We must wean ourselves from the fossil-fuel habit.

With the high price of gasoline, people lust again after the 3.3 trillion tons of oil shale in the West. Past promoters created ephemeral booms and devastating busts in the West several times during the past two centuries.

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Vote yes: It will end dependence on imported oil. When President Bush said in his 2006 State of the Union address that the United States was addicted to oil, he stated the obvious, but offered few solutions. [News Source]

A lot of hot air on pollution. We are not going to criticize Premier Dalton McGuinty for standing up for Ontario's auto industry last week. What we are going to criticize him for, however, is running around in the 2003 election campaign pretending that governments don't have to make tough choices all the time between protecting jobs and protecting the environment. [News Source]

McLean urges concern for air quality. With Santa Clarita having some of the worst air quality in Southern California, Councilwoman Marsha McLean is urging Santa Clarita to prepare for future challenges and air quality issues by considering alternative forms of transportation. [News Source]

Commuter rail popular in smaller cities. Regional planners have been looking at rail as an alternative people-mover for more than a decade, and in September, Nashville opened the Music City Star — Tennessee’s first commuter rail line. [News Source]

Ozone high in Marion readings. While three stations monitoring smog in the Memphis area suggest the air is relatively clean, a fourth has recorded ozone levels so high that Shelby and Crittenden counties will likely fail to meet the 2007 federal deadline to comply with air-quality standards. [News Source]

Air quality threatened by booming economy. Scientists are not finished analyzing data from a 2005 study, but "Alberta produces higher emissions of particulate matter than any other province, and the rapid growth of urban centres and oil and gas developments has raised concerns about air quality in the future," a preliminary report says. [News Source]

More cars to run on natural gas. Nine workshops will be built in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah to remodify and convert vehicles for alternative fuel use as part of a strategic plan to rid the country of air pollution. [News Source]

Singapore’s smoke haze clears but may return: officials. A thick haze that enveloped Singapore's skies and triggered a health advisory cleared up Sunday, but the city-state's environment agency warned the smog caused by Indonesian forest fires could return. [News Source]

Haze spreads in Malaysia, air quality unhealthy. Smoke haze continued to spread in Malaysia on Saturday as the government called on Southeast Asian countries to provide money to tackle open burning and forest fires in neighboring Indonesia. [News Source]

Haze brings misery and health problems to region. Thick smoke from bush and forest fires in Indonesia has forced schools to close and brought misery to residents. [News Source]