Page 482 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

utilities generate much of these emissions, but all of us con-
tribute by living carbon-intensive lifestyles. Each year the
average U.S. vehicle driver releases close to 6 metric tons of
carbon dioxide, 275 kg (605 lb) of methane, and 19 kg (41
lb) of nitrous oxide, all of them greenhouse gases that drive
climate change.
In 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has
legal authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases as air pollutants. President
Barack Obama voiced his preference that Congress address
greenhouse gas emissions through bipartisan legislation. When
Congress failed to pass climate change legislation, Obama
instructed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to begin developing
regulations to address greenhouse gas emissions. In 2011, the
EPA introduced moderate carbon emission standards for cars
and light trucks, and in 2012 it announced that it would limit
carbon emissions for new coal-fired power plants and cement
factories (but not existing ones). The EPA decided to phase in
regulations gradually, beginning with the largest emitters.
The coal-mining and petrochemical industries objected,
and these industries and several states sued to stop the reg- Figure 17.20 Air quality is poor in cities of today’s develop-
ulations. A court of appeals unanimously upheld the EPA ing nations. At Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, children don
regulations in 2012. The automotive industry supported the face masks during the “airpocalypse” that gripped the city in 2013.
regulations. U.S. automakers had already begun investing in
fuel-efficient vehicles, and were glad to have one set of federal
emissions standards, so as not to have to worry about meeting cities and towns suffer a variety of health impacts from heav-
many differing state standards. The public also voiced strong ily polluted air (see THe SCieNCe BeHiND THe STOrY, pp. 484–485).
support; 2.1 million Americans sent comments to the EPA Altogether across the world, the World Health Organization
in favor of the regulations—a record number of public com- (WHO) estimates that outdoor air pollution in cities causes
ments for any federal regulation. 3.2 million premature deaths each year.
The EPA will no doubt continue to face formidable polit- The people of China suffer some of the world’s worst
ical opposition from emitting industries and from policymak- air pollution. China has fueled its rapid industrial develop-
ers who fear that regulations will hamper economic growth. ment with its abundant reserves of coal, the most-polluting
Yet if we were able to reduce emissions of other major pol- fossil fuel. Power plants and factories have sprung up across
lutants sharply since 1970 while advancing our economy, we the nation, often using outdated, inefficient, heavily pollut-
can hope to achieve similar results in reducing greenhouse ing technology because it is cheaper and quicker to build.
gas emissions. Car ownership is skyrocketing; in the capital of Beijing alone
Indeed, although U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rose by 1500 new cars hit the streets each day. As a result, in many
51% from 1970 to 2007, they decreased by 12% from 2007 Chinese cities, the haze is often too thick for people to see
to 2012. This decrease in emissions resulted partly from the sun.
reduced energy use during a time of economic recession, but In Beijing in January–February 2013, smog became so
also from a shift from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas, severe that airplane flights were cancelled and people wore CHAPTER 17 • AT m os PHER i C sC i E n CE , Ai R Qu A li T y, A nd Poll u T i on Con TR ol
and from improved fuel-efficiency in automobiles and other face masks to breathe (Figure 17.20). Levels of particulate
technologies. matter were literally off the charts; a pollution monitor atop
the U.S. Embassy designed to measure air quality on an index
from 0 to 500 detected record-breaking readings up to 755.
Industrializing nations are suffering During this so-called airpocalypse, a fire at a factory went
increasing air pollution unnoticed for three hours because the smog was so thick that
no one could see the smoke from the fire! Countless thou-
Although the United States and other industrialized nations sands of people suffered ill health as the pollution soared
have improved their air quality, outdoor air pollution is grow- 30 times past the WHO’s safe limits. Conditions were so bad
ing worse in many industrializing countries. In these socie- that the government and the official state media were finally
ties, proliferating factories and power plants are emitting forced to admit the problem and begin a public discussion
more pollutants as governments encourage economic growth. about solutions.
Additionally, more citizens own and drive automobiles. At the Across China, the health impacts of air pollution day
same time, most people continue to burn traditional sources of in and day out are enormous. A 2013 international research
fuel, such as wood, charcoal, and coal, for cooking and home report blamed outdoor air pollution for 1.2 million premature
heating. deaths in China each year. Winds carry some of China’s pol-
Mexico embodies these trends, and despite the progress in lution to neighboring nations. Some even travels across the
its capital, residents of Mexico City and many other Mexican Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles and other western U.S. cities. 481

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