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Date: 2024-06-30 Page is: DBtxt001.php L0700-CS-NC-A-AIR-ATMOSPHERE

ENVIRONMENT / NATURAL CAPITAL
AIR / ATMOSPHERE
AIR / ATMOSPHERE / CLIMATE/WEATHER / NATURAL CIRCULATIONS

The Vital Importance of Air
Without air ... people die. Bad air is not good for health. The atmosphere is a part of the 'commons' but also the atmosphere has been used as a dumping ground for industrial gaseous emmissions as long as industry has existed. The atmosphere has been a focus of increased scientific study over the last fifty years as it became clear that changes were in process being caused by the increased levels of human activity.

The QUALITY of the air we breathe / Air Pollution
	The SOURCES of Air Pollution	'	'

There are two major groups of pollutants:

Greenhouse gases:
... Carbon dioxide (CO2),
... Methane (CH4),
... Nitrous oxide (N2O) and
... A number of fluorinated gaseous compounds (HFCs, PFCs, SF6)
... Other greenhouse gases, not included in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Air pollutants:
... Acidifying pollutants: sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx, a combination of nitrogen monoxide, NO and nitrogen dioxide, NO2) and ammonia (NH3),
... Photochemical smog precursors: again nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)
... Particulates and particulate precursors
... Toxic pollutants like heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants
... Carbon monoxide (CO)

The air we breathe
Air pollution ... particulates and noxious gases in our cities from heating and cooling of buildings and the cars, buses and trucks we use for transportation ... all of which are bad for human health and especially those with weak respiratory systems.

The killer smogs in the UK in the 1950s The attitude to air quality changed in the UK in the 1950s after killer smogs enveloped the country and hundreds of people with weak respiratory systems died. The Parliament passed stiff laws to ban the burning of coal in open fires, something that had been traditional in the UK for a very long time, as well as imposing controls on industrial and commercial use of coal
The yellow air in Los Angeles in the 1960s The State of California imposed stringent vehicle emission control standards to address the problem ... and California remains one of the most strongent jurisdictions in the world with respect to automobile emission controls.
Economic progress in China but massive degradation of the air quality
Air quality in Jakarta, Indonesia is incredibly bad Exhaust gases from cars, trucks and buses are a big source of pollution
Air quality in Bangkok, Thailand is incredibly bad Road transport vehicles are a big part of the problem
Pollution originating with electirc power generation	'	'

	Acid Rain
	Acid rain ... klling trees and natural vegetation
	Acid rain ... klling trees and natural vegetation

Particulates

Particulates
Burning coal and most solid fuels results in significant particulate emission. This has been reduced over the years in many jurisdictions by using scrubbers and filters at power plants. A 'killer smog' in 1955 in the UK caused by a combination of weather and particulates was a crisis and the Government responded with major legislation to reduce the use of coal in the country. The problem of air pollution was addressed in most developed countries in the 1950s and 1960s but remains a problem in newly industrialized countries like China and most urban centers outside North America and Europe.

Freon / Hydrocarbons

Freon / Hydrocarbons
These gases cause damage to the ozone layer, a part of the atmosphere that is important for the equilibrium of the atmosphere.

Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous Oxide
The burning of fossil fuels for transportation usually results in the emission of Nitrous Oxide, an unpleasant toxic gas. It is particularly problematic in urban areas where there is a high concentration of vehicular traffic. For many years this was a terrible problem in Los Angeles in California, and it was eventually legislated that this emission must be curtailed. The technical solutionm was to add catalytic converter to the exhaust systems of cars. This is a workable solution but not yet applied in most cities around the world.

Sulphur

Sulphur
The burning of high sulphur fuels whether as fuel for transportation or fuel for electricity generation results in the emission of Sulphur Dioxide. This is an unpleasnt gas, but it also results in acid rain which has a bad impact on vegetation and forests. Acid rain is carried in the atmosphere for hundreds of miles, indeed thousands of miles and crosses international borders. Many jurisidctions require low sulphur fuels to be burned.

Green House Gases (GHG)

Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions The scientific community has concluded that green house gas (GHG) emissions are in the process of changing the world's climate. This is sometimes referred to as global warming, but the changes are likely to be quite unpredictable as climate systems change significantly. For example, a change in the Gulf Stream that warms Europe could result in a Europe that becomes significntly colder than it now is. Carbon Dioxide emissions (CO2e) are the highest volume of GHGs, but methane emissions (CH4e) are more potent than CO2e by a factor of more than 20. Almost every human activity, especially those involving the consumption of energy, produce GHGs. The people of the USA and Canada are among the highest per capita producers of GHGs.
CCS-Green-Alliance-UK-Decarbonising-British-Industry-2015 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CCS/CCS-Green-Alliance-UK-Decarbonising-British-Industry-2015.pdf'	Open PDF ... CCS-Green-Alliance-UK-Decarbonising-British-Industry-2015
TVM-MDIA-About-Carbon-131111a 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/BMABusiness/TVM-MDIA/TVM-MDIA-About-Carbon-131111a.pdf'	Open PDF ... TVM-MDIA-About-Carbon-131111a
ClimateCare-Aviation-Emissions 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/Aviation/ClimateCare-Aviation-Emissions.pdf'	Open PDF ... ClimateCare-Aviation-Emissions
CarbonTracker-Carbon-budget-checklist-2013 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CarbonWar/CarbonTracker-Carbon-budget-checklist-2013.pdf'	Open PDF ... CarbonTracker-Carbon-budget-checklist-2013
CarbonTracker-Unburnable-Carbon-2013 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CarbonWar/CarbonTracker-Unburnable-Carbon-2013.pdf'	Open PDF ... CarbonTracker-Unburnable-Carbon-2013
Jeremy-Leggett-The-Winning-of-The-Carbon-War-part-01 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CarbonWar/Jeremy-Leggett-The-Winning-of-The-Carbon-War-part-01.pdf'	Open PDF ... Jeremy-Leggett-The-Winning-of-The-Carbon-War-part-01
CDP_companies-carbon-pricing-2013 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CDP/CDP_companies-carbon-pricing-2013.pdf'	Open PDF ... CDP_companies-carbon-pricing-2013
CDP-Thematic-Report about Wealthier, Healthier Cities 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CDP/CDP-Thematic-Report.pdf'	Open PDF ... CDP-Thematic-Report about Wealthier, Healthier Cities
NYCPlan-Greenhouse-Gas-2011 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/NewYorkCity/NYCPlan-Greenhouse-Gas-2011.pdf'	Open PDF ... NYCPlan-Greenhouse-Gas-2011
Ebook-April2014 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/ShrinkThatFootprint/Ebook-April2014.pdf'	Open PDF ... Ebook-April2014
CDP_companies-carbon-pricing-2013 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/CDP_companies-carbon-pricing-2013.pdf'	Open PDF ... CDP_companies-carbon-pricing-2013
GHG-Protocol-Guidance-for-Calculating-Scope-3-Emissions-DRAFT-August-2011 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/GHG-Protocol-Guidance-for-Calculating-Scope-3-Emissions-DRAFT-August-2011.pdf'	Open PDF ... GHG-Protocol-Guidance-for-Calculating-Scope-3-Emissions-DRAFT-August-2011
Social-Cost-of-Carbon_Johnson-Yeh-Hope 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/Social-Cost-of-Carbon_Johnson-Yeh-Hope.pdf'	Open PDF ... Social-Cost-of-Carbon_Johnson-Yeh-Hope
UC-Berkeley-Jones-Kammen-SOM-Quantifying-Carbon-Footprint-110312 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/UC-Berkeley-Jones-Kammen-SOM-Quantifying-Carbon-Footprint-110312.pdf'	Open PDF ... UC-Berkeley-Jones-Kammen-SOM-Quantifying-Carbon-Footprint-110312
UC-Berkeley-quantifying-carbon-2011 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/UC-Berkeley-quantifying-carbon-2011.pdf'	Open PDF ... UC-Berkeley-quantifying-carbon-2011
USCAP-Call-For-Action-2013 'http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/Carbon/USCAP-Call-For-Action-2013.pdf'	Open PDF ... USCAP-Call-For-Action-2013

Misc

Shindell-The-Social-Cost-of-Atmospheric-Release
'http://truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/AtmosphericPollution/Shindell-The-Social-Cost-of-Atmospheric-Release.pdf'

Open PDF ... Shindell-The-Social-Cost-of-Atmospheric-Release

The QUALITY of the air we breathe / Air Pollution
	The SOURCES of Air Pollution in a Building	'	'

The QUALITY of the air we breathe / Air Pollution
	Oil field emissions ... flaring natural gas	'	'

Air and the atmosphere are part of NATURAL CAPITAL, essential for a healthy life and a climate equilibrium that has been supporting humankind for many thousands of years.
Bridges / Rail / Water / Ports /

Comparative pollution ... China v USA
Emissions in China are growing faster than the USA ... but the cumulative amount of pollution associated with the USA is many times bigger than that of China. In part this is deliberate misin=formation and in part it is very sloppy reporting by the media and to some extent the scientists and people who should know better.

Open L0700-CS-NC-footprint-China-v-USA

The text being discussed is available at

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