YT comments can be aggravating, but I read them anyway because occasionally some interactions are rewarding.
I noticed in the comments on this video there seem to be a number of people who claim that burning methane only emits CO2.
Here is my response:
Burning methane at high temperatures causes a reaction between nitrogen and oxygen in the air which produces nitrogen oxides, including nitrogen dioxide.
Another commenter got into a dispute with me about the exact temperature of combustion in these specific turbines - so I looked into it. TIME magazine did an investigation and asked Univ of Tenn Knoxville researchers to measure air pollution levels around the facility using satellite data. Quote from the article: "They found that average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide have increased by 3% when comparing the periods before June 2024 and afterward. They also found that peak nitrogen dioxide concentration levels have increased by 79% from pre-xAI levels in areas immediately surrounding the data center, and by 9% in nearby Boxtown.
Because high concentrations of air pollutants pose greater health risks than lower concentrations, the researchers said, focusing on these spikes—rather than just averages—offers more meaningful insight into potential health impacts. "
Typically, scrubbers are installed at gas power plants to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. An article from CNBC reported : "While xAI had previously told Memphis regulators that its turbines would include state-of-the-art pollution controls, known as selective catalytic reduction technology, its supplier, Solaris Energy Infrastructure
told CNBC in June that it did not install such controls in xAI’s “temporary” turbines."
TIME magazine article:
https://time.com/7308925/elon-musk-memphis-ai-data-center/
CNBC article:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/16/musks-xai-faces-tougher-road-expanding-memphis-area-after-epa-update.html
#AirPollution #NaturalGas #Memphis #DataCenters #Grok #Colossus #NitrogenDioxide
TEMPO Air Quality Monitoring: Three Example Cases
#Dust #Emissions #Formaldehyde #NitrogenDioxide #Pollution #TroposphericOzone #Wildfires #aerosols
⏩ 1 new picture and 1 new video from NASA (SVS) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles?limit=6&user=OptimusPrimeBot&ilshowall=1&offset=20250704125931
TEMPO Air Quality Monitoring: Three Example Cases
#Dust #Emissions #Formaldehyde #NitrogenDioxide #Pollution #TroposphericOzone #Wildfires #aerosols
⏩ 1 new picture and 1 new video from NASA (SVS) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles?limit=6&user=OptimusPrimeBot&ilshowall=1&offset=20250704125931
"Our #airQuality is improving, too. When we first published our strategy in 2019, 15 locations across the City exceeded our air quality objective for toxic #nitrogenDioxide. Last year this figure was down to two.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXPesSleRA&pp=0gcJCYQJAYcqIYzv
'Musk Is Scamming the City of #Memphis': Meet Two Brothers Fighting #Colossus, Musk's #xAI #Data Center
#KeShaunPearson, executive director of #MemphisCommunityAgainstPollution
State Rep. #JustinJPearson, District 86
#AdolphMusk #EnvironmentalRacism #TN #Tennessee #NitrogenDioxide #Tech #BillionairesSUCK #Electrolux #EnvironmentalJusticeNOW #Formaldehyde #PaulYoung 🤮 #LeeHarris 🤮
PressConference today at 4.30 pm Tennessee time
London Begins to Breathe Better
A study by the Greater London Authority has shown that the city’s levels of lethal pollutants have substantially decreased since the expansion of the UK capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez).
The London-wide zone covers nine million people across 1500 km2, the world’s largest zone of its kind.
The report shows that not only have deprived areas seen some of the biggest improvements but air quality has improved in all areas and at a faster rate than the rest of the country.
Nitrogen dioxide is down 27% since Ulez first came in in 2019. PM2.5’s (small particle emissions) are down 31% in outer London compared to what would have been without the Ulez expansion.
Speaking to the Guardian, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “When I was first elected, evidence showed it would take 193 years to bring London’s air pollution within legal limits if the current efforts continued. However, due to our transformative policies we are now close to achieving it this year.”
[Read on Ethical Revolution] A study by the Greater London Authority has shown that the city’s levels of lethal pollutants have substantially decreased since the expansion of the UK capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez). The London-wide zone covers nine million people across 1500 km2, the world’s largest zone of its kind. The report shows that not ... ... Read on ...
How #AirPollution is causing girls to get their first #periods earlier
New research shows that girls in the US are getting their first periods earlier. Exposure to toxic air is partly to blame.
By David Cox, June 4, 2024
"The same trend has also been noted around the world. South Korean scientists have described with some alarm how the number of girls displaying signs of precocious puberty – either breast development or #menstruation before the age of eight - increased 16-fold between 2008 and 2020.
"We're also seeing that these decreasing ages at puberty are even more pronounced in lower socioeconomic status groups, and ethnic minority groups," says Audrey Gaskins, an associate professor at Emory University in Atlanta, the US. "This has important implications for long-term health."
Researchers like Gaskins are primarily concerned that beginning puberty earlier might trigger a cascade of events which have far-reaching consequences later in adulthood. Emerging data suggests that it may not only curtail the fertility window, particularly if these women then enter menopause sooner, but shorten their lives. Precocious puberty has been repeatedly associated with a higher risk of diseases ranging from breast and ovarian cancers, metabolic syndromes such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease."
By David Cox, June 4, 2024
"For several decades, scientists around the world have become increasingly concerned by signs that girls are entering puberty at a much younger age compared with previous generations.
From when girls experience their first period, something which scientists term the age of menarche, to commencing breast development, these seminal changes marking the onset of adolescence appear to be taking place progressively sooner.
"American girls today have been estimated to start menstruation up to four years earlier compared to girls living a century ago. In May, new data showed that while girls born between 1950 and 1969 typically began menstruating at 12.5 years, this decreased to an average of 11.9 years for the generation born in the early 2000s.
"The same trend has also been noted around the world. South Korean scientists have described with some alarm how the number of girls displaying signs of precocious puberty – either breast development or menstruation before the age of eight - increased 16-fold between 2008 and 2020.
"'We're also seeing that these decreasing ages at puberty are even more pronounced in lower socioeconomic status groups, and ethnic minority groups,' says Audrey Gaskins, an associate professor at Emory University in Atlanta, the US. 'This has important implications for long-term health.'
"Researchers like Gaskins are primarily concerned that beginning puberty earlier might trigger a cascade of events which have far-reaching consequences later in adulthood. Emerging data suggests that it may not only curtail the fertility window, particularly if these women then enter menopause sooner, but shorten their lives. Precocious puberty has been repeatedly associated with a higher risk of diseases ranging from breast and ovarian cancers, metabolic syndromes such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
[...]
"Some of the major culprits appear to be #ToxicGases such as #SulphurDioxide, #NitrogenDioxide, #CarbonMonoxide and #ozone, all of which are released into the air either through #VehicleEmissions or waste produced by #Manufacturing Plants. In 2022, a study from scientists in Poland, a country known for its poor air quality due to the prevalence of #coal-burning factories, examined data from 1,257 women, and found a link between greater exposure to nitrogen gases and menstruation occurring before the age of 11."
When wood burns, it produces nitrogen dioxide, which is absorbed by the surface of the meat. This nitrogen dioxide reacts with the myoglobin (a protein found in muscle tissue) to form a stable pink compound called nitrosyl hemochrome. This reaction not only contributes to the pink smoke ring often seen just beneath the surface of smoked meats but also enhances the flavor by adding a distinctive smoky taste.
#science #sciencefacts #bbq #nitrogendioxide #myoglobin #nitrosylhemochrome
It’s been a warm and rather humid weekend in Barcelona. Yesterday was particularly stifling, with the heat and lack of breeze making things rather uncomfortable. The Air Quality indicator reached “Poor” largely due to high levels of NO2, no doubt from vehicle exhaust fumes. It surprises me that so many people sit out at the pavement tables outside restaurants having meals when it’s hot and the air is thick with nasty stuff. Al Fresco is supposed to mean “in the fresh air”! I much prefer to dine indoors, unless it’s very late at night.
Today was a little better except that there was resurfacing work going on outside my flat on RambladeCatalunya. I knew it was coming, as they’ve been doing other nearby roads over the past few weekends. It was a little noisy, even on the 6th floor, but that didn’t bother me as much as the tar fumes!
Anyway, all this has made me decide not to attempt to extend my stay here beyond my current lease, which expires at the end of June. I’ll take the last two months of my sabbatical somewhere a bit cooler!
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