Unexceptional Exceptions: A federal appeals court
ruled yesterday that the U.S. EPA was correct in declaring
the San Joaquin Valley in compliance with national
standards for PM-10.
(PM-10 is, of course, coarse-particle air pollution --
specks of dust, smoke and liquid considered harmful to
health at high levels.)
The Bakersfield Californian
reports that the
environmental group Earthjustice challenged the EPAīs
decision in 2006, saying PM-10 levels exceeded federal
limits in the San Joaquin Valley dozens of times over a
three-year period. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District contended that the overages were caused
by "high-wind events," which are excluded under the EPAīs
"exceptional events" policy. The court agreed and said the
EPA acted appropriately in excluding them.
One assumes the court took into account the impact of
the
Santa Ana winds in
reaching its decision. The Santa Anas would certainly
qualify as a high-wind event, though hardly an exceptional
one since they roll through Southern California every
fall.
TV & the Second "R": With so many people buying
digital TVs and pondering what to do with their old sets,
hereīs an interesting thought that hadnīt occurred to me.
A Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist
points out that
old TV sets that that still work can be used for "offline"
type TV activities like watching DVDs and playing video
games.
For many, that could justify hanging onto an old set,
or giving or selling it for cheap to someone who could use
it for one of those purposes. Which sites like
Craigslist make
pretty easy to do.
PC on E-waste: PC Magazine yesterday
posted an
"Electronics Recycling Superguide" to steer consumers
toward the best and easiest ways to recycle used
electronics via manufacturers, retailers and online
trade-in sites that offer cash or gift cards in exchange
for used gadgets.
Pete Fehrenbach is
managing editor of Waste & Recycling News. Past
installments of this column are collected in
the Inbox archive.
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