Harmful Air Pollution is Getting Worse

Pollutants from Road Transportation and Wildfires on the Rise

Traffic emissions may pollute 1 in 3 Canadian homes. Source: University of Toronto

Transportation, particularly road transportation, accounts for 25% of global CO2 emissions. Transportation is the largest source of U.S. emissions, accounting for 28%, followed by electricity generation and industry.

Need-to-Know: Air Pollution is getting way worse in the U.S.

Transportation is by far the biggest source of harmful air pollution. Nearly half of the people living in the U.S. breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the latest report by the American Lung Association.

Based on data from counties and cities

What’s truly stunning is that air pollution is getting worse. Some 25 million MORE people are living in areas that received an “F” grade for either ozone or particle pollution compared to previous years. In total, 156 million Americans are exposed to unhealthy air.

“Air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick, and leading to low birth weight in babies. This year’s report shows the dramatic impact that air pollution has on a growing number of people.”

— Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association

The growing number and size of wildfires have become an increasing factor in reducing air quality in the U.S., Canada, and many other countries.

Need-to-Know: Air pollution is dangerous to our health

The health impacts are serious and include asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, preterm births, and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer.

What can you do?

1. Switch to an EV. (The Lung Association wants you to if you can.)

There is ample evidence that switching to electric vehicles (EVs) provides significant air quality benefits compared to traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles. (EVs are still cleaner even if the source of electricity isn’t.)

We switched from a hybrid vehicle to a used EV nearly a year ago. It’s been a great experience overall, especially never having to go to a stinky gas station and having to deal with the yo-yo pricing dictated by the big oil companies.

We charge the EV at home using an ordinary household outlet. All cars sit around 95% of the day doing nothing. Instead, we put our EV to work recharging itself. It takes 60 seconds to plug it in, and then you walk away and go about your normal day or night.

It’s a shift in mindset: Parking an EV becomes an opportunity to recharge the battery.

Our EV is quiet, fast, cheaper to run, and hasn’t needed any repairs. Regenerative braking helps recharge the battery and stops the car without needing to use the brakes.

Need-to-Know: 'Electric Car Day' means 5 months of free driving

July 16 is the day when a gasoline driver will have spent more on fuel than the average EV driver will for the entire year, according to a UK study

—- An EV Uprising: Electric vehicles to rule the roads

We’d never go back to a gas burner.

2. Find other ways to move around.

Fewer cars overall would be better. Walking and biking are better for air quality and our health. (I ride or walk every day, including getting groceries.)

Trains, buses, and trams are also better than cars. So are two and three-wheeled electric vehicles—bikes, scooters, skateboards, mopeds, motorcycles, trikes, and auto-rickshaws. (For more, see NtK Micromobility: An Urban Transportation Revolution.)

A few Need-to-Knows from previous posts:

EVs are only part of the solution to pollution-free mobility.

Gas cars are 65X more likely to catch fire than an EV.

EV batteries are being recycled.

EV batteries don’t require cobalt anymore

One in four or five cars sold worldwide will be an EV this year

Batteries have a 320,000 kilometer (200,000 miles) average lifespan

EVs are far cheaper to own and operate

Until next time. Be well

Stephen

P.S. Switching to an EV and using alternative ways of getting around not only reduces air pollutants, but it also cuts CO2 emissions, the primary reason why wildfires are getting worse. (See NtK Yes, Climate Change Causes Wildfires.)