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4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
12th Annual Green Vehicles WorkshopMilwaukee Area Technical College/Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The Effect of Transportation Emissions
on Air Quality
in Southeastern Wisconsin
presented by
George T. Stone, Ph.D.
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Combustion reactions
Oxygen source is air: 78% N2 & 21% O2
High temperature promotes N-O reactions
2N2 + 02 2N2O
N2 + 02 2NO
2N2 + 302 2N2O3
N2 + 202 2NO2 NOX
N2 + 202 N2O4
2N2 + 02 2N2O5
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
Ground-level ozone
Chemical substances in vehicle emissions combine to effect
changes in both humans and plants. For example, reactions
powered by the sun combine nitrogen-containing
compounds (NOx) and other organic compounds with
oxygen to form ground-level ozone, O3. (The product of this
reaction is commonly referred to as photochemical smog.)
Photochemical smog contributes to human health problems
such as asthma and lung cancer. Ground-level ozone also
causes changes in growth patterns of crop species and
native plants.
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
“Nonattainment zones"
To prevent accumulations of ground-level ozone in areas with
high vehicle emissions, legislation such as the Clean Air Act
regulates ambient levels of ozone precursor in the atmosphere.
In some situations, however, maximum levels are exceeded and
further efforts need to be derived to reduce emissions, as is the
case in Southeastern Wisconsin. These areas, termed
"nonattainment zones," have ozone levels in excess of 0.12
ppm, the maximum allowable level as determined by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In 1990, Congress amended the Clean Air Act to mandate
reformulated gasoline use in cities that exceeded standard
ozone concentrations of 0.12 ppm. One of the cities impacted
was Milwaukee, WI.
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4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
Climate Change vs. Global Warming
Climate change has been occurring
throughout geologic time in response to
forcings other than human activities
Global Warming is anthropogenic –
a result of human activities
Rising planetary surface temperatures may cause a range of regional climate changes
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
Greenhouse Gases
The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor (H2O), which causes about 36-70% of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9-26%; methane (CH4), 4-9%; and ozone (O3), 3-7%.
Most water vapor comes from ocean evaporation. The graphic (courtesy abcnews.com) shows the greenhouse gases that are increasing due to human activity.
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
“Fossil” C02 from human activityTime travel for carbon and energy
Combustion of methane (CH4) as an example:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
Combustion of coal:
C + O2 → CO2
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
GHG covered by the Clean Air Act
On April 2, 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), the United States Supreme Court found that greenhouse gases are air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act
The Court held that the Administrator must determine whether or not emissions of greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
Most Americans in areas with unhealthy air(American Lung Association 10th Annual State of the Air Report/April 29, 2009)
Sixty percent of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels, despite a growing green movement and more stringent laws aimed at improving air quality
Air pollution at times reaches unhealthy levels in almost every major city and that 186.1 million people live in those areas. The number is much higher than last year's figure of about 125 million people because recent changes to the federal ozone standard mean more counties recognize unhealthy levels of pollution.
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
“We have a very brief window of opportunity”Dr. James Hansen, Director/NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
“We have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change . . . no longer than a decade at the most.“
If the world continues with "business as usual,"temperatures will rise by 2 to 3o Celsius (3.6 to 7.2o F) and "we will be producing a different planet"
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
Clean Energy TransitionThe Third Energy Revolution
Stop time travel; plug the worm hole;transition away from fossil carbon!
Energy Conservation
Energy Efficiency
Renewables
Carbon Capture & Storage
Nuclear Fission ?
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How do we do it?
Set target reductions for greenhouse
gas emissions
Set timelines with deadlines for
reductions
Use incentives and penalties
Let innovation & creativity find the ways
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
Schwarzenegger Signs “Global Warming Solutions Act”
to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
“I say the debate is over. We know the science; we know the time for action is now. Global warming, pollution and the burning of fossil fuels that caused it are threats we see here in California and everywhere around the world.”
On September 27, 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 32. "Using market-based incentives, we will reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. That's a 25 percent reduction. And by 2050, we will reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels. We simply must do everything in our power to slow down global warming before it’s too late.”
4/21/2015 GStone/MATC
The future of energyA fundamental change is coming sooner than you might think
(The Economist/June 19, 2008)
SINCE the industrial revolution 200 years ago, mankind has depended on fossil fuel. The notion that this might change is hard to contemplate. . . . Such a failure of imagination has been at the heart of the debate about climate change. For, in the imaginations of a coterie of physicists, biologists and engineers, an alternative world is taking shape. As the special report in this issue describes, plans for the end of the fossil-fuel economy are now being laid . . . at one level, things will have changed beyond recognition, but at another will have stayed comfortably the same, and may even have got better.