Lakes Environmental Releases AERMOD View™ 6.2

Lakes Environmental is proud to announce the release of AERMOD View Version 6.2. This release was designed to fully support the latest version of the US EPA AERMAP model, dated 09040, and contains support for:

• USGS NED/SRTM terrain data in GeoTIFF format
• USGS 15-min DEMS and the ability to process mixed 1-deg and 7.5-min DEM files in a single run
• AERMAP debug output files

Please see the AERMOD View Version 6.2 Release Notes for a complete list of the new features. Also see Latest Features for Version 6 and up.

If you are currently in maintenance for AERMOD View and did not receive an email regarding the update, please contact us at support@weblakes.com.

If you are a user of AERMOD View but are no longer in maintenance, contact us at sales@weblakes.com for appropriate pricing information for your maintenance renewal.

Lakes Environmental Announces AERMOD Training
San Francisco – May 11-12

Lakes Environmental will be in San Francisco, CA to deliver a 2-day AERMOD course on May 11-12. Please contact us at training@weblakes.com or check the Upcoming Courses section on our website to register.

AERMOD & CALPUFF Training
Calgary - May 4-8

Lakes Environmental will be in Calgary this May to present a full week of training. We will be presenting our popular AERMOD course from May 4-5, and our CALPUFF course from May 6-8. These courses consistently receive high ratings by participants. If you do air dispersion modeling in Alberta or British Columbia, you’ll want to take part in these courses.

Course outline and registration form available on our website. For additional information please contact us at training@weblakes.com.

Congratulations to our Trade Show Winners!

The winner of our A&WMA – CPANS 2009 draw for CALMET-ready MM5 data is Tom Walker of Amberg Corp. in Edmonton.

The winner of our CANECT 2009 draw for a free copy of AERMOD View is Lovina Pereira of VE Collective in Richmond Hill

Drop by our booth at A&WMA 2009 for your chance to win a free copy of AERMOD View!

ArguSoft Offers AUSTAL View Workshop in Cologne, Germany

ArguSoft, our German partner, is offering a 2-day AUSTAL View Workshop on September 21-22, 2009 in Cologne, Germany. The workshop will be presented in German and will cover all aspects of AUSTAL View, including an emphasis on:

• SRTM terrain data features
• UTM coordinate systems and projections
• Export to Google Earth™
• Odor compound support

For more information about this workshop, please view the course brochure, or contact ArguSoft at info@argusoft.de.

Lakes Environmental Closed for Victoria Day

Lakes Environmental will be closed on Monday May 18th to observe the Canadian Victoria Day holiday. If you have any pressing needs during that time, please email us at support@weblakes.com and we will contact you May 19th, 2008 when we re-open.

We’ve set a number of training dates for 2009. Please be sure to register in advance as spots are limited.

AERMOD Courses

CALPUFF Courses

AUSTAL Course

For more information on the above courses, including registration information, location, and course outlines, please visit our web site: www.weblakes.com/course.

Downloading NED data for AERMAP

The USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) is the latest and most accurate source of elevation data, and is available for the entire US. The NED contains 1 arc second (30m), 1/3 arc second (10m) and 1/10 arc second (3m) resolution data and can be downloaded from the National Map Seamless Server here.

NED and AERMAP

AERMAP 09040 is the first version of AERMAP to support NED. NED is specified as the recommended source of elevation data in the AERMOD Implementation Guideline (revised on Mar/19/09), see Section 4. In order to use NED files in AERMAP, they must be in the GeoTiff format.

An update to AERMOD View has been released, including full support for AERMAP 09040 and the use of NED elevation files.

Using the National Map Seamless Server

Download data from the Seamless Server by going here and following these steps:

1. Depending on where you need terrain data for, click either the US map (View & Download United States Data) or the International map (View & Download International Data).
   
   Note: United States terrain data is provided in both NED and SRTM formats, while international terrain data is provided in the SRTM format only.
   
   
2. The map displays in the browser. In the Downloads toolbar on the left, click the Define Download Area by Coordinates button.
   
   
   
   
3. A secondary browser window displays. Click the Switch to Decimal Degrees link, then enter the four coordinates that identify the site in the appropriate fields. After you have entered the coordinates, click the button.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. The browser displays a page with the results of your data extraction request. Note that the Output Format is listed as ArcGRID. Since AERMAP requires GeoTIFF, you must change the output type. Click the button.
   
   
5. The browser displays a list of available formats. In the Elevation section, locate the National Elevation Dataset (NED) entry, and place a check in the checkbox of the appropriate Arc Second setting (1, 1/3, or 1/9). From the Data Format drop-down list, select GeoTIFF.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Click the button.
7. Confirm the details on the summary page, and click the button. Once the data is downloaded, you must unzip the file before using it.

Remember: We are currently accepting submissions for the Monthly Modeling Tip that appears in our newsletters. If you have a modeling tip that may benefit a variety of people, please send it to us at support@weblakes.com. Your name and the name of your organization will appear below the tip providing you with greater exposure.

The World's Cleanest Countries

April 16, 2009 -- The declining health of Mother Earth has drawn growing attention over the last two decades, with countries coming together to fight a range of environmental threats, from declining fishing stocks to global warming.

Witness the Kyoto Protocol, the first widely adopted set of environmental protection guidelines, which emerged during the 1990s and took effect in 2005. Kyoto led to the development of the first large-scale emissions trading market, Europe's Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme, which puts caps on carbon dioxide pollution. A similar carbon market, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, began operating at the start of this year in 10 Eastern U.S. states.
Read Article

Industry Minister Clement Defends Science Budget

April 16, 2009 - Industry Minister Tony Clement says it's absurd to think Ottawa would fund every single scientific research project across Canada forever.

A published report says the government's four main science research groups have warned employees there would be $162 million in cuts over the next three years and job losses. Today in Toronto, Clement says while he doesn't agree with the ``analysis by that particular newspaper," he adds there are always programs that will come to the end of their lifespan.
Read Article

EPA Publishes Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report

April 15, 2009 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the national greenhouse gas inventory, which finds that overall emissions during 2007 increased by 1.4 percent from the previous year. The report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2007, is the latest annual report that the United States has submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.
Read Article

50 Polluted Sites Chosen for Stimulus Money

April 15, 2009 – WASHINGTON - Fifty of the country's most polluted and hazardous waste sites were singled out Wednesday to receive a share of federal stimulus money to continue cleanup operations.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced that $528 million in recently approved economic stimulus funding would be used to help clean up the sites in 28 states.

The sites were contaminated years ago by mining waste, lead smelters, landfills, and other sources of chemicals but the companies responsible are no longer around to pay for their cleanup.
Read Article

Groups File Suit to Block State Air Pollution Permit for Unneeded South Carolina Coal Plant

April 14, 2009 – COLUMBIA, SC - South Carolina's environmental agency illegally permitted an unneeded coal-fired power plant on the Great Pee Dee River that would emit 31 times more toxic mercury than the legal limit and millions of tons of costly carbon pollution, according to a lawsuit filed today by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of several advocacy groups.

"This plant would add mercury pollution to an already contaminated region of the Pee Dee, but DHEC waived the maximum mercury controls required by law," said Blan Holman, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. "The tragedy of DHEC’s decision is that we have far cheaper and cleaner options than a $2.5 billion coal plant, and those options would generate thousands more jobs than this dinosaur ever would."
Read Article

Reigning in the World’s Top Two GHG Emitters

April 10, 2009 – GLOBE-Net - A recent report issued by the Brookings Institution provides a primer on two topics: Climate change and U.S.-China relations. It describes the climate change threat, concluding that every year of delay in responding to it puts both countries - and the planet - at greater risk.

Because the United States and China are the world’s top two greenhouse gas emitters, together accounting for more than 40% of annual emissions, any solution requires both countries to transition to low-carbon economies. U.S.-China cooperation on climate change would have not only bilateral but global benefits.
Read Article

Here are a few conferences and trade shows coming up in the next few months:

* Lakes Environmental is attending A&WMA