January 31: Snow Removal

January 31: Snow Removal - Step 1
Shovel snow into a big pile via a small bulldozer (orange) and manual labor

January 31: Snow Removal - Step 2
Scoop snow via front loader and transport to blue trash bin.

January 31: Snow Removal - Step 3
Put snow into trash bin for collection. All of the snow on the streets and a good majority in parking lots is removed from the city. Snow can not be piled up on the sides of the street as there would be not enough room for the cars to drive and park.

January 30: Public Toliet Attendant Sweeping Snow

January 30: Public Toilet Attendant Sweeping Snow
All across the city, there are port-a-potties you can use for the 30 - 45 rubles ($1.00). An attendant is on site - they usually converts 1 stall into a cash desk. Their job is to clean the toilet after each use and collect money.

January 29: Frozen Water

January 29: Frozen H2O
This building is in the process of being demolished due to roadway expansion. Notice the icicle formation on the outside of one of the windows - the third column (from right), third row (from bottom). This icicle was formed by water leaking out the window. Several of windows were broken or removed once the building was vacated for salvage and to ensure people did not congregate (drink) inside of the building prior to demolition.

January 28: Dirty Snow

January 28: Dirty Snow
A woman walking on the sidewalk next to a pile of dirty snow.

January 27: Visualization of Pollution

January 27: Morning Rush Hour Pollution

The temperature this morning was -24 C. The sub-zero air temperature allows the exhaust produced by each car on the street to be visualized. This is NOT fog; it is pollution.

January 27: Impact to Pollution from a Single Car
This picture show the amount of exhaust (pollution) produced by one car in a city where there are millions of cars. After seeing this, I now am aware of how much pollution I am breathing into my lungs when I walk along side a busy street.

January 26: Power Plants

January 26: Primary Power Plant in the Moscow
Heating in Russia is centrally controlled. Water is heated using natural gas and pumped into each apartment. The government decides when to turn the heat on and off each season. This plant is located half way between our apartment and the city center.

January 26: Smaller Plant in Moscow
There are hundreds of power plans (some large; some small) located within the city. There is a mid-sized plant producing located between the apartment blocks in the foreground and the business center high-rises in the background belching steam and smoke into the winter sky. The temperature was -24 C / -11 F when these pictures were taken.

January 25: Shovling Snow

January 25: Shoveling Snow

A building maintenance man shoveling snow outside of an apartment block. The language school I attend is located on the first floor of this building.