My work focuses on reducing the environmental and health impacts of our transportation system—everything from cars, trucks and buses to the largest ocean-going ships.
In the 1990s, our Dump Dirty Diesels Campaign helped create a model to clean up NYC Transit's buses, using cleaner fuels and improved pollution control technologies. That campaign helped create new federal rules to clean up all diesel engines, and has led to fascinating projects to reduce vehicle pollution in developing countries around the world.
Today, my work is a mix of New York, federal, and international work—following the dirty diesel, dirty car, or dirty ship trail wherever it goes.
Posted January 27, 2012 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Margo Oge, EPA’s Director of Office of Transportation and Air Quality, has confirmed what I wrote in my Tier 3 post last week, which described the agency’s possible approach in its upcoming proposal to create a new rule to reduce emissions...continued→
Posted January 18, 2012 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Greening China, Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
My colleague, Dan Lashof, just posted a great summary of the study, published in Science this week, that explained how cutting soot and smog pollution could help reduce the impacts of global warming in the short-term, while improving human health and...continued→
Posted January 17, 2012 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Last week, I wrote about the need to move Tier 3 forward, which followed up on a letter that the leaders of NRDC, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club, and the Union of Concerned Scientists sent to EPA Administrator...continued→
Posted January 12, 2012 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
This is a post about an EPA proposal that hasn’t been proposed. It’s a post about a proposal that environmentalists, state air regulators, and industry stakeholders have been waiting a year and a half to see. And, it’s a post...continued→
Posted December 16, 2011 by Rich Kassel in The Media and the Environment
Are you watching the family next door trick out their front lawn with holiday lights and inflatable lawn Santas, and wondering whether you can top them? In the spirit of the not writing something serious today (NRDC’s holiday party is...continued→
Posted November 30, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
Earlier this week, the Teamsters, Public Citizen, and the Sierra Club filed their latest lawsuit (read more here) in their longstanding dispute about whether Mexican and U.S. trucks should be able to deliver goods in each other’s countries. NRDC is...continued→
Posted October 27, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
NRDC Executive Director Peter Lehner and Director of Global Strategy & Advocacy Jacob Scherr joined UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner at the United Nations today to declare victory in the decades-long campaign to eliminate leaded gasoline worldwide. At the event,...continued→
Posted October 22, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
One of the great things about working on international vehicle issues is that my work takes me to fascinating places. This week, I’ll be in Nairobi, where I will be attending the Ninth General Partners Meeting of the Partnership for...continued→
Posted October 19, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
Yesterday, I wrote about how Maersk was leading the pack in greening its shipping fleet, by switching to low-sulfur fuels and investing in energy-efficient vessels, far in advance of regulatory mandates to do so. I also wrote about how their...continued→
Posted October 18, 2011 by Rich Kassel
Today's online edition of OnEarth, NRDC's award-winning magazine, includes an interview with Jacob Sterling, who leads the climate and environmental initiatives at Maersk, the global shipping fleet. It's part of a continuing series, "Meet the Change-Makers," that highlights business leaders...continued→
Posted September 28, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
1.34 million urban dwellers face premature deaths every year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). According to an AP report in Forbes and elsewhere, cities in Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia top the list of...continued→
Posted September 21, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution
It was bound to happen. Sooner or later, somebody in the House of Representatives had to watch colleagues pour on the anti-environmental riders and decide to go after EPA’s successful clean fuel and vehicle programs. Sooner or later, somebody in...continued→
Posted July 21, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
Biking on Long Island is more dangerous than biking in New York City, or anywhere else in the tri-state metropolitan area. That’s the take-away from an important new analysis on bicycle safety from the great advocates over at the Tri-State...continued→
Posted July 20, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
New York City, New Jersey, and much of the eastern seaboard will have another “Air Quality Health Advisory” tomorrow. Right on schedule. It’s hot and sunny, so the ozone levels are shooting up. As I type, the Air Quality Index...continued→
Posted July 18, 2011 by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Reviving the World's Oceans, Solving Global Warming
On Friday, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the first-ever greenhouse gas regulations for new ships. This is the first industry-wide, global agreement on GHGs ever. The agreement covers new ocean-going ships that weigh more than 400 tons. Ships built...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
