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Earth Matters, Inc. is a woman-owned DBE certified environmental consulting firm specializing in air quality policy, climate change, planning, and technical services for regions not attaining air quality health standards. Since its formation in 1995, Earth Matters has become known for innovation and professionalism informed by an unusual depth and breadth of knowledge and experience.

Clients include, or have included, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state, regional, and local air quality and transportation planning agencies, the National Academy of Sciences, private industry, and other federal agencies such as the National Forest Service. Earth Matters has also provided services to international agencies such as U.S. AID.

On a recent assignment, founder Kamala Barbara Joy worked with the National Wildlife Federation for the South Central Office for 15 months assisting with global warming and wildlife resiliency issues, encouraging environmental literacy and education, and water issues. Earth Matters also serves as a subcontractor on projects for the above clients managed by other firms. Specialty areas include:

Government Sectors

  • Tracking climate change issues and informing clients of potential strategies to address them
  • Emission inventories for greenhouse gases, ozone precursors and particulate matter
  • Interaction between energy production and electric vehicles
  • Mobile Source Emissions and Control Strategies (MOVEs, EMFAC, I-PLACE3S, INDEX, URBEMIS, and methodologies developed by B. Joy with EPA funding)
  • Transportation/Air Quality issues
  • Transportation Conformity (strategy, rule interpretation, technical analysis);
  • Land use, transportation and air quality connection;
  • Attainment planning and control strategy development;
  • CMAQ applications, analysis and implementation
  • General conformity;
  • Air quality and emission evaluations and mobile source modeling;
  • Innovative strategies to increase transit, telecommuting, ridesharing, vanpooling,
  • Biking/walking and other alternative modes, and other transportation control strategies); and
  • Cleaner-powered vehicles

Private Sector

  • Title V Permitting Assistance
  • Dispersion Modeling (ISC, AERMOD, CALPUFF, OCD, BLP, and CTDMPLUS)
  • PSD and non-attainment NSR permitting
  • MACT, LAER and BACT control strategy development
  • Environmental Impact Reports
  • Cap and Trade Programs

General Services

  • Proposal and grant applications
  • Public presentations
  • Expert witness testimony
  • Develop and provide lively presentations and courses for the public, private companies and elected officials
  • Project management
  • Coalition building
  • Technical writing

Earth Matters is also experienced with evaluation of climate change policies including cap and trade progams, carbon taxes, and fuel efficiency standards.

Earth Matters has four technical staff and one support person.

 
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EPA Formally Announces Release of MOVES Model

March 2, 2010. EPA formally announced the release of the MOVES (MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator) 2010 in the Federal Register today, starting a two-year grace period for transportation conformity determinations. The model itself was released jsut before Christmas, 2009; the federal register notice triggers a grace period for conformity determinations on regional transportation plans.

As regional and state transportation planning agencies know, this means air quality plans (eg SIPs) must be completed or revised using the MOVEs model or conformity will be difficult or impossible to show in areas using emission budget tests for regional emission analyses.

Note that EPA is not approving MOVES2010 for project-level transportation conformity
hot-spot analyses at this time; the Agency will approve the model for such analyses in the near future via a separate Federal Register notice when guidance for such analyses is finalized.

The notice itself can be accessed at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-4312.pdf.

Feb 25, 2010. EPA Announces $7.8 million in Grants to 20 Climate Showcase Communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that 20 U.S. communities, including two Indian Tribes, will receive $7.8 million in grants to develop and implement projects that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These funds will help Climate Showcase Communities achieve broad environmental, economic, and social benefits.


The Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program is administered by EPA’s State and Local Climate and Energy program, which provides technical assistance, tools, and guidance to help state, local, and tribal governments implement policies and programs to mitigate climate change. EPA will monitor the progress of grant recipients and will post quarterly updates about each recipient online.

To view profiles of each Climate Showcase Community, please visit: http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate/local/showcase/

The 20 Climate Showcase Communities are:
• Gila River Indian Community, AZ
• City of El Cerrito, CA
• Sacramento County, CA
• City and County of Denver, CO
• City and County of Honolulu, HI
• City of Chicago, IL
• City of Springfield, MA
• City of Baltimore, MD
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe, MT
• Durham City County, NC
• Land of Sky Regional Planning Council, NC
• Township of Cherry Hill, NJ
• City of Cincinnati, OH
• City of Eugene, OR
• West Chester Area School District, PA
• City of Warwick, RI
• Salt Lake City, UT
• James City County, VA
• City of Bellingham, WA
• City of Bremerton, WA


 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

Earth Matters' vision is to help create and implement
programs that work. We believe a sense of fun, creativity, and pupose invites stakeholders to approach objectives in fresh ways that can also be more effective.

 Earth Matters' founder and president, Kamala. Barbara Joy has over 24 years of experience in this field and enjoys a national reputation for technical, policy, outreach and management services. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Environmental Economics in 1985 and joined the renowned firm Systems Applications International (SAI) in 1985. By 1990 she was a senior manager and scientist responsible for transportation/air quality programs. In 1995 she formed Earth Matters which has since gained a considerable reputation as a reliable and creative source of services in the environmental field.