Seven Generational Ruminations

Catalytic converters use Palladium as a catalyst to remove pollution out of car exhaust. But in this BBC report we are taken to a city in a remote region of Siberia which is one of the major producers of Palladium, producing almost half of the worlds supply.

Airports are basically the epitome of using fuel as if it's abundant. Jet aircraft can only exist and be economically used when fuel is cheap and easily available. In any case airports are centers of air pollution due to all the vehicles flying in and out all day long, plus all the ground vehicles. There are service vehicles and a dizzying array of other vehicles running around, including those shuttling people around the airport, and to or from the airport.

A few days ago they sent out an advisory, which I thought was a bit odd given that it's winter-time so I'd posted about it. But they've now sent out a series of these advisories since then, including one today.

http://www.sparetheair.org/ is a service by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) overseeing air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have a service where, by e-mail, you can get warnings of unhealthy levels of air poison (a.k.a. air pollution) so you can be forewarned to change your activities and hopefully reduce releases of poisons into the air.

Spare the Air Tonight, Friday, December 1, in the San Francisco Bay Area.