This study was carried out by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) on behalf of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). This report is the “Foundation Paper” section of a larger report by the CEC under Article 13 “Towards Sustainable Freight Transportation in North America.” The objective of the Foundation Paper was to provide the basic […]
At first glance, the maps in the North American Environmental Atlas look no different from maps found on walls across the continent. These maps are unique, however, in that they harmonize geographic information across North America’s political boundaries to depict significant environmental issues at a continental scale.
At the 2008 Sound Management of Chemicals (SMOC) stakeholder meeting in Tucson, Arizona, stakeholders expressed an interest in chemicals management in the electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) sector. Knowing that the CEC’s Trade and Environment Program was already looking at this issue through their Clean Electronics Pollution Prevention Partnership (CEP3), the SMOC Working Group (WG) […]
The purpose of this work was to provide an initial review including, for each country of the NAFTA region, a synopsis of major past or ongoing national or regional programs, initiatives and activities contributing to the assessment of the status, trends and potential impacts of chemical substances.
Air quality issues in the 21st century are complex and the strategies for successfully addressing these issues need to be comprehensive. In general, air quality management strategies have focused on achieving ambient air quality goals through emission reductions.
This report presents an overview of the releases and transfers of chemical contaminants from North American industrial sectors in 2005.
This renewed North American agenda for chemicals management seeks to provide support to the Parties as they fulfill their commitments under the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) goal of “aiming to achieve, by 2020, that chemicals are used and produced in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health […]
is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Its components include sulfates, nitrates, ammonium, organic carbon, black carbon, metals and soil dust.
An invasive species is a plant, animal or microscopic pathogen that, once transported out of its native range, has established itself, spread and caused harm to the environment, economy or human health in its new habitat.
refers to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of surface and groundwater. These characteristics affect the ability of water to sustain human communities, as well as plant and animal life.
Ozone is a gas present throughout the earth’s atmosphere. protects life on earth by absorbing harmful rays from the sun as they pass through the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere). Because the ozone present at the earth’s surface is detrimental, ozone is often described as being “good up high and bad nearby.”
Acid deposition primarily results from the transformation of air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into secondary pollutants such as sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate and nitric acid. Acidic particles and vapors can be deposited on the earth’s surface as acid precipitation (wet deposition) or via particles such as fly ash, sulfates, nitrates, and […]
