Air Resources Research Articles

Opportunities and constraints for cleaner production policy in the developing world: a case study of Sindh Region, Pakistan.

The current industrial and economic activities in Sindh Province, Pakistan, polluted the region's water, air, soil, and marine resources. However, there is a rising demand for eco-friendly production, and it is important to develop new policies and tools to combat environmental degradation and enhance economic development. Cleaner Production (CP) provides opportunities to address many of these issues. Employed method for this study was based on three approaches: a literature review and stakeholder mapping; a collection of data and information from key stakeholders through focal group discussions, consultative workshops, and one-on-one meetings; and analysis and synthesis of data that were gathered from different sources. The analysis of collected information provides an overview of CP strategies moving forward. Participant workshops gave in-depth information on policy implementation, technological impediments to methods that have been employed elsewhere, and needed capacity building as well as financial consequences of policy implementation. Through increasing financial resources and institutional resources, the expansion of CP will help to replace the conventional methods of waste treatment with an eco-efficiency approach to preventing pollution at the source, thus reducing the need for expensive pollution control and management costs for environmental compliance. Experiences, achievements, and implementation pitfalls from this study can provide a lesson to other developing countries to improve their economic and environmental sustainability.

Natural environment assessment of negative impact of anthropogenic factors

Sustainable development of each region of the country and improvement in living standards and public health can only be achieved by preserving natural capital and maintaining proper environmental quality. Environmental quality in the Krasnodar Region is determined by levels of anthropogenic and technogenic load on the natural environment. Sources of pressure are objects of industry, power engineering, transport, capital construction, agroindustrial complex and municipal services, which lead to pollution of atmospheric air, water and land resources, to pollution of surface and ground water and degradation of some water bodies, to disruption of ecosystems of flora and fauna. The article is devoted to the review of the condition of atmospheric air and water bodies in Krasnodar Krai, as well as to the study of pollution indicators of discharged wastewater in the territory of the region. Information on indicators of polluted wastewater discharge into water bodies is presented, a grouped table is determined on the basis of these pollution indicators, which indicates the main reasons for the continued pollution of surface water bodies, conclusions are drawn as to what measures to solve the global environmental problem should be taken to improve the quality of wastewater treatment.

Različite kontrole mehaničkog načina uništavanja korova u vinogradu zbog redukcije ekološkog otiska

The purpose of the study was to investigate the alternative methods of weed control in the vineyard under 'Sauvignon' vines to reduce ecological footprint in vineyard production. Weed control was performed at the experimental site with the mechanical weed control under vines with a grass cutter, a rotating star hoe (roll hoe) and a vine trunk cleaner, while at the same time additional mulching was carried out in the belts between the rows. The ecological footprint of each production operation was estimated by including environmental impacts related to fossil-C (kg CO2/hm2 ), air, water, soil, nonrenewable, renewable, and area resources. While carrying out the mechanical control, we analysed the weed coverage, grape yield and yield loss. Grape yield was highest for weedfree control plots, followed by plots where ploughshare was used. Yield loss was lowest when using ploughshare. In addition to the weed-free plot, weed coverage was lowest when glyphosate was used. The maximum amount of CO2 is released while using rotating star hoe. At the grass cutter and vine trunk cleaner less CO2 was released. The same is with global warming potential (GWP).

Pengelolaan Ruang Bawah Tanah Dalam Reformasi Hukum Pertanahan Di Indonesia

The difficulty of obtaining or using the earth's surface in urban areas has resulted in people starting to look for a number of plots of land below the earth's surface. Thus, a development breakthrough innovation is needed that can address the development of community needs, namely the space below the earth's surface. The use of basements, namely UUPA, automatically refers to property rights in discussing the use of basements. The aim is to find a system for granting land rights or management rights to basements in Law Number 5 of 1960 concerning Basic Agrarian Regulations and Law Number 11 of 2022 concerning Job Creation for individuals. This research is a normative juridical research with collection techniques from the literature which consists of primary and secondary legal materials. The results of this study are the system of granting land rights or management rights to basements in the BAL by basing it on the provisions of Article 2 paragraph (2) of the BAL, the term "management" and "organizes". The Job Creation Law is for individuals or legal entities that are given HGB and HP for a period of time as contained in the concept of basement management in Article 146 paragraph (1) to (5) of the UUCK, namely paragraph (1) The land or space formed in the upper room or underground and used for certain activities can be given HGB, HP, or HPL. In conclusion, the State Authority relates to (a) the use and/or allotment, supply and maintenance of the earth, air, space and natural resources in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia; (b) payment or arrangement of types of land rights; (c) paying or arranging several legal relations between people and legal entities with land as objects.

Pengelolaan Ruang Bawah Tanah Dalam Reformasi Hukum Pertanahan Di Indonesia

The difficulty of obtaining or using the earth's surface in urban areas has resulted in people starting to look for a number of plots of land below the earth's surface. Thus, a development breakthrough innovation is needed that can address the development of community needs, namely the space below the earth's surface. The use of basements, namely UUPA, automatically refers to property rights in discussing the use of basements. The aim is to find a system for granting land rights or management rights to basements in Law Number 5 of 1960 concerning Basic Agrarian Regulations and Law Number 11 of 2022 concerning Job Creation for individuals. This research is a normative juridical research with collection techniques from the literature which consists of primary and secondary legal materials. The results of this study are the system of granting land rights or management rights to basements in the BAL by basing it on the provisions of Article 2 paragraph (2) of the BAL, the term "management" and "organizes". The Job Creation Law is for individuals or legal entities that are given HGB and HP for a period of time as contained in the concept of basement management in Article 146 paragraph (1) to (5) of the UUCK, namely paragraph (1) The land or space formed in the upper room or underground and used for certain activities can be given HGB, HP, or HPL. In conclusion, the State Authority relates to (a) the use and/or allotment, supply and maintenance of the earth, air, space and natural resources in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia; (b) payment or arrangement of types of land rights; (c) paying or arranging several legal relations between people and legal entities with land as objects.

Effect of bismuth doping on zircon-type gadolinium vanadate: Effective electrocatalyst for determination of hazardous herbicide mesotrione

Pesticides are used to promote the growth of plants and crops by killing weeds and other pests. On the other hand, overused and unused pesticides can leach into groundwater and agricultural lands, easily contaminating water, air, and soil resources. Doping with metal ions is an effective method to improve the catalytic activity of potential electrode materials. In the present study, an electrochemical sensor based on Bi3+-doped gadolinium vanadate nanoparticles (GVB NPs) was fabricated for sensitive and selective detection of harmful pesticide mesotrione (MST). The crystalline nature, functional groups, and elemental composition of the prepared electrocatalysts were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) showed that the undoped gadolinium vanadate had a rice-like nanostructure and was designated as GV NRs, while GVB had the morphology of nanoparticles. The fabricated electrode exhibited a well-resolved MST reduction peak in cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). Bismuth doping effectively enhanced the MST reduction and produced a stronger cathodic current response than bare and GV NRs-modified GCE. Moreover, GVB NPs/GCE show a nanomolar detection limit of 45 nM with a sensitivity of 0.43 μA μM−1 cm−2. The proposed sensor showed good repeatability, reproducibility, and stability in LSV analysis. The fabricated MST sensor was successfully applied to the analysis of real samples (river water and corn) with good recovery results.

Solar Energy Technology: Step Towards Bright Future of the World

There are two sorts of energy resources: sustainable power resources and non-sustainable power resources. Due to some negative ecological effects including air pollution, climate change, and resource rot, people are concentrating on using sustainable energy resources to produce electricity. Solar energy, usually referred to as sun-oriented energy, is one of the most frequently researched environmentally beneficial power resources. In order to fulfill the growing demand for energy and increase energy efficiency, new developments and advancements in the field of solar energy are required. There are two sorts of energy resources: sustainable power resources and non-sustainable power resources. Due to some negative ecological effects including air pollution, climate change, and resource rot, people are concentrating on using sustainable energy resources to produce electricity. Solar energy, usually referred to as sun-oriented energy, is one of the most frequently researched environmentally beneficial power resources. In order to fulfill the growing demand for energy and increase energy efficiency, new developments and advancements in the field of solar energy are required. The traditional solar energy cell's inability to create power in the evening is a horrible flaw. This investigation focuses mostly on solar-powered energy and discusses its evolution, improvements, and future perspectives.

Do regional integration policies matter? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment on heterogeneous green innovation

In recent years, the governance crisis represented by air pollution, climate warming, and resource and environmental degradation has restricted the sustainable development of cities. Green innovation, characterized by low carbon intensity and efficiency, is an important way to solve the dilemma of resource constraints and ecosystem degradation. This paper constructs a quasi-natural experiment with China's regional integration policies as the shock, and studies the policy effects of heterogeneous green innovation from 2005 to 2019. The results show that: the impact of regional integration policies on total green innovation is dynamic and sustainable; regional integration policies can positively promote exploitative green innovation, but have no significant impact on exploratory green innovation; and the effects of regional integration policies on green innovation in cities of different sizes, locations, and pollution levels is heterogeneous. Future policy design should therefore pay more attention to the incentive effect of exploratory green innovation.

Natural resource management in American national parks: Principles, problems and enlightenment

The natural resources of national parks in the United States are mainly divided into eight categories: biological resources, fire resources, water resources, air resources, geological resources, soundscape, lighting, chemicals and odors. The management procedures set by the National Park Administration include the formulation of natural resource management planning, the preservation and publication of natural resource information, the assessment of the impact of natural resources, the establishment of the extensive cooperative relations, the promotion of the restoration of natural ecosystems and the establishment of natural resources damage compensation system etc. Different management principles and methods are adopted for different types of natural resources. The “application–review–evaluation–permission” procedure for the development and utilization of natural resources is established and strictly implemented. However, there are also some problems, such as insufficient coverage of natural resources, dislocation of unified management and decentralized management, and serious shortage of financial investment. China’s national parks should clearly define the types of natural resources, gradually expand the pilot scope of natural resource asset management system, establish and improve the natural resource management system, highlight the integrity of ecosystem, adhere to management according to law, and strengthen the control of land and space use.

Ammonia and methane emissions from dairy concentrated animal feeding operations in California, using mobile optical remote sensing

Dairy concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are significant sources of methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) emissions in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Optical techniques, namely, remote sensing by Solar Occultation Flux (SOF) and Mobile extractive FTIR (MeFTIR), were used to measure NH3 air column and ground air concentrations of NH3 and CH4, respectively. Campaigns were performed in May and October 2019 and covered 14 dairies located near Bakersfield and Tulare, California. NH3 and CH4 emission rates from single CAFOs averaged 101.9 ± 40.6 kgNH3/h and 437.7 ± 202.0 kgCH4/h, respectively, corresponding to emission factors (EFs) per livestock unit of 9.1 ± 2.7 gNH3/LU/h and 40.1 ± 17.8 gCH4/LU/h.The NH3 emissions had a median standard uncertainty of 17% and an expanded uncertainty (95% Confidence Interval (CI)) of 37%; meanwhile, CH4 emissions estimates had greater uncertainty, median of 25% and 53% (in the 95% CI). Decreasing NH3 to CH4 ratios and NH3 EFs from early afternoon (13:00) to early night (19:00) indicated a diurnal emission pattern with lower ammonia emissions during the night. On average, measured NH3 emissions were 28% higher when compared to daytime emission rates reported in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) and modeled according to diurnal variation. Measured CH4 emissions were 60% higher than the rates reported in the California Air Resources Board (CARB) inventory. However, comparison with airborne measurements showed similar emission rates. This study demonstrates new air measurement methods, which can be used to quantify emissions over large areas with high spatial resolution and in a relatively short time period. These techniques bridge the gap between satellites and individual CAFOs measurements.

Solid Waste Management in India: A State-of-the-Art Review

This paper presents the current scenario of solid waste management aspects and its challenges in India, which will benefit developing and low-income countries. The leading cause of waste generation is the growing population and the new lifestyle due to the increased per capita income. Consequently, the magnitude of solid waste is continuously growing along with its compositional diversity. In earlier days, the wastes were organic and could be disposed of in low-lying areas conveniently without causing any adverse impact on the environment. But today, the organic fraction of waste has steeply declined while the inorganic portion has increased manifold. Moreover, wastes from industries, hospitals, construction sites, households, and many other sources severely affect the environment and public health. Also, the chemicals generated from the improper disposal of these wastes enter the air, soil, and water resources, causing hazardous and toxic effects in countries that could not implement the adopted policy framework strictly. A state-of-the-art review is conducted in this paper to further search other primary and prevalent reasons behind the inability of proper waste management and to find a real solution.

Managing nature-based solutions in fire-prone ecosystems: Competing management objectives in California forests evaluated at a landscape scale

California’s cap-and-trade compliance offset market incentivizes forest managers to maintain elevated carbon stocks. It provides these incentives without enforcing standardized fire mitigation practices despite many projects being located in fire prone regions. Here, we evaluated the difference between management actions in California forests that participated in the carbon offset market versus those that engaged with state programs to reduce wildfire risk via fuel reduction treatments. Using remotely sensed data from the California Forest Observatory and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, we compared the vertical forest structure and vegetation canopy trends on forest offsets with forests that are receiving fuel treatment. We found California forests managed for carbon under the Improved Forest Management (IFM) program by the California Air Resources Board had higher levels of biomass than forests managed for fire risk reduction as indicated by 2016 lidar-estimated fuel loads. In addition, IFM-participating forests did not reduce their fuel loads between 2016 and 2020, whereas lands receiving grants for fuel management did, indicating that on average, the IFM projects were not engaging in fuel reduction efforts. However, despite the differences in fuel management between IFM projects and active fuel treatments, we found that both types of management saw a declining trend in vegetation greenness between 2015 and 2021. While declining greenness is expected of active fuel treatments associated with vegetation removal, such a trend in the case of IFM indicates additional wildfire risk. Managing forests for long-term carbon storage and sequestration requires consideration of fire risk mitigation. Given the little evidence of fuel reduction in the first decade of IFM projects implementation we question whether the century-long duration of carbon stocks in these offsets is realistic. We recommend that policymakers reevaluate the incentives directed at carbon stock preservation or expansion to better encompass the growing wildfire risk in California.

Meeting future NOX emission regulations by adding an electrically heated mixer

New regulations by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) demand a stringent 0.02 g/hp-hr tailpipe NOx limit by the year 2027, requiring Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalysts to provide high NOx conversions even at low (below 200°C) exhaust temperatures. This work describes utilizing an Electrically Heated Mixer System (EHM system) upstream of a Light-Off Selective Catalytic Reduction (LO-SCR) catalyst followed by a conventional aftertreatment (AT) system containing DOC, DPF, and SCR, enabling high NOx conversions meeting CARB’s NOx emission target. The AT catalysts were hydrothermally aged to Full Useful Life. Conventional unheated Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) was injected upstream of both the LO-SCR and primary downstream SCR. The EHM system allowed for DEF to be injected as low as 130°C upstream of the LO-SCR, whereas, in previous studies, unheated DEF was injected at 180°C or dosed at 130°C with heated DEF. The combination of unheated DEF, EHM system, LO-SCR, and downstream SCR enabled the needed increase in NOx efficiency in low exhaust temperatures, which was observed in drive cycles such as in cold-FTP, LLC, and World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC). There were several-fold reductions in tailpipe NOx using this configuration compared to its baseline: 3.3-fold reduction in FTP, 22-fold in Low Load Cycle (LLC), 38-fold in Beverage Cycle, 8-fold in “Stay Hot” Cycle, and 10-fold in WHTC. Finally, it is shown that the EHM system can heat the exhaust gas, such as during a cold start, without needing additional heating hardware integrated into the system. These results were observed without performing changes in the engine base calibration.

Using remote sensing to quantify the additional climate benefits of California forest carbon offset projects.

Nature-based climate solutions are a vital component of many climate mitigation strategies, including California's, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Most carbon offsets in California's cap-and-trade program come from improved forest management (IFM) projects. Since 2012, various landowners have set up IFM projects following the California Air Resources Board's IFM protocol. As many of these projects approach their 10th year, we now have the opportunity to assess their effectiveness, identify best practices, and suggest improvements toward future protocol revisions. In this study, we used remote sensing-based datasets to evaluate the carbon trends and harvest histories of 37 IFM projects in California. Despite some current limitations and biases, these datasets can be used to quantify carbon accumulation and harvest rates in offset project lands relative to nearby similar "control" lands before and after the projects began. Five lines of evidence suggest that the carbon accumulated in offset projects to date has generally not been additional to what might have otherwise occurred: (1) most forests in northwestern California have been accumulating carbon since at least the mid-1980s and continue to accumulate carbon, whether enrolled in offset projects or not; (2) harvest rates were high in large timber company project lands before IFM initiation, suggesting they are earning carbon credits for forests in recovery; (3) projects are often located on lands with higher densities of low-timber-value species; (4) carbon accumulation rates have not yet increased on lands that enroll as offset projects, relative to their pre-enrollment levels; and (5) harvest rates have not decreased on most project lands since offset project initiation. These patterns suggest that the current protocol should be improved to robustly measure and reward additionality. In general, our framework of geospatial analyses offers an important and independent means to evaluate the effectiveness of the carbon offsets program, especially as these data products continue improving and as offsets receive attention as a climate mitigation strategy.

Meeting future NOX emissions using an electric heater in an advanced aftertreatment system

Engine and aftertreatment solutions are being identified to meet the upcoming ultra-low NOx regulations on heavy duty vehicles as published by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for the year 2027 and beyond. These standards will require changes to current conventional aftertreatment systems for dealing with low exhaust temperature scenarios. One approach to meeting this challenge is to supply additional heat from the engine; however, this comes with a fuel penalty which is not attractive and encourages other options. Another method is to supply external generated heat directly to the aftertreatment system. The following work focuses on the later approach by maintaining the production engine calibration and coupling this with an Electric Heater (EH) upstream of a Light-Off Selective Catalytic Reduction (LO-SCR) followed by a primary aftertreatment system containing a downstream Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). External heat is supplied to the aftertreatment system using an EH to reduce the Tailpipe (TP) NOx emissions with minimal fuel penalty. Two configurations have been implemented, the first is a Close Coupled (CC) LO-SCR configuration and the second is an Underfloor (UF) LO-SCR configuration. The CC LO-SCR configuration shows the best outcome as it is closer to the engine, helping it achieve the required temperature with lower EH power while the UF LO-SCR configurations addresses the real-world packaging options for the LO-SCR. This work shows that a 7 kW EH upstream of a LO-SCR, in the absence of heated Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), followed by a primary aftertreatment system met the 2027 NOx regulatory limit. It also shows that the sub-6-inch diameter EH with negligible pressure drop can be easily packaged into the future aftertreatment system.

Exploration of a new path to reduce air pollutant emissions in the sinter plant of steelworks

Tremendous air pollutant emissions have become an obstacle to curbing the green development of the steel industry. How to minimize the air pollutant emissions? In this study, the gas flow network model of the sinter plant was first established by using the dynamic material flow analysis method. Moreover, based on the circulation theory, the waste gas recycling of the sinter plant was constructed and the gas flow network model was optimized. Therefore, the waste gas and air pollutant emissions can be reduced. The results showed that the actual air consumption in the sinter plant was 79.40% higher than the theoretical value, with a serious waste of air resources. After waste gas recycling, the waste gas emissions from the production of per ton sinter were reduced by 49.54%, and the emissions of SO2, NOX, and soot were reduced by 4.5 g, 9.1 g, and 1.8 g, respectively.

Curbing Emissions: Environmental Regulations and Product Offerings Across Markets

Problem definition: In the U.S. auto market, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) implements a stricter fuel economy standard in California than the federal standard implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Trump administration’s 2018 announcement to freeze the EPA standard threatened to widen its gap from the CARB standard and cause a split market where automakers offer differentiated car models in CARB and non-CARB states. Inspired by this crisis, we investigate three research questions: when is market unification (all vehicles meeting a common efficiency standard) attainable? Is unifying a split market likely to reduce total CO2emissions? If so, what strategies can help unify the market when unification does not occur naturally? Methodology/results: We adopt a game-theoretic model where two regulators with different levels of environmental awareness set efficiency standards in their respective markets, a firm offers product(s) for these markets, and consumers make purchases. We find that there exist cases where the firm offers a unified product for both markets, a different product in each market, or only serves one market, and our analysis suggests that unifying a split market may help curb emissions. We then propose and show that horizontal negotiations (between the regulators) and vertical negotiations (between a regulator and the firm) are potentially effective strategies to unify a split market and reduce emissions. Managerial implications: Our findings show that a more environmentally aware regulator can leverage its market power and reduce CO2emissions outside its jurisdiction through negotiations. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the regulator should prioritize horizontal negotiations while using vertical negotiations as a back-up option.Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1141 .

The impacts of wildfires on ozone production and boundary layer dynamics in California's Central Valley

Abstract. We investigate the role of wildfire smoke on ozone photochemical production (P(O3)) and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) dynamics in California's Central Valley during June–September from 2016 to 2020. Wildfire events are identified by the Hazard Mapping System (HMS) and the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT). Air quality and meteorological data are analyzed from 10 monitoring sites operated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) across the Central Valley. On average, wildfires were found to influence air quality in the Central Valley on about 20 % of the total summer days of the study. During wildfire-influenced periods, maximum daily 8 h averaged (MDA8) O3 was enhanced by about 5.5 ppb or 10 % of the median MDA8 (once corrected for the slightly warmer temperatures) over the entire valley. Overall, nearly half of the total exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) where MDA8 O3 > 70 ppb occur under the influence of wildfires, and approximately 10 % of those were in exceedance by 5 ppb or less indicating circumstances that would have been in compliance with the NAAQS were it not for wildfire emissions. The photochemical ozone production rate calculated from the modified Leighton relationship was also found to be higher by 50 % on average compared with non-fire periods despite the average diminution of j(NO2) by ∼ 7 % due to the shading effect of the wildfire smoke plumes. Surface heat flux measurements from two AmeriFlux sites in the northern San Joaquin Valley show midday surface buoyancy fluxes decrease by 30 % on average when influenced by wildfire smoke. Similarly, afternoon peak ABL heights measured from a radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) located in Visalia in the southern San Joaquin Valley were found to decrease on average by 80 m (∼ 15 %) with a concomitant reduction of downwelling shortwave radiation of 54 Wm−2, consistent with past observations of the dependence of boundary layer heights on insolation.

Development and evaluation of the Aerosol Forecast Member in the National Center for Environment Prediction (NCEP)'s Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS-Aerosols v1)

Abstract. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Weather Service (NWS) is on its way to deploying various operational prediction applications using the Unified Forecast System (https://ufscommunity.org/, last access: 18 June 2022), a community-based coupled, comprehensive Earth modeling system. An aerosol model component developed in collaboration between the Global Systems Laboratory, Chemical Science Laboratory, Air Resources Laboratory, and Environmental Modeling Center (GSL, CSL, ARL, EMC) was coupled online with the FV3 Global Forecast System (FV3GFS) using the National Unified Operational Prediction Capability (NUOPC)-based NOAA Environmental Modeling System (NEMS) software framework. This aerosol prediction system replaced the NEMS GFS Aerosol Component version 2 (NGACv2) system in the National Center for Environment Prediction (NCEP) production suite in September 2020 as one of the ensemble members of the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS), dubbed GEFS-Aerosols v1. The aerosol component of atmospheric composition in the GEFS is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem). GEFS-Aerosols includes bulk modules from the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport model (GOCART). Additionally, the biomass burning plume rise module from High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR)-Smoke based on WRF-Chem was implemented. The GOCART dust scheme was replaced by the FENGSHA dust scheme (developed by ARL). The Blended Global Biomass Burning Emissions Product (GBBEPx version 3) provides biomass burning emission and fire radiative power (FRP) data. The global anthropogenic emission inventories are derived from the Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). All sub-grid-scale transport and deposition are handled inside the atmospheric physics routines, which required consistent implementation of positive definite tracer transport and wet scavenging in the physics parameterizations used by the NCEP's operational FV3GFS. This paper describes the details of GEFS-Aerosols model development and evaluation of real-time and retrospective runs using different observations from in situ measurement and satellite and aircraft data. GEFS-Aerosols predictions demonstrate substantial improvements for both composition and variability of aerosol distributions over those from the former operational NGACv2 system with the fundamental updates (e.g., dust and fire emission) in the atmospheric and chemical transport model.

The Fossil Fuel Phase-Out's Multi-Million Dollar Problem: An Environmental Justice Analysis Of Idle Oil Well Management in California

Throughout the state of California, oil operators will continue to abandon thousands of their oil wells within the coming years. With the growing threats of climate change, local, state and federal policymakers are looking away from fossil fuels and towards supporting renewable energy generation. In April 2021, California Governor Gavin Newson directed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to begin evaluating paths to phasing out fossil fuel extraction in the state by 2045. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also increased the risk of operators filing for bankruptcy and thus orphaning their wells. When an oil well stops operating, becoming idle, there are still many environmental and health related hazards remaining at the site. Uncapped idle wells are known to emit toxic and flammable gases, such as methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In addition, wells that are left unplugged can contaminate surrounding soil and water supplies.In California, the process of plugging and decommissioning a well is the operator’s responsibility. However, operators have little incentive to plug and decommission their wells because maintaining their idle wells is generally cheaper. Properly plugging and decommissioning an onshore well can cost between $40,000 and $152,000. By maintaining their idle wells instead of decommissioning and plugging their wells, operators also preserve the option value of their wells in case oil prices increase. Additionally, if an oil company becomes insolvent or deserts its wells, making them orphaned wells, that cost of decommissioning and plugging the well is borne by the State. The State currently lacks sufficient funds to plug and abandon all orphaned wells. Due to that lack of funding, many orphan wells are left unplugged, harming the surrounding communities and contributing to climate change.Last year, the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) tightened its regulations around idle well management “to create far more stringent testing requirements that better protect public safety and the environment from the potential threats posed by idle wells.” This comment will analyze CalGEM’s updated regulations and current laws for idle well management. Specifically, the comment will use an environmental justice theoretical framework to assess whether the updated regulations meet CalGEM’s goal of “better protect[ing] public safety . . . from the potential threats posed by idle wells,” particularly for low-income communities and communities of color in California. The comment will go on to suggest potential areas where CalGEM can strengthen its regulations to better protect communities near idle wells, particularly by: (1) increasing idle well fees, (2) increasing the indemnity bond amount, (3) adding cumulative impacts to CCR section 1772.4 considerations, and (4) allowing for public comment on critical prioritization decisions. While there are certain strengths to the updated regulations and current laws regarding idle well management, they still fall short of appropriately protecting the health and safety of communities throughout California.