Hydrocarbons

An industry group is accusing the Chesapeake Bay Foundation of misrepresenting the facts in a video investigation the environmental group released last fall purporting to show natural gas wells and processing facilities spewing invisible plumes of pollution into the air. Energy in Depth , an arm of the Independent Petroleum Association of America , says the plumes captured on CBF's video using an infrared camera are not surreptitious releases...

An industry group is accusing the Chesapeake Bay Foundation of misrepresenting the facts in a video investigation the environmental group released last fall purporting to show natural gas wells and processing facilities spewing invisible plumes of pollution into the air. Energy in Depth , an arm of the Independent Petroleum Association of America , says the plumes captured on CBF's video using an infrared camera are not surreptitious releases...

Knock! Knock! Knock! It's the environmental police! Open up in the name of the Earth! Are you the owner of the house, ma'am? We have a report that someone at this address was observed lighting a barbecue with a controlled substance. Stand back -- we're comin' in.In Southern California, where it's barbecue weather all year round, people do a lot of grilling out. Like their compatriots in other states, most of them light their fires in the old tried-and-true method: Scrape the coals up into a little pyramid, douse them liberally with a commercial, petroleum-derived, volatile organic compound, throw down a lit match and jump away.

Smog is still polluting our air, harming our lungs and environment, despite nearly a quarter-century of tighter regulations and the expenditure of some $400 billion on controls. Baltimore had 11 unhealthful smog days this summer.One reason is that regulators have largely ignored a key component of smog that comes out of smokestacks and auto tailpipes: Nitrogen oxides.Instead, the air quality battle has focused on cutting emissions of another pollutant -- hydrocarbons, found in paint and unburned gasoline -- because those efforts are easier and cheaper.

About 600 catcalling, sign-waving residents of Rosedale in eastern Baltimore County packed the Eastern Vo-Tech High School auditorium last night to protest plans for a plant in their neighborhood that would "recycle" dirt contaminated by leaking underground fuel storage tanks."

Smog is still polluting our air, harming our lungs and environment, despite nearly a quarter-century of tighter regulations and the expenditure of some $400 billion on controls. Baltimore had 11 unhealthful smog days this summer.One reason is that regulators have largely ignored a key component of smog that comes out of smokestacks and auto tailpipes: Nitrogen oxides.Instead, the air quality battle has focused on cutting emissions of another pollutant -- hydrocarbons, found in paint and unburned gasoline -- because those efforts are easier and cheaper.

Banishing summertime smog from Baltimore and the rest of the Northeast will require a far greater reduction of pollution by electric power plants and industry than envisioned by lawmakers and regulators, a new federal study shows.Government efforts to curb smog so far have focused on only one of the two types of pollutants that form ground-level ozone, the chief component in smog.However, it may be far more important to control the other chemical ingredient of ozone, according to computer projections by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Recycling is supposed to be good for the environment, but don't tell that to Rosedale residents right now.About 600 catcalling, sign-waving residents of the eastern Baltimore County community packed the Eastern Vo-Tech High School auditorium last night to protest plans for a plant in their neighborhood that would "recycle" dirt contaminated by leaking underground fuel storage tanks."

WASHINGTON -- In a major compromise, Senate negotiators accepted yesterday tough provisions of House clean-air legislation that would toughen emission controls in the United States' smoggiest cities to include small industrial polluters such as breweries, bakeries and auto body shops.As part of a larger accord on the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, negotiators rejected Senate language that would have weakened the Environmental Protection Agency's existing authority to force states to write and comply with plans to reduce pollution from industry.

When the circus rolls into town for a one-day performance tomorrow, its cast of characters will include High Flying Hydrocarbons, Notorious Nitrogen Oxides and an earth in the balance.The inventive Save-the-Earth Circus, a production of the Connecticut-based Crabgrass Puppet Theatre, should prove a hit with parents, as well as children, thanks to its blend of funny-bone humor, fast-paced puppet action and serious lessons aimed at changing wasteful habits."One thing I really look for before booking a performance is whether it will offer children the humor and action needed to keep them interested, as well as some element of education," says Barbara Lett, special events assistant for the Howard County Department of Parks and Recreation, which is sponsoring the show.

When the circus rolls into town for a one-day performance tomorrow, its cast of characters will include High Flying Hydrocarbons, Notorious Nitrogen Oxides and an earth in the balance.The inventive Save-the-Earth Circus, a production of the Connecticut-based Crabgrass Puppet Theatre, should prove a hit with parents, as well as children, thanks to its blend of funny-bone humor, fast-paced puppet action and serious lessons aimed at changing wasteful habits."One thing I really look for before booking a performance is whether it will offer children the humor and action needed to keep them interested, as well as some element of education," says Barbara Lett, special events assistant for the Howard County Department of Parks and Recreation, which is sponsoring the show.

Banishing summertime smog from Baltimore and the rest of the Northeast will require a far greater reduction of pollution by electric power plants and industry than envisioned by lawmakers and regulators, a new federal study shows.Government efforts to curb smog so far have focused on only one of the two types of pollutants that form ground-level ozone, the chief component in smog.However, it may be far more important to control the other chemical ingredient of ozone, according to computer projections by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Leaking gasoline fumes have led to a three-month halt in excavation of a Metro tunnel, contributing to a potential $16 million cost overrun on the subway extension that has been dogged by expensive encounters with petroleum-tainted soil in East Baltimore.Mass Transit Administration officials said the stoppage was necessary because compressed air used to keep out ground water has been escaping from the tunnel, causing gasoline fumes to surface from contaminated soil in the Jonestown neighborhood.

About 600 catcalling, sign-waving residents of Rosedale in eastern Baltimore County packed the Eastern Vo-Tech High School auditorium last night to protest plans for a plant in their neighborhood that would "recycle" dirt contaminated by leaking underground fuel storage tanks."

Recycling is supposed to be good for the environment, but don't tell that to Rosedale residents right now.About 600 catcalling, sign-waving residents of the eastern Baltimore County community packed the Eastern Vo-Tech High School auditorium last night to protest plans for a plant in their neighborhood that would "recycle" dirt contaminated by leaking underground fuel storage tanks."

As part of an evil plot to tie women to the kitchen, scientists have revealed that house dust really does matter, just as your mother told you. Apparently, that harmless-looking powdery stuff that dwells in our homes is a cocktail of hazardous substances that would feel at home in a Superfund site.In case you missed last week's column, let me introduce you to the Dust Baddy Hall of Fame: lead, arsenic, cadmium, pesticides, volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

YOU JUMP in your car. Turn it on, fasten the seat belt. Oops, forgot to turn on the answering machine. Leap out of the car, into the house, back again, engine still running, off you go. Uh-oh. Looks like there is road construction up ahead. Wait . . . wait . . . wait. On your way again. Pull into a fast-food joint. Drive through, of course. Wait in line, listen to the radio.The American Automobile Association estimates that, depending on the make and condition of your car, you burn between one-half and one gallon of gasoline an hour while your engine is idling.

Leaking gasoline fumes have led to a three-month halt in excavation of a Metro tunnel, contributing to a potential $16 million cost overrun on the subway extension that has been dogged by expensive encounters with petroleum-tainted soil in East Baltimore.Mass Transit Administration officials said the stoppage was necessary because compressed air used to keep out ground water has been escaping from the tunnel, causing gasoline fumes to surface from contaminated soil in the Jonestown neighborhood.

Knock! Knock! Knock! It's the environmental police! Open up in the name of the Earth! Are you the owner of the house, ma'am? We have a report that someone at this address was observed lighting a barbecue with a controlled substance. Stand back -- we're comin' in.In Southern California, where it's barbecue weather all year round, people do a lot of grilling out. Like their compatriots in other states, most of them light their fires in the old tried-and-true method: Scrape the coals up into a little pyramid, douse them liberally with a commercial, petroleum-derived, volatile organic compound, throw down a lit match and jump away.

YOU JUMP in your car. Turn it on, fasten the seat belt. Oops, forgot to turn on the answering machine. Leap out of the car, into the house, back again, engine still running, off you go. Uh-oh. Looks like there is road construction up ahead. Wait . . . wait . . . wait. On your way again. Pull into a fast-food joint. Drive through, of course. Wait in line, listen to the radio.The American Automobile Association estimates that, depending on the make and condition of your car, you burn between one-half and one gallon of gasoline an hour while your engine is idling.