervising someone who is in the office, says the study's author, marketing professor Jay Mulki.
He explains: “Mutual trust is key to this work situation. Employees resent managers who give the impression of monitoring them. And when it comes to work-life balance, working from home can be good -- or bad. On the employer side, when you're at home, you're always available. On the employee side, you wanted to be there to pick up your kid, or whatever the case may be."
The California Air Resources Board is hosting five workshops -- one of them today at 1 p.m. in Fresno -- to discuss the competitively ranked list of projects for millions of dollars in Proposition 1B.
The board encourages public participation, yet the agency didn't notify the media until Friday afternoon that this meeting was in Fresno on Monday. Staffers say they are working on a shortened timetable, quickly organizing meetings so they can get this list of projects before the governing board on May 22.
The Fresno meeting was posted on the air board's web page on April 17.
More than $220 million is at stake for clean-air fixes, such as cleaner-running diesel engines. The Central Valley, which includes both the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, is supposed to get about $55 million. The Los Angeles and Inland Empire region will get $122 million.
The regional air district started handing out vouchers to get a 62% discount on cordless electric mowers this week. Officials said the promotion would continue until May 31 or until the vouchers ran out.
The vouchers were gone in 48 hours.
Turns out, people love this program. In the past, they camped out overnight in line for these deals. Don't give up if you missed it. They have waiting list. To get on the list, send a message to public.education@valleyair.org.
Remember the name of the program next year: Clean Green Yard Machines. To get the deal, you have to turn in your old lawnmower.
The California Air Resources Board, the state cop for air qality, last year assessed nearly $30 million in penalties for air violations, a fivefold increase over 2006.
The board had more than 3,400 enforcement actions, but two-thirds of the penalties collected came from three businesses -- Sierra Pacific Industries, Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, and the Evergreen Pulp Mill in Humboldt County.
The biggest dollar amount came from Sierra Pacific, a lumber company headquartered in Redding. The $13 million penalty was for falsifying emission reports, exceeding emissions limits over several years and discharging soot over nearby neighbors in Lincoln.
Evergreen Pulp's penalties amounted to about $5 million for emissions of hazardous air pollutants and violations of monitoring, reporting and record keeping.
Yamaha paid $2 million for importing more than 400 motorcycles that failed to meet California emissions standards.
Most of the money collected was used in local emissions controls and in training for people to comply with state air regulations.
Reporter 
Toads have been disappearing for many years, and scientists have theorized the cause could be everything from pesticides to voracious trout. A study released this month suggests air pollution, too.
