Rose presents at RGS-IBG postgraduate forum mid-term conference

Rose presented her research at the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum mid-term conference, at the University of Plymouth, on 7th March. The conference provided an opportunity for a large number of postgraduates to present their research, and gain feedback from other postgraduate research students working on all aspects of Geography. The conference also included poster presentations and exhibitions, and workshops addressing aspects of postgraduate development. Rose's presentation can be downloaded here.
Rose has nominated herself as next year's conference organiser, with the help of other research students in the faculty, and is hoping UWE will win the vote! Watch this space for news...

Welcome back, Nicky

AQMRC is delighted to announce that Dr Nicky Woodfield will be working with AQMRC on a range of projects in the next year.

Nicky was the first appointment to AQMRC back in 1997 and as well as coordinating the work of the Centre studied part time for a PhD which was awarded in 2004. Her thesis was entitled Conflict and consensus in spatial and temporal designations of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) to secure air quality objectives in Great Britain and her research led to a large number of papers and conference presentations. The staff in AQMRC look forward to working with Nicky on a range of LAQM projects.

Farewell and Good Luck, Nurul

After 8 years in Bristol, first as a PhD student and then as a Research Fellow, AQMRC has bid farewell to Dr Nurul Leksmono. Nurul has returned to her home city of Jakarta, Indonesia to work for the environmental consultancy ERM. We wish Nurul well in this the next part of her career and we look forward to the opportunity for collaborating on some interesting and challenging new projects.

Nurul first joined AQMRC in 2001 to study for a PhD funded by the Environment Agency. Her PhD 'Sustainable, proportionate and cost-effective action plans to deliver air quality objectives within AQMAs' explored the relationship between the LAQM and the IPPC regimes and focused on the application of the above principles within the development of air quality action plans. Her PhD was supervised by Jimi Irwin, Katy Ling and Jim Longhurst.

Following the award of her PhD Nurul worked on a range of AQMRC projects including the ESRC 'Science in Society' project 'Consultation as Science Communication' (see http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/esrc/), the ESRC Impact project 'Mediating Consultation: Private Sector Consultancies Engagement in Local Air Quality Management Consultation' (see http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/Mediating_Consultation.html) as well as providing technical and policy support for AQMRC activities including the Defra Review and Assessment contract and a wide range of LAQM projects.

Everyone in AQMRC will miss Nurul greatly, and wish her all the best.

LAQM Guidance and tools now available

The LAQM Policy Guidance (England only); Practice Guidance (England only) and Technical Guidance (all of the UK) have been launched today (19th February 2009) in electronic format (hard copy to follow). New support tools are also now available and the Report Submission Website is now live. These documents and support tools can all be accessed at the links below:

LAQM Policy Guidance (England only): http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/local/guidance/pdf/laqm-policy-guidance-part4.pdf.
LAQM Technical Guidance (all of the UK): http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/local/guidance/pdf/tech-guidance-laqm-tg-09.pdf.
LAQM Technical Guidance Support Tools: http://laburnum.aeat.co.uk/archive/laqm/tools.php.

These documents and links for the LAQM Practice Guidance (England only) are also available on the LAQM Guidance pages of the Defra website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/local/guidance/index.htm.

Report Submission Website: http://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/la_report_admin/logon.php. Further information and login details, etc, will be sent out next week.

The Review and Assessment website FAQs will be updated tomorrow.

Bookmark these links and happy reading!

Rose and Mofoluso's abstracts accepted for RGS-IBG Conference

Rose and Mofoluso have both had abstracts accepted for presentation at the forthcoming RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum mid-term conference, at the University of Plymouth on 7th March. The conference provides an opportunity for postgraduates working on aspects of geography to present their research, and also to participate in workshops addressing aspects of postgraduate development. More information on the conference can be found here.

Celebrating 10,000 subscribers - Science for Environment Policy goes from strength to strength

Now with 10,000 subscribers, Science for Environment Policy plays a key role in disseminating cutting edge, policy-relevant research findings in the environmental sciences. The news alert service is edited by the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England on behalf of the European Commission. It was first launched in January 2006 and quickly attracted a considerable number of subscriptions from old Member States of the EU. Recently, these figures have been buoyed by a notable and important increase in subscribers from new EU Member States.

Doubravka Nedvedova of the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic, the service’s 10,000th subscriber, said: “Being from the Czech Republic, I was delighted to find a service that directly addresses a number of the environmental problems we face both nationally and across the EU. It is very helpful to have such clearly written and relevant information delivered directly to my inbox.”

Brought to you FREE by DG Environment of the European Commission, this information service brings policy-relevant research findings in the following areas direct to the subscriber’s email inbox:

Agriculture
Air pollution
Biodiversity
Biotechnology
Chemicals
Climate Change & Energy
Environment and Health
Environmental Information Services
Environment Technologies
Forests
Land use Marine Ecosystem
Natural Hazards
Noise
Risk Assessment
Soil
Sustainable Consumption and Production
Sustainable Development and Policy Assessment
Sustainable Mobility
Urban Environment
Waste Water

The service is weekly and covers recently published studies. The articles are written in easy-to-read, non-scientific English specifically to allow non-scientists and non-native speakers of English easy access to the latest scientific research.
To subscribe to the service, send an email to sfep@uwe.ac.uk with the message line: 'subscribe-SfEP' or visit the news alert website at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/research_alert_en.htm
For more information please contact:

Emma Weitkamp, Managing Editor
Tel +44 (0) 117 32 82081
Emma.weitkamp@uwe.ac.uk

Or Michelle Kilfoyle, Production Editor
Tel +44 (0) 117 32 83913
Michelle.kilfoyle@uwe.ac.uk

Air Quality Management Resource Centre are very pleased to be working with SCU on this project.

Rose lectures at University of Iceland

Rose has just returned from giving three lectures at the University of Iceland, from 7th - 10th February. These included lectures on carbon management and carbon footprinting, for Masters students taking a course on 'Sustainable Futures', and a lecture on her research as a case study of carbon management, for Environmental Engineering Undergraduates. The lectures can be downloaded on her research page.

Rose is pleased that she managed to see some of Iceland's beautiful scenery whilst there, but isn't sorry to leave behind the sub-zero tempertures!

New LAQM training session in the south east

Due to massive demand, Air Quality Management Resource Centre, UWE, and Air Quality Consultants Ltd will be holding another LAQM Training session in the south east in addition to the previously advertised events in Bristol, Reading and York.

The new event will be held at the Hawth in Crawley on Tuesday 3rd March. Please click here to access further information and the registration form.

South West EP-UK & AQMRC 11th Annual Conference: Local Authority National Environmental Indicators – Where next?

Environmental Protection UK South West Division & Air Quality Management Resource Management Centre, UWE, are holding their 11th Annual Conference: Local Authority National Environmental Indicators – Where next? at Bristol Zoo on Friday, 20th March 2009.
Please click here for a copy of the flier and details of how to register.

Public Health publication

The journal Public Health has just published a paper jointly written by Tim Chatterton at AQMRC, with colleagues at UWE in the Centre for Transport and Society, and the British Market Research Board.  The paper provides a summary and discussion of key issues arising in research carried out by them for the Department of Transport.

 

Understanding how transport choices are affected by the environment and health: Views expressed in a study on the use of carbon calculators

T.J. Chatterton, A. Coulter, C. Musselwhite, G. Lyons and S. Clegg

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2008.10.022  

Tim Exchanges Knowledge at IEMA

On 28th January, Tim presented the AQMRC's work in the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia to the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment's Knoledge Transfer (Exchange) Workshop.  The event, held in Oxford, was aimed at bringing the work of a range of accademic institutions to the the attention  of the practioner and business communities and was well attended by representatives from the UK Research Councils, Universities and businesses.  Further details of the meeting and presentations can be found on the IEMA website <a heref="http://www.iema.net/conferences/knowledgeexchange">here</a>.

Rose to lecture at University of Iceland, Reykjavik

Rose will be contributing to a weekend of lectures on sustainable futures, at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik. Rose will be lecturing Masters students on carbon management frameworks and accounting techniques. The lecture series has been organised by Professor Vala Ragnarsdottir, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Iceland, and one of Rose's supervisors, and will run from 6th-9th February.

Rose presents at Regional Studies Association South West Branch Conference

Rose gave a presentation on carbon management in the Bristol Region at the South West Branch of the Regional Studies Association conference at UWE on 23rd January. Rose's presentation included a review of current climate policy and emissions in the Bristol region and an overview of her research, before discussing some of the methods and challenges in emissions estimates and forecasts. Rose's presentation can be downloaded here.

Consultation on UK application for an extension to meet EU air quality limits

Defra is seeking views on the UK application to the European Commission for an extension to meet air quality targets for Particulate Matter (PM₁₀). The application for an extension will be submitted to the European Commission as soon as possible after this consultation has closed on 10 March.

 

PM₁₀ is made up of very small particles of soot and dust in the air, less than 10 micrometers in diameter (human hair ranges from 17-180 micrometers in diameter). The sources of these particles include transport, industrial plants, construction, and extremely small particles carried on the wind from neighbouring countries. There is also a small amount from natural sources, such as dust blown from Africa or sea salt.

 

Most other Member States have also reported some breaches of the EU PM₁₀ limits since they came into force in 2005: 24 out of 27 reported breaches of the limit in 2007. They will also need to apply to the European Commission for additional time.

 

Levels of PM₁₀ have been falling across the UK. However, in eight areas breaches of the PM₁₀ limit values have been reported to the European Commission since they came into force in 2005 and so additional time to meet the limits is needed.

The extension would enable current and planned measures to take effect to reduce PM₁₀ levels to within the EU limits by the extended deadline of 2011.

 

Consultation documents are available to download from the Defra website http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/air-quality/index.htm.  The deadline for responses is 10^th March 2009.

 

Rose to present at South West Branch of the Regional Studies Association conference

Rose is to present at the 1st annual conference of the South West branch of the Regional Studies Association, on Friday 23rd January. Rose will be presenting an overview of her research on carbon management in the Bristol region. The conference aims to facilitate and stimulate dialogue between policy makers and academics with an interest in England's South West region, in an attempt to identify ways to enhance and improve the working of our economy and to make the region a better place to live. More information can he found here: http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/events/future.asp

LAQM Training Days 2009 - booking form available

It won't have escaped your notice that air quality management in 2009 is set to see some changes with the imminent publication of the new Local Air Quality Management Policy and Technical Guidance and tools to facilitate report preparation and submission. To ease air quality professionals into this Review & Assessment year and help them to fully understand the implications of these changes, the Air Quality Management Resource Centre, UWE, and Air Quality Consultants Ltd will be holding a series of Training Days during March 2009. Sessions will be held throughout England (see dates and venues below) and will provide delegates with, among other things, advice on the preparation of LAQM reports (Review & Assessment Reports and Air Quality Action Plans) under the new Technical Guidance, the online USA template and the web submission tool and LAQM support tools. Please click here to access further information and the registration form.

10/3/09 Bristol (hosted by Bristol City Council)
19/3/09 Reading (hosted by the Environment Agency)
23/3/09 York (hosted by York City Council)

Further dates may be announced depending on demand. Click here to receive email notification of training sessions and other upcoming AQMRC activities and here to subscribe to the AQMRC Latest News for RSS feed updates.

The Welsh Assembly Government (10/2/2009) and the Scottish Government (13/2/2009) are also hosting LAQM training sessions in Cardiff and Edinburgh respectively. Please contact us for further information on these training sessions.

On Thursday 23^rd January Jim Longhurst will be speaking at the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education’s (http://www.lfhe.ac.uk/) training seminar being held at Warwick University.  Jim will speak on the subject of Research and Enterprise in Higher Education.

 

Back in November Jim Longhurst gave an invited talk on the subject of ‘Major environmental challenges and responses’  at the Great Western Research Conference  ‘Future Imperfect’. The film of Jim’s talk can now be viewed as a streamed webcast on the GWR web site at http://www.greatwesternresearch.ac.uk/FutureImperfect.php

 

Enda Hayes, Tim Chatterton and Jim Longhurst were submitted as part of the University’s submission to sub panel 32 Geography and Environmental Studies. 70% of this submission was judged as being of internationally recognised quality or internationally excellent. See the RAE web page at http://www.rae.ac.uk/ and http://www.built-environment.uwe.ac.uk/research/newsDisplayPublic.asp?NewsID=1143&rss=True

 

Promotion to Senior Research Fellow

Congratulations to Dr Enda Hayes on his well deserved promotion to Senior Research Fellow in AQMRC. Read Enda’s web page at  http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/enda.html

LAQM Training Days 2009 - booking form available

It won’t have escaped your notice that air quality management in 2009 is set to see some changes with the imminent publication of the new Local Air Quality Management Policy and Technical Guidance and tools to facilitate report preparation and submission. To ease air quality professionals into this Review & Assessment year and help them to fully understand the implications of these changes, the Air Quality Management Resource Centre, UWE, and Air Quality Consultants Ltd will be holding a series of Training Days during March 2009. Sessions will be held throughout England (see dates and venues below) and will provide delegates with, among other things, advice on the preparation of LAQM reports (Review & Assessment Reports and Air Quality Action Plans) under the new Technical Guidance, the online USA template and the web submission tool and LAQM support tools. Please click here to access further information and the registration form.

10/3/09 Bristol (hosted by Bristol City Council)
19/3/09 Reading (hosted by the Environment Agency)
23/3/09 York (hosted by York City Council)

Further dates may be announced depending on demand. Click here to receive email notification of training sessions and other upcoming AQMRC activities and here to subscribe to the AQMRC Latest News for RSS feed updates.

The Welsh Assembly Government (10/2/2009) and the Scottish Government (13/2/2009) are also hosting LAQM training sessions in Cardiff and Edinburgh respectively. Please contact us for further information on these training sessions.

South West EP-UK & AQMRC 11th Annual Conference - date change

Scrub 26th February 2009 from your diary and add 20th March! We're back to Bristol Zoo for the 11th Annual South West Environmental Protection UK and AQMRC Conference. The theme of the conference is Environmental Indicators, where next? The conference will address local authority environmental indicators (e.g. air quality, climate change, land, noise, etc). Detail agenda to follow shortly.

Scottish Government LAQM Training Day 13th February 2009

AQMRC and Air Quality Consultants are running a Local Air Quality Management training day on behalf of the Scottish Government (for Scottish Local Authority Officers). The training events will cover updates to Technical and Policy Guidance, useful tips for undertaking Review & Assessment reports, an introduction to the Review & Assessment Online Report Submission Tool and advice for air quality action planning.

Scottish Government LAQM training day 13th February 2009 (click here for more details and registration form).

South West EP-UK & AQMRC 11th Annual Conference

***Note date change above***
Keep 26th February 2009 free in your diary! We're back to Bristol Zoo for the 11th Annual South West Environmental Protection UK and AQMRC Conference. The theme of the conference is Environmental Indicators, where next? The conference will address local authority environmental indicators (e.g. air quality, climate change, land, noise, etc). Detail agenda to follow shortly.

Sustainable Urban Transport Seminar

UWE and Bristol Environmental Technologies& Services (http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/Regeneration/bristol-environmental-technologies-and-services.en) Networking Seminar
 
 The presentations from this very well attended seminar held on the 17^th November are now available.  Click on the links below to see the PowerPoint presentation of Jose Marquez, Graham Parkhurst and Steve Ward.    

 

• Technologies for Sustainable Transport - Dr Jose Marquez   Egis Mobilité
  
  
• Lessons and Reflections on Recent Developments in Sustainable Urban Transport – Professor  Graham Parkhurst, UWE, Centre for Transport and Society (http://www.transport.uwe.ac.uk/)
• The UWE Travel Plan - Steve Ward

This seminar was hosted by the Faculty of Environment and Technology (http://www.uwe.ac.uk/et/) and Research, Business and Innovation (http://rbi.uwe.ac.uk/internet/Research/researchatuwe/), University of the West of England, in collaboration with Egis Mobilité

Congratulations to Mofoluso Fagbeja on passing his Progression Viva.

See Mo’s work on his research web site at http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/mofoluso.html

 

Congratulations to Dotun Olowoporoku on passing the Outline Thesis stage of his PhD.

See Dotun’s work on his research web site at http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/dotun.html

 

Congratulations to Simon Baldwin on passing the Outline Thesis stage of his PhD.

See Simon’s work on his research web site at http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/simon.html

UKPHA Launch of Climate Connections

On Tuesday 2nd December, Tim attended the launch of the UKPHA's Climate Connections programme, presenting a number of posters highlighting the work that AQMRC  and others are involved in in linking climate Change with Air Quality and other health issues.  

The posters can be viewed here:

AQ, Climate Change and Health - Why?

AQ, Climate Change and Health - How? 

 

The Climate Connection project is an initiative aimed at bringing public health work into the heart of the fight to combat climate change. The launch was chaired by Prof. David Harper from the Department of Health and included contributions from Sir Liam Donaldson (Chief Medical Officer) and Professor John Beddington (Government Chief Scientific Adviser) and was attended by senior members from all the regional public health communities.

 

Further details of the Climate Connection work can be found here: www.climateconnections.org

 

and the programme has also developed the wonderfully entertaining www.carbonaddict.org website.

Latest Newsletter of the European Federation Clean Air and Environmental Protection Associations (EFCA)

The latest EFCA (www.efca.net) newsletter is now available on-line.  This edition contains a lot of material  relating to the co-management of air quality and climate change, including an extensive report on he recent EFCA symposium in Strasbourg which should be making a real contribution to bringing the issues of air pollution and co-benefits to the climate change debating tables this week in Poznan, and next year in Copenhagen.  For further details please download the newsletter here.

 

(AQMRC, is proud to be involved in the production of the newsletter and to support the work of EFCA).

Nurul at Better Air Quality Workshop 2008

Nurul presented 2 posters at the Better Air Quality Workshop 2008 in Bangkok on 12-14 November 2008. The titles of the posters are: a) Applying lessons from local air quality management consultation to climate change, and b) The potential impact from increased use of wood-fuelled biomass to loca air quality in London: lessons to exchange with mega-cities in Asian countries. The posters were well received. The main message from the Workshop is the integration of air quality and climate change particularly in relation to transport sector!

AQMRC article published in Atmospheric Environment

The AQMRC are pleased to announce the publication of their paper, "The development of effects-based air quality management regimes", in the forthcoming issue of Atmospheric Environment. The article may be accessed via the journal website www.elsevier.com/locate/atmosenv.

Longhurst, J.W.S., Irwin, J.G, Chatterton, T.J., Hayes, E.T., Leksmono, N.S. and Symons, J.K., (2009). The development of effects-based air quality management regimes, Atmospheric Environment, 43, 64-78. [doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.09.050]

AQMRC Air Quality and Climate Change Seminars

This morning saw the first of a series of Monday morning seminars presented by the Air Quality Management Resource Centre's staff and PhD students. Professor Jim Longhurst entertained a packed auditorium with his take on 'Air quality in historical perspective', reflecting on lessons that may be learnt and the length of time it takes to learn them!

The next seminar on 15th December will be given by Dr Tim Chatterton, who will be speaking on 'South Africa's National Framework on air quality' and exploring UWE's role in an exemplar of integrated environmental governance.

Further details are available on this seminar schedule. If you are interested in attending this or any of the future seminars (or just fancy a free croissant and coffee!) please notify aqmrc@uwe.ac.uk in advance.

Simon and Jim present at first annual GWR Research Symposium

Professor Jim Longhurst and PhD student Simon Baldwin gave presentations to a large audience at 'Future Imperfect': the first annual Great Western Research Symposium. Simon presented in the Sustainability Workshop on the opportunities and barriers to the 'Integration of air quality and climate change at a regional and local governance level'.  He also presented a poster on the same subject during the lunchtime interval.  Jim, speaking in the main Plenary Session, had the slightly more challenging task of discussing 'Major environmental challenges and responses' in which he examined some of the major environmental issues of current and future generations.

Nurul attends Better Air Quality Workshop 2008

Nurul will be presenting 2 posters at the Better Air Quality Workshop 2008, which will be held in Bangkok on 12-14 November 2008. The workshop theme is "Air Quality and Climate Change: scaling up win-win solutions for Asia," representing two important trends that are shaping the future direction of urban air quality management in Asia. Nurul will share the experience of local authorities on Local Air Quality Management consultation to Asian colleagues and the transferability of the research outcomes to other locally based environmental management issues. The posters are entitled "Applying lessons from local air quality management consultation to climate change" and "The potential impact from increased use of wood-fuelled biomass to local air quality in London: lessons to exchange with mega-cities in Asian countries.

Sustainable Urban Transport Seminar

Sustainable Urban Transport:Bristol Environmental Technologies& Services (BETS) Networking Seminar

Date: Monday, 17 November, 2008
Time: 17:30 - 19:45
Venue: Street Café, Frenchay Campus, BS16 1QY
Cost: Free of charge

Programme:
1730: Registration and light refreshments1800: Welcome - Professor James Longhurst, Co-Director, Institute for Sustainability, Health and Environment
1810: Technologies for Sustainable Transport - Dr Jose Marquez and Martin Volny, Egis Mobilité
1830: Lessons and Reflections on Recent Developments in Sustainable Urban Transport - Dr Graham Parkhurst, UWE
1850: The UWE Travel Plan - Steve Ward
1910: Thanks and Close - Professor James Longhurst, Co-Director, Institute for Sustainability, Health and Environment
1915: Networking
1945: Close

This event is hosted by the Faculty of Environment and Technology and Research, Business and Innovation, University of the West of England, in collaboration with Egis Mobilité.
You can register for the event here
Or for further information, please contact:Tel 0117 32 82808Email rbi@uwe.ac.uk

Defra LAQM TG08 consultation meeting

Consultation responses to the new LAQM Technical Guidance were reviewed and appraised at a meeting of air quality consultants and government representatives at the Defra offices in London last week. Around 25 in-depth responses were gratefully received and the points raised were laboriously discussed and debated to create a useful and workable set of guidance for local government. The document will be reworked and completed over the next couple of months with a provisional deadline for publication before Christmas. Join the Review and Assesment mailing list to receive email notification of further updates on LAQM Guidance.

EP-UK: 'Local Action on Air Quality and Climate Change'

Environmental Protection UK held their training event: Local Action on Air Quality and Climate Change at the Aston Business Centre in Birmingham last Wednesday. The sell-out meeting was attended by Jo Barnes, on behalf of the AQMRC, and included a range of interesting speakers from central and local government, consultancies, industry and lobbyists. Presentations are available from the EP-UK website http://www.environmental-protection.org.uk/events/details/?id=1234.

Interreg IV - PARM

Jo Barnes represented the AQMRC last week at a meeting of potential western UK partners of a major new INTERREG IV project: Partuculates Air Rives Manche (PARM). The multi-million euro investigation links air quality experts in northern France and southern England to monitor particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and disseminate data, best practice and public awareness materials. Other potential western partners include the Air Quality Unit at Cornwall College, Cornwall Council, Teignbridge District Council, Torbay District Council, Weymouth & Portland District Council and Plymouth City Council. The eastern contingent are represented by EP-UK, Sussex Air Quality Partnership and Kent District Council. The project bid will be submitted in February 2009, so watch this space for further information...

Global visitor distribution map

Visitors click here to see the latest global distribution of interest in our work. Please drop us a line if you were one of our global visitors and tell us what you liked (or didn't!) about our site. Email aqmrc@uwe.ac.uk.

Tim is invited participant in major Asian Governance workshop

Tim has gone to the Philippines to participate in a workshop funded by the Asia-Europe Foundation and the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA).

The workshop is part of a move to develop a pan-Asian higher education curriculum for teaching environmental governance.

 

http://ecogov.blogspot.com/2007/08/asia-europe-workshop-towards.html

 

Tim will be presenting aspects of AQMRC's work in relation to South Africa and Asia, as well as discussing the special role of academia within environmental governance and the current work for Herda developing higher education materials for air quality and carbon management.

 

The workshop is being held as part of a major conference looking at 3 core aspects of governance in Asia "Governance in a Triptych: Environment, Migration, and Peace and Order"

Air Quality & Carbon Management Project Steering Group

AQMRC welcome members of Air Quality & Carbon Management Project Steering Group for the first Steering Group meeting which will be held on 16th October 2008 at UWE. This project, funded by HERDA-SW, will develop training materials on the subjects of air quality and carbon management to meet the higher level skills needs of air quality professionals. Members of the Steering Group are Prof. Bernard Fisher (the Institute of Air Quality Management), Ed Dearnley (Environmental Protection UK), Dr Nick Davey (entran Ltd) and representatives of South West Local Authorities - Steve Crawshaw (Bristol City Council), Denise Powell (Gloucestershire Pollution Group), and Sarah Hodgson (Teignbridge District Council).

Jim in Science Cafes - October 27th at the Tobacco Factory

Jim will be speaking about Air Quality Management at the Tobacco Factory on 27th October, at 7.30pm. His talk will discuss why, when we know so much about the cause and composition of air quality problems, are we not making more progress in improving air quality?

Science Cafes are informal and free meetings to explore the latest ideas in science and technology.

Click here to get directions to the Tobacco Factory.

Enda attends NACA Conference in South Africa

Enda presented two papers at the 16th International Union of Air Pollution Prevention and Environmental Protection Associations (IUAPPA) regional conference in association with the annual meeting of the National Association for Clean Air (NACA) in South Africa last  week. The conference was held from 1st - 3rd October near the Kruger National Park under the theme of "Where did all the Clean Air go?". Enda presented papers co-authored with AQMRC colleagues  entitled: "Ten years of air quality management in the UK: A model for the South African National Framework on air quality" and "The potential impact from increased use of wood-fuelled biomass on local air quality in London: Lessons to exchange with mega-cities in developing countries". Enda was also invited to sit on an IUAPPA special panel on "Linking air pollution and climate change: The challenge for Africa".

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Air Pollution 2008 - Jim's opening address

Air Pollution 2008
Sixteenth International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution
22-24th September 2008
Skiathos, Greece.

Read conference co-Chair Jim Longhurst's opening address to the Air Pollution 2008 conference here.

AQMRC Responds to Consultations

This autumn has seen a frenzy of consultation deadlines, and over last week AQMRC has sent in responses to the consultations on the new UK LAQM Guidance and the National Health Service Carbon Reduction Strategy.  For further information on our views, please contact us at aqmrc@uwe.ac.uk

Enda presents...IUAPPA - NACA conference South Africa

Dr Enda Hayes will be presenting two papers at the 16th International Union of Air Pollution Prevention and Environmental Protection Associations (IUAPPA) regional conference in association with the annual meeting of the National Association for Clean Air (NACA) in South Africa this week. The conference will be held from 1st - 3rd October near the beautiful Kruger National Park under the theme of "Where did all the Clean Air go?". Enda will be presenting papers entitled: "Ten years of air quality management in the UK: A model for the South African National Framework on air quality" and "The potential impact from increased use of wood-fuelled biomass on local air quality in London: Lessons to exchange with mega-cities in developing countries". Photos have been promised...as promised.

Research showcase posters

The Sustainable Energy and the Environment Research Showcase at Bath University on Wednesday 17th September was a resounding success with hundreds of delegates attending from academia and industry. The event provided a perfect opportunity for dissemination of the broad range of PhD and research projects currently being undertaken by the AQMRC.

Click on the following titles to link to the posters posted on the AQMRC website:

Integrated Management of Nitrogen Dioxide in Wales (Ross Hunter);
Innovative Learning Opportunities to Build Capacity and Capability in Air Quality and Carbon Management (Nurul Leksmono);
Progress, Barriers and Opportunities for the Co-management of Air Pollution and Carbon Emissions in South West England (Simon Baldwin);
Applying Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques to Air Quality and Carbon Management - a Case Study of Gas Flaring in the Niger Delta (Mofoluso Fagbeja);
Carbon Management at the City Scale: An Exploration of the Carbon Futures for the Bristol Region (Rose Bailey);
Managing Air Quality through the Local Planning Process: Challenges, Barriers and Opportunities (Dotun Olowoporoku).

Air Pollution 2008 Skiathos, Greece, 22-24 September

The 16th annual conference on Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management opens on Monday 22nd September. Organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology and co-chaired by Professor Carlos Brebbia of WIT and AQMRC's Professor Jim Longhurst, this conference will debate contemporary issues in the science and management of air pollution. AQMRC will be well represented at the conference with research students Dotun Olowoporoku , Simon Baldwin and Mofoluso Fagbeja presenting at their first international conference. Visiting Professor Jimi Irwin and Jim Longhurst will also be presenting.

The following papers will be published in the conference book published in hard back by WIT Press:

J.W.S. Longhurst, J.G. Irwin, T.J. Chatterton, E.T. Hayes, N.S. Leksmono &J.K. Symons (2008, forthcoming). The Development and Operation of the United Kingdom’s Air Quality Management Regime. In Brebbia, C.A. & Longhurst, J.W.S. (Editors) Air Pollution XVI. WIT Press. Southampton and Boston.

M.A., Fagbeja, T. Chatterton, J.W.S. Longhurst, J.O. Akinyede & J.O. Adegoke (2008, forthcoming). Air pollution and management in the Niger Delta - emerging issues. In Brebbia, C.A. & Longhurst, J.W.S. (Editors) Air Pollution XVI. WIT Press. Southampton and Boston.

S.T. Baldwin, M. Everard, E.T. Hayes, J.W.S. Longhurst & J.R. Merefield (2008, forthcoming) Integrating local air quality and carbon management at a regional and local governance level: a case study of south west England. In Brebbia, C.A. & Longhurst, J.W.S. (Editors) Air Pollution XVI. WIT Press. Southampton and Boston.

A.O. Olowoporoku, E. T. Hayes, N.S. Leksmono, J.W.S. Longhurst, & G. P. Parkhurst (2008, forthcoming) Are environmental health officers and transport planners in English local authorities working together to achieve air quality objectives? In Brebbia, C.A. & Longhurst, J.W.S. (Editors) Air Pollution XVI. WIT Press. Southampton and Boston.

I. Gegisian, M. Grey, J.W.S. Longhurst & J.G. Irwin (2008, forthcoming) Potential contribution of local air quality management to environmental justice in England. In Brebbia, C.A. & Longhurst, J.W.S. (Editors) Air Pollution XVI. WIT Press. Southampton and Boston.

Sustainable Energy and the Environment Research Showcase

The AQMRC and PhD students will be presenting eight posters of their research at the Sustainable Energy and the Environment Research Showcase at Bath University on Wednesday 17th September www.bath.ac.uk/engineering/showcase/ . The event will showcase a range of innovative and cutting-edge research in sustainable energy and the environment, including: climate change, energy demand reduction, energy infrastructure, integration and economics, energy storage, healthy environments, integrated appraisal of low carbon energy technologies, energy sources, vehicle and transportation systems, sustainable fuels, power generation and supply.

AQMRC research presented will cover:

A National Framework for Air Quality in South Africa (Tim Chatterton);

Ten Years of Local Air Quality Management: Lessons for Regulation and Practice (Enda Hayes);

Innovative Learning Opportunities to Build Capacity and Capability in Air Quality and Carbon Management (Nurul Leksmono);

Integrated Management of Nitrogen Dioxide in Wales (Ross Hunter);

Progress, Barriers and Opportunities for the Co-management of Air Pollution and Carbon Emissions in South West England (Simon Baldwin);
Applying Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques to Air Quality and Carbon Management - a Case Study of Gas Flaring in the Niger Delta (Mofoluso Fagbeja);
Carbon Management at the City Scale: An Exploration of the Carbon Futures for the Bristol Region (Rose Bailey);
Managing Air Quality through the Local Planning Process: Challenges, Barriers and Opportunities (Dotun Olowoporoku).

RSC Environmental Chemistry Group

Jo Barnes, Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Environmental Chemistry Committee, attended their 152nd meeting at Burlington House, Piccadilly on Wednesday 3rd September. Topics of discussion included the forthcoming annual Distinguished Guest Lecture on 4th March 2009 entitled 'The Future of Water'; preparation for a student seminar on Atmospheric Chemistry next spring; and a Contaminated Land meeting planned for the autumn. Details of forthcoming events will appear on the website http://www.rsc.org/Membership/Networking/InterestGroups/Environmental/index.asp along with other information about the ECG, including back copies of their bi-annual Bulletin newsletter.

Jo has been acting as Hon. Sec. for this eminent Interest Group for the last three years and is pleased to continue the role with the support of the AQMRC.

AQB website review

Air quality webnerds everywhere wept for joy (or otherwise) as the much anticipated annual Air Quality Bulletin website review was published today. Sadly the AQMRC website dwindled into 17th place due to its blindingly "brash red colour" while South Yorks Care4Air (http://www.care4air.org/) clinched the top slot despite a gibe from editor, Jack Pease, over their colour scheme. The CAQF website (http://www.caqf.org.uk/) was a new entry to the top twenty with its all new look and updated content, and [suspiciously!] the AQB website managed to make the top ten! We're not envious - just basking in the subtle shades of their website!!

New recruit at AQMRC

Jo Barnes has recently joined the Air Quality Management Resource Centre (AQMRC) at UWE as a Research Associate following a very enjoyable and rewarding four-year "apprenticeship" at the Air Quality Unit (AQU) at Cornwall College. Despite frequent allusions to her apparent lack of sanity, Jo has left the balmy climes of Falmouth and set up home in drizzly "Brizzle"!

Tim writes piece for Environmental Health News

Tim was invited to write an opinion piece for Environmental Health News on the need to balance the climate change agenda with public health and other environmental issues.  The piece was published in EHN on 15th February and can be accessed on the website of the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health here.

AQMRC Contributes to SEPHO report on Transport and Public Health

The AQMRC has helped the South East Public Health Observatory compile a section on air pollution in its new report "Choosing Health in the South East: Road Transport and Public Health".  The report can be downloaded from the SEPHO website here.

 

AQMRC hosts successful Environmental Protection UK National Student Showcase

AQMRC hosted a very successful National Student Showcase for the charity Environmental Protection UK  on 31^st July. The day consisted of a number of presentations from students representing various UK universities, and covered a variety of environmental topics. AQMRC PhD students were well represented: Simon Baldwin presented his research on integrating carbon management and local air quality management, Dotun Olowoporoku presented his research on managing local air quality through local transport planning, and Rose Bailey introduced her research on carbon management in Bristol. Other student presentations covered the subjects of hydrogen deposition and geothermal energy. The winner of the competition was Ben Williams from Portsmouth University, who presented on the development of an empirical dust dispersion model based on sample geochemistry. Ben will be presenting his work at the Environmental protection UK conference in February 2009.

 

Environmental Protection UK National Student Showcase

The Air Quality Management Resource Centre, UWE has a long standing history of working closely with the national environmental charity - Environmental Protection UK . Part of that working relationship includes hosting the Environmental Protection UK National Student Day in which students from UK institutions are given the opportunity to present their research which covers a range of environmental issues.

This years event is in Room 2L4 on Thursday 31st of July starting at 11am. Please come along if any of the topics tweaks your interest.

Speaker and topics include (this may not be the order of presentations on the day):
1) Rose Bailey (UWE) - Carbon management at the city scale: An exploration of the carbon futures for the Bristol region.
2) Simon Baldwin (UWE) - Integrating local air quality and carbon management at a local and regional governance level.
3) Aoife Grant (Bristol University) - Calculation of the deposition velocity of hydrogen and their use in regional and global climate prediction models.
4) Dotun Olowoporoku (UWE) - Managing local air quality through Local Transport Planning - are we there yet?
5) John Taylor (University of Exeter) - To what extent can geothermal resources contribute to sustainable development at the community scale?
6) Ben Williams (Portsmouth University) - The development of an empirical dust dispersion model based on sample geochemistry.

UWE now ranked third in UK for sustainability

UWE has jumped five places in People and Planet's league table for sustainable universities and is now ranked THIRD out of all (>120) UK Universities. The assessment criteria are updated every year to reflect the great improvements being made in environmental policies and performance in the UK Higher Education system, and to help drive further improvements and the turning of policies into actions.  This year the assessment was made over 9 key indicators:

Management and Policy
- Publicly available environmental policy
- Full-time environment staff
- Comprehensive environmental auditing
- Fairtrade University accreditation
- Ethical investment policy

Performance
- Energy sources
- Percentage of waste recycled
- Carbon emissions per head
- Water consumption per head

 

More information on UWE's performance

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/article.asp?item=1302&year=2008

The full People and Planet league table

http://peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/greenleague2008

Air Pollution and Meteorological Data @ UWE

Following the recent installation of pollution monitors at the University, air quality and meteorological is now available online from the UWE website. Simply go to our homepage www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm and use the buttons Weather@UWE and Pollution@UWE to go to the data of your choice.