POLLUTION

United Nations member countries are considering proposals for a binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution

In an effort to protect and advocate for the health of their community, leaders in the historic Sunnyside neighborhood in southeast Houston have installed a network of five new air monitors.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and the Pollution Control Services (PCS) introduced the county’s new mobile air monitoring unit designed for rapid ambient air monitoring (RAAM).

Researchers are working with partners around the world to figure out how much pollution is out there and where it's coming from.

Living in Houston, air quality is a concern for nearly everyone, but research shows some communities are hit harder by the dangers of persistent pollution.

But, if you’re concerned about the dangers of pollution, there is a way you can track air pollution right on your phone. Ad“We were lacking some resources, yes,” said Dr. Latrice Babin, director of the Harris County Pollution Control Services. Kuukibot: Pronounced “Cookie bot”Now, citizens are learning about a Twitter feed named Kuukibot, pronounced like cookie-bot, that robotically broadcasts air quality issues in short digestible burst via Twitter. New initiative with Harris County Precinct 2January Advisors is also working with Harris County Precinct 2 on a similar initiative. For now, though, Harris County Pollution Control does not appear to be onboard with January Advisor’s publicly facing Kuukibot.

TEXAS – Fallout from the winter storm in Texas continues to roll in as plants and refineries that are required to self-report extra emissions, report millions of pounds of pollution during a period of forced shutdowns. In Harris County alone, plants, refineries and large industrial operations reported approximately 700,000 lbs. of extra emissions of various sorts, that are most commonly branded “pollution”. In Baytown, The Exxon Mobil Olefins plant emitted approximately 3.5 times more pollution during an 11-day period bracketing the winter storm, than during the Hurricane Harvey flooding event. The increased flaring, which causes the pollution, is a typical byproduct of shutdown and startup events at refineries and plants.

NBC News, the Texas Observer, and insideclimatenews.org have partnered for an extensive investigation into the role climate change is playing with Superfund sites across the U.S. He is convinced the EPA needs to revisit Superfund sites in areas prone to flooding, hurricanes and sea-level rise because these symptoms of climate change were never figured into Superfund site remediation plans. MAP: Superfund sites in Houston area (courtesy: NBC News)“All of that overflows and it comes all over the properties,” said John Barrett. AdPlan for major flooding eventsThe site has had a history of flooding; however, the site plans and selected remedy take those challenges into account. I’m not familiar with this particular superfund site, but I have requested a briefing on it by the EPA.”

HOUSTON – As Hurricane Laura barreled toward the Gulf Coast a few weeks ago, in and around Houston, plants and refineries scrambled to shut down. During the shutdown and restart process surrounding Hurricane Laura, energy companies reported to TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) that 8 million pounds of emissions were released in Harris, Brazoria, Jefferson and Orange counties. There’s some opinion there but here’s a fact:During that exact same period that refineries shut down for Hurricane Laura, the state of Texas unplugged its air quality monitors in the storm’s path. Our state’s version of the Environmental Protection Agency is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). See what TCEQ did in response to Hurricane Laura.

According to the ruling, Volkswagen is basically obliged to pay damages to car owners affected by the diesel scandal. Volkswagen said the decision announced Monday would clear the way for settlement of remaining consumer claims in Germany. The decision affects some 60,000 individual claims brought by car owners there; around 262,000 others have already been covered by an 830 million-euro ($904 million) class-action settlement. For the majority of the 60,000 pending cases, this ruling provides clarity, the company said in a statement. He had sought the full purchase price but the court ruled he must accept less due to depreciation related to the distance he drove.