At Fresno fuel economy hearing, people demand cleaner air
More than a week later, what lingers in the memory isn’t the despair, but the will to fight. Read more →
Posts
Marc Morial shares why air pollution as a health issue hits home
The issue of air pollution has been on our minds a lot in 2017. American cities are nothing like Delhi or Beijing, where toxic smog blankets the skyline and closes schools. But air quality is still very poor in far too many parts of the United States.
Higher octane can help automakers and consumers too
Last year we urged the Environmental Protection Agency to consider fuels as part of the pathway to meet the U.S. fuel economy standards.
We staked out our position within the Midterm Evaluation of standards set for vehicles to be sold during model years (MY) 2022 to 2025. Read more →
How much does a gallon of gas actually cost?
Gas is cheap, right? Last year the national average at the pump was a paltry $2.25/gallon. That means if you had a 12-gallon gas tank, you could fill up for less than $30. Gas this “inexpensive” should bring huge benefits to American families. Read more →
The pollution you can’t see can hurt you
Air pollution is a difficult problem to ignore, because those who live in cities — about two-thirds of the U.S. population — can see that ugly, ominous brown haze with their own eyes.
What cars will we be driving in 2050?
Today, there are approximately 1.1 billion light-duty vehicles in use around the world.
About 1.2 million, or 0.1 percent of the global fleet, are all-electric or plug-in hybrids. More than 1 billion of those vehicles run on gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines.
Welcome to the season of the ‘Airpocalypse’
All around the globe, air pollution impacts people’s lives — keeping people indoors, leading to conditions like asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, and even brain disease, and leading to millions of deaths each year. And no, this isn’t just a problem abroad: More than half of Americans live in areas that have unsafe levels of air pollution. Most of that air pollution comes from the toxic emissions spewing out of the tailpipes of our cars and trucks.
We’ve compiled some examples of how air pollution is affecting the lives of people from London, to Shanghai, to Los Angeles, to Delhi, to Salt Lake City and even more places in a Twitter Moment. Below is a sample of what we’ve pulled together:
Smog can sweep in like a wave. Or a faceless villain in a John Carpenter movie. As it did in Beijing on Jan. 2.
20 minutes. That’s how long it takes for this thick cloud of smog to totally envelop the Chinese city of Beijing https://t.co/4WEDVOE114 pic.twitter.com/jy0xInjgWm
— CNN (@CNN) January 2, 2017
In late January, London’s air surpassed Beijing’s in awfulness. Particulate matter, which can lodge in lungs, hit 197 micrograms per cubic meter; the recommended limit is 25.
Air pollution in London passed levels in Beijing this week, with popular wood burning stoves blamed for exacerbating the problem pic.twitter.com/48OAGRyzbt
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 25, 2017
Mexico City tried banning cars on Saturdays, expecting particulates and nitrogen oxides would fall 16 percent. But the gains never materialized.
Maybe the answer is to use cleaner fuels instead | Car ban fails to curb #airpollution in #MexicoCity https://t.co/u7b3bj8v0J pic.twitter.com/txrCdGAHAF
— Fuel Freedom (@fuelfreedomnow) February 6, 2017
The Wasatch front near Salt Lake City has its own air problems in wintertime, when pollution collects in the valley below the mountains.
The air is opaque in Salt Lake City. pic.twitter.com/ADuAvkz5Xl
— Tiff Frandsen (@tiffany_mf) February 1, 2017
The agency in charge improving SoCal air quality is focused primarily on stationary sources of pollution, like factories. Millions of cars are tougher to control.
In #LosAngeles, 1,300+ lives are cut short each yr due to #airpollution. That’s unacceptable. We need #cleanerfuels https://t.co/Eu19F1ALYv pic.twitter.com/yIec2TQ2fj
— Fuel Freedom (@fuelfreedomnow) February 7, 2017
Everyone deserves clean air to breathe, and that’s why we believe it’s so important that America and the world transition to cleaner fuels. This is one of the many reasons we’re fighting to ensure Americans have a choice of cleaner burning fuels at the pump. We hope you’ll join us in this fight by making a donation today.
The clear connection between fuels and the air we breathe
Air quality in the United States is far better than it once was: The EPA says that between 1970 (the year the agency was created, and the Clean Air Act made into law) and 2014, aggregate emissions of six common pollutants dropped by 69 percent.
But there’s still much room for improvement. Read more →
What comes out of a tailpipe, anyway?
We’ve all been stuck behind one before. A car that clearly hasn’t passed a smog check in years, spewing smoke from its tailpipe like there’s no tomorrow. You probably know that the stuff coming out of there isn’t good for you, or the environment. But what exactly is it composed of?
Air pollution is scarier than ghosts and goblins
It’s comforting for parents to know that all the most frightful aspects of Halloween — even candy corn — will be an afterthought come Nov. 1. All the candy will either be devoured, hidden away for rationing, or shipped off to the troops. Read more →
