air quality | Ecology Center

Spare the Air All Winter? Drought, Poor Air Quality, and Inequity

January 16, 2015 by Ecology Center

December seems long gone, along with the big storms it brought. The weeks of dry, sunny and windless winter weather contribute to California’s ongoing drought, and they also have a hard impact on air quality. There’s not too much we can do to change the weather, which is caused by the winter inversion, the high… Read more »

Gas or Charcoal for Your Summer Barbecues?

July 11, 2014 by Ecology Center

Time outdoors, fresh and flavorful food, family and friends are all things to love about summer barbecues. What we don’t love? Side effects like hazardous smoke and carbon emissions. What options do grillers have, and how does their environmental impact stack up? The two traditional choices are charcoal or gas grills. At our Store, we… Read more »

Bay Area Big Oil Getting Bigger? Panel Discussion 11/6/13

October 31, 2013 by Ecology Center

Did you know that we live next to five oil refineries in the East Bay and that several are considering plans to process Canadian tar sands crude oil, described by the Sierra Club as “the most toxic fossil fuel on the planet”? On Wednesday, November 6th, from 7-9 PM, a panel event at the Ecology… Read more »

Climate Change Will Bring More, Bigger Wildfires to Western U.S.

August 8, 2013 by Ecology Center

One of the impacts of climate change is increasing wildfires, which in turn affects air quality. In late July, a Spare the Air day alert was issued in the Bay Area because of fires in Oregon. Check out the Union of Concerned Scientists’s great infographic explaining the increase in wildfires. [Photo by Bureau of Land… Read more »