Make energy conservation pay. Yesterday's Cabinet decision in Thailand granting a temporary waiver of the excise tax on the installation of natural-gas-powered engines will encourage more transport operators and motorists to make the switch. [News Source]

Feds OK with Knauf fiberglass plant plans. An oft-controversial Shasta Lake fiberglass plant has gotten the green light from the federal government to increase its production and its pollution. [News Source]

Animal disease lab violating air-quality rules. The National Animal Disease Center in Ames has violated state air-quality rules nearly two dozen times since April 2004 and faces a $10,000 fine for offenses that include excess emissions from incinerators. [News Source]

Cleaner, quieter, efficient power. The Pacific Gas and Electric Co. plans to replace its aged Humboldt Bay Power Plant in Eureka, CA, with a more efficient, low-profile facility. [News Source]

New air quality program unveiled. Beginning this year, Partners for Clean Air will issue Air Quality Action Day alerts for Lake and Porter counties, which will include warnings about ozone and fine particles. [News Source]

I have 9/11 illness. A deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration who directed officials to test the air after the 9/11 attacks has filed a medical claim for respiratory illnesses suspected to have been caused by the pollution at Ground Zero. [News Source]

How dust can help babies. Babies exposed to high levels of dust on living room floors are less likely to develop asthma than infants who live in cleaner houses. [News Source]

Report criticizes US mercury plan. Allowing utilities to trade the right to release mercury could make it difficult to reduce high amounts of the toxic metal found in parts of the nation, according to a new report from the EPA's inspector general. [News Source]

Axing EnerGuide is short-sighted. The Conservatives' decision to cancel the EnerGuide program is puzzling. [News Source]

No drilling off our coast. Lifting the 25-year-old ban on new offshore drilling for natural gas is a bad enough idea on its own. But a proposal scheduled to be debated Thursday by the House is as devious as it is dreadful. [News Source]

Teaching workers to keep it clean. Thousands of York County workers will learn this summer what they can do to reduce smog through a regional clean air program. [News Source]