Global warming fossil fuels and pollution

Julie Kerr Casper, Ph.D.Fossil Fuels and Pollution The Future of Air Quality Gl bal WarminG... 1 Energy, Fossil Fuels, and Global Warming 1 Measuring Energy 4 2 Greenhouse Gases, Health

Julie Kerr Casper, Ph.D.

Fossil Fuels

and Pollution

The Future of Air Quality

Gl bal WarminG

FOSSIL FUELS AND POLLUTION: The Future of Air Quality

Copyright © 2010 by Julie Kerr Casper, Ph.D.

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher For information contact:

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Casper, Julie Kerr.

Fossil fuels and pollution : the future of air quality / Julie Kerr Casper.

p cm.—(Global warming)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8160-7265-1 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4381-2741-5 (e-book)

1 Fossil fuels—Environmental aspects—Juvenile literature 2 Pollution—Environmental

aspects—Juvenile literature 3 Environmental protection—Juvenile literature I Title

TP 318.3.C37 2010

363.738'74—dc22 2009012612

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Text design by Erik Lindstrom

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Composition by Hermitage Publishing Services

Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN

Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN

Date printed: January 2010

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

1 Energy, Fossil Fuels, and Global Warming 1

Measuring Energy 4

2 Greenhouse Gases, Health, and the Environment 26

Greenhouse Emissions and the Biggest Contributors 33

The State of the Union in Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions 41

Health Issues Associated with Global Warming 51

Emissions and Oil: Quick Facts 52

3 Evolution since the Industrial Revolution 62

The Clean Air Acts 72

Modernization and Global Warming 79

Environmental Time Line 80

4 Global Warming and Pollution: Buildings and Homes 87

5 Global Warming and Pollution: Green Transportation 108

Contributors to Global Warming and Pollution 115

In the News—the Top Environmentally Friendly Cars 121

6 Global Warming and Pollution: Cities and Industry 124

Industry Arguments against Global Warming Action and Why They Are Wrong 141 The Other Global Warming—a Look into the Future 144

Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and Pollution 149

Making a Difference: Solutions to the Problem 165

9 Green Technology: Tomorrow’s Cars Today 197

10 Conclusions—the Future of Air Quality 210

The Future of Air Pollution and Climate Change 212

The Future of Air Quality Management 215

Distribution of Total U.S Greenhouse Gas Emissions

U.S Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, Based on

Global Warming Potential, 1990, 1995,

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors—

we borrow it from our children.

This ancient Native American proverb and what it implies resonates

today as it has become increasingly obvious that people’s actions and interactions with the environment affect not only living condi-tions now, but also those of many generations to follow Humans must address the effect they have on the Earth’s climate and how their choices today will have an impact on future generations

Many years ago, Mark Twain joked that “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” That is not true anymore Humans are changing the world’s climate and with it the local, regional, and global weather Scientists tell us that “climate is what we expect, and weather is what we get.” Climate change occurs when that average weather shifts over the long term in a specific location, a region, or the entire planet

Global warming and climate change are urgent topics They are discussed on the news, in conversations, and are even the subjects of horror movies How much is fact? What does global warming mean to individuals? What should it mean?

The readers of this multivolume set—most of whom are today’s middle and high school students—will be tomorrow’s leaders and sci-entists Global warming and its threats are real As scientists unlock the mysteries of the past and analyze today’s activities, they warn that future

PrefaCe

vii Preface

generations may be in jeopardy There is now overwhelming evidence that human activities are changing the world’s climate For thousands of years, the Earth’s atmosphere has changed very little; but today, there are problems in keeping the balance Greenhouse gases are being added to the atmosphere at an alarming rate Since the Industrial Revolution (late 18th, early 19th centuries), human activities from transportation, agricul-ture, fossil fuels, waste disposal and treatment, deforestation, power sta-tions, land use, biomass burning, and industrial processes, among other things, have added to the concentrations of greenhouse gases

These activities are changing the atmosphere more rapidly than humans have ever experienced before Some people think that warm-ing the Earth’s atmosphere by a few degrees is harmless and could have

no effect on them; but global warming is more than just a warming—or cooling—trend Global warming could have far-reaching and unpredict-able environmental, social, and economic consequences The following demonstrates what a few degrees’ change in the temperature can do.The Earth experienced an ice age 13,000 years ago Global tempera-tures then warmed up 8.3°F (5°C) and melted the vast ice sheets that cov-ered much of the North American continent Scientists today predict that average temperatures could rise 11.7°F (7°C) during this century alone What will happen to the remaining glaciers and ice caps?

If the temperatures rise as leading scientists have predicted, less water will be available—and already one-third of the world’s population (about 2 billion people) suffer from a shortage of water Lack of water will keep farmers from growing food It will also permanently destroy sensitive fish and wildlife habitat As the ocean levels rise, coastal lands and islands will be flooded and destroyed Heat waves could kill tens of thousands

fresh-of people With warmer temperatures, outbreaks fresh-of diseases will spread and intensify Plant pollen mold spores in the air will increase, affecting those with allergies An increase in severe weather could result in hur-ricanes similar or even stronger than Katrina in 2005, which destroyed large areas of the southeastern United States

Higher temperatures will cause other areas to dry out and become tinder for larger and more devastating wildfires that threaten forests, wildlife, and homes If drought destroys the rain forests, the Earth’s

viii Fossil Fuels and Pollution

delicate oxygen and carbon balances will be harmed, affecting the water, air, vegetation, and all life

Although the United States has been one of the largest tors to global warming, it ranks far below countries and regions—such

contribu-as Canada, Australia, and western Europe—in taking steps to fix the damage that has been done Global Warming is a multivolume set that explores the concept that each person is a member of a global family who shares responsibility for fixing this problem In fact, the only way

to fix it is to work together toward a common goal This seven-volume set covers all of the important climatic issues that need to be addressed

in order to understand the problem, allowing the reader to build a solid foundation of knowledge and to use the information to help solve the critical issues in effective ways The set includes the following volumes:

Climate Systems

Global Warming Trends

Global Warming Cycles

at the impact that rising sea levels will have on islands and other areas worldwide, how individual ecosystems will be affected, what humans will lose if rain forests are destroyed, how industrialization and pollu-tion puts peoples’ lives at risk, and the benefits of developing environ-mentally friendly energy resources

The set also examines the exciting technology of computer ing and how it has unlocked mysteries about past climate change and global warming and how it can predict the local, regional, and global

model-ix Preface

climates of the future—the very things leaders of tomorrow need to

know today.

We will know only what we are taught;

We will be taught only what others deem is important to know; And we will learn to value that which is important.

—Native American proverb

Global warming may very well be one of the most important issues

facing you in your lifetime The decisions you make on energy sources and daily conservation practices will determine not only the quality of your life, but also those of your descendants

I cannot stress enough how important it is to gain a good standing of global warming: what it is, why it is happening, how it can

under-be slowed down, why everybody is contributing to the problem, and

why everybody needs to be an active part of the solution.

I would sincerely like to thank several of the federal agencies that research, educate, and actively take part in dealing with the global warm-ing issue—in particular, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S Geological Sur-vey (USGS)—for providing an abundance of resources and outreach programs on this important subject I give special thanks to former vice president Al Gore for his diligent efforts to bring the global warming issue so powerfully to the public’s attention More recently, the Cali-fornia governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has stressed the importance

of dealing with global warming in his state I would especially like

to acknowledge the years of leadership and research provided by

Dr James E Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) His pioneering efforts over the past 20 years have enabled

aCknowledgments

xi acknowledgments

other scientists, researchers, and political leaders worldwide to better understand the scope of the scientific issues involved at a critical point

in time when action must be taken before it is too late I would also like to acknowledge and give thanks to the many wonderful universi-ties across the United States, in England, in Canada, and in Australia,

as well as private organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund, that diligently strive to educate others and help toward finding a solution to this very real problem

I want to give a huge thanks to my agent, Jodie Rhodes, for her tance, guidance, and efforts; and also to Frank K Darmstadt, my editor, for all his hard work, dedication, support, helpful advice, and atten-tion to detail His efforts in bringing this project to life were invaluable Thanks also to Alex and the copyediting and production departments for their assistance and the outstanding quality of their work

One of the biggest human-caused contributors to global warming is

the greenhouse gases emitted to the Earth’s atmosphere through the continuous burning of fossil fuels Enormous amounts of green-

house gases—in order of abundance, water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2),

methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone—are added daily For many years, the

United States was the largest contributor, but recently China, in the midst

of its industrial revolution, has become the world’s largest CO2 emitter at 6,834 million tons (6,200 million metric tons) in 2006 compared to the United States at 6,393 million tons (5,800 million metric tons)

Fossil fuels—oil, natural gas, and coal—are America’s primary energy sources, accounting for 85 percent of current U.S fuel consump-tion for transportation, industrial, commercial, and residential uses Among the gases emitted when fossil fuels are burned, one of the most significant is CO2, a gas that traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere Over the last 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels has resulted in more than

a 25 percent increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere Fossil fuels are also implicated in increased levels of atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide, although they are not the major source of these gases.Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often pro-duced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels, and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect on the atmosphere three to four times greater than previously estimated In fact, soot and other forms of black carbon could contribute as much as 60 percent of the current global

IntroduCtIon

xiii introduction

warming effect of CO2, more than any greenhouse gas besides CO2 In recent years, between 25 to 35 percent of black carbon in the global atmosphere comes from China and India, emitted from the burning of wood and cow dung in household cooking and through the use of coal

to heat homes Countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely heavily on diesel fuel for transportation also contribute large amounts

Since reliable records began in the late 1800s, the global average surface temperature has risen 0.5–1.1°F (0.3–0.6°C) Scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in a

1995 report that the observed increase in global average temperature over the last century “is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin” and that the balance of evidence suggests that there is a “discernible human influence on global climate.”

Clean air is also essential to life and good health Several tant pollutants are produced by fossil fuel combustion and emitted directly into the atmosphere: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and hydrocarbons In addition, total suspended par-ticulates (tiny airborne particles of aerosols that are less than 100 micrometers [a micrometer is 1/1000 of a millimeter], which con-stantly enter the atmosphere from both human [through industrial processes and motor vehicles] and natural [pollen and salt particles] sources) contribute to air pollution, and nitrogen oxides and hydro-carbons can combine in the atmosphere to form tropospheric ozone, the major constituent of smog

impor-Fossil fuel emissions are added to the atmosphere through several means The largest contributor is the transportation sector Cars and trucks are the primary source of carbon monoxide emissions Two oxides of nitrogen—nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide—are formed during combustion Nitrogen oxides appear as yellowish brown clouds over many city skylines Sulfur oxides are produced by the oxidization of the available sulfur in a fuel Hydrocarbons are emit-ted from human-made sources such as auto and truck exhaust Fossil fuel use also produces particulates, including dust, soot, smoke, and other suspended matter, which are respiratory irritants Air pollution