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Using Databases with Dispersion Modeling: Simple Queries
We are in the midst of the information age. There are databases and datasets everywhere we go. One of the commissioners at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality addressed agency management and staff regarding the stockpile of information the agency collects by saying, “we are drowning in information but are thirsting for knowledge.” How does […]
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Using Databases with Dispersion Modeling: The Basics
I Prefer the Database When I was in college, I went to dinner with a group of friends to a steakhouse. Each friend ordered a steak, well-done. I was the last to order. When asked how I would like my steak, the group egged me on to have it rare because, me being a Texan, […]
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Do Shortcuts Really Save Time and Effort?
We have all taken a shortcut or two. Looking back, did we really save anything or get anything extra out of it? Several years ago, on my commute home from work, I noticed a coworker about 3 or 4 cars ahead of me on the freeway. There was a little congestion, but traffic was still […]
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The Places You’ll Go
When it was read to you as a child or when you were reading it to children, Dr. Seuss’ “The Places You’ll Go” describes life as one big wonderous wandering adventure. When it comes to dispersion modeling, the last thing I want is an adventure. I guess I am getting old. When I have a […]
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What is Innovation?
What is innovation? The dictionary definition is “a new method, idea, product, etc.” How does innovation happen? Do you ask what people like or want? Henry Ford once said, “if I asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” If people are asked what they want, they will think about […]
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How To Improve Your Air Quality Analysis Report: Part 4- Output Data Presentation
In the early 1800’s, when the first railroad lines were being constructed, miles and miles of track were being laid every day. People were now able to travel great distances unlike they were before, completely unimpeded. Well, not really, at first. In the early days of the railroad, private companies and governments building the railroad […]
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How To Improve Your Air Quality Analysis Report: Part 3- Input Data Tables
Have you ever gone to the grocery store for a specific flavor of canned soup? I find myself stepping as far back as the aisle allows so I can see all one million flavors of soup and isolate the one I am looking for. It takes a few minutes to scan through all of the […]
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How To Improve Your Air Quality Analysis Report: Part 2- Input Data Graphics
We have all been in the situation of filling out a paper form where the space for entering your phone number spans the width of the 8½ inch form, even though there are only 10 digits, but the space for your email address, which could be almost any length, is about one inch wide. Why […]
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How To Improve Your Air Quality Analysis Report: Part 1- Report Structure
Having worked in a bureaucracy for 20+ years, there have been many times when I would ask someone, why is this done this way? A lot of the time the answer was, “I don’t know” or “it’s just done this way because it has always been done this way.” Neither answer would set well with […]
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Source Culpability Quickly and Easily
I have never played the blame game when things don’t go as expected. When it comes to dispersion modeling and the predicted concentrations are too high to be acceptable, then I do want to know what the causes are so they can be addressed. If you are using AERMOD, you could use the EVENT model […]