Coal, Organization, Pollution and Resource

Study finds coal trains add significant amount of PM2.5 pollution in urban areas

Green Car Congress

MAY 1, 2023

Coal trains and terminal operations add a significant amount of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) pollution to urban areas—more so than other freight or passenger trains— according to a study conducted in Richmond, California, by the University of California, Davis. The results indicate coal trains add on average 8.32

Coal

Coal Pollution Davis San Francisco

Study finds half of the world’s population exposed to increasing air pollution

Green Car Congress

JUNE 19, 2020

A team of researchers, led by Professor Gavin Shaddick at the University of Exeter, has shown that, despite global efforts to improve air quality, half of the world’s population is exposed to increasing air pollution. In some regions, sand and desert dust, waste burning and deforestation are additional sources of air pollution.

Pollution

Pollution 2016 Universal 2010

Harvard/Nanjing study: China’s war on PM2.5 pollution is causing more severe ozone pollution

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 3, 2019

In early 2013, the Chinese government declared a war on air pollution and began instituting stringent policies to regulate the emissions of PM 2.5. Cities restricted the number of cars on the road, coal-fired power plants reduced emissions or were shuttered and replaced with natural gas. Over the course of five years, PM 2.5

Ozone

Ozone Pollution China Chinese

China study connects ozone pollution to cardiovascular health

Green Car Congress

JULY 17, 2017

Ozone is formed through a chemical reaction that occurs when sunlight interacts with nitrogen oxides and other organic compounds that are generated by coal-burning, vehicle exhaust and some natural sources. They monitored indoor and outdoor ozone levels, along with other pollutants. 2017.2842.

Ozone

Ozone Pollution Connect Connected

Berkeley Earth study calculates that air pollution contributes to 1.6M deaths per year in China

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 14, 2015

In an analysis of hourly air pollution data (PM 2.5 ,PM PM 10 , SO 2 , NO 2 , O 3 and CO) from more than 1500 sites in China, Berkeley Earth has calculated that the observed air pollution contributes to ~1.6 million deaths/year previously estimated from a Huai River study using Chinese air pollution measurements and mortality data.

Pollution

Pollution China Coal South Korea

Pollutant emitted by biomass burning found to cause DNA damage and lung cell death; the role of retene

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2017

A new study by a team from Brazil, with colleagues in the US, has shown that particulate pollution biomass burning in the Amazon induced inflammation, oxidative stress and severe DNA damage in human lung cells. After 72 hours of exposure, more than 30% of the cultured cells are dead, the researchers found.

Pollution

Pollution Universal Brazil Washington

CSIRO study finds little to no environmental impact from fracing in Queensland

Green Car Congress

APRIL 27, 2020

A comprehensive three-year scientific study into the air, water and soil impacts of hydraulic fracturing (HF) in coal seam gas (CSG) in Queensland, Australia has found little to no impacts on air quality, soils, groundwater and waterways. Increased levels of airborne particles were associated with dust from vehicle movement.

Coal

Coal Water Australia Gas

UNICEF: 300M children worldwide breathing air exceeding WHO pollution guidelines by 6x or more

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 31, 2016

Almost one in seven of the world’s children, 300 million, live in areas with the most toxic levels of outdoor air pollution—six or more times higher than international guidelines set by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO)— according to a new UNICEF report. No society can afford to ignore air pollution.

Pollution

Pollution Nigeria Asia Africa

DOE awards $7M to eight oxy-combustion coal technology projects; carbon capture, utilization and storage

Green Car Congress

JULY 26, 2012

The US Department of Energy (DOE) selected eight projects to advance the development of transformational oxy-combustion technologies capable of high-efficiency, low-cost carbon dioxide capture from coal-fired power plants. The Energy Department’s $7 million investment—leveraged with recipient cost-share to support approximately $9.4

Coal

Coal Carbon Gas-Electric Gas

UMD-led study finds China’s SO2 emissions down 75% since 2007, India’s up 50%; India may now be the top SO2 emitter

Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 13, 2017

Although China and India remain the world’s largest consumers of coal, a new University of Maryland-led study found that China’s sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 75% since 2007, while India’s emissions increased by 50%. Sulfur dioxide is an air pollutant that causes acid rain, haze and many health-related problems.

India

India 2007 Emissions Aura

WVU opens new research facility to extract valuable rare earth elements from acid mine drainage

Green Car Congress

JULY 22, 2018

West Virginia University (WVU) researchers are opening a new facility to capture rare earth elements (REEs) from acid mine drainage (AMD) from coal mining. He found that acid mine drainage, a byproduct of coal mining, “naturally” concentrates rare earths. —Paul Ziemkiewicz. Conceptual Process Flowsheet. Two-step process.

West Virginia

West Virginia Coal Virginia Waste

Berkeley Lab releases 8th edition of databook on China’s energy and environment; finding the “missing” energy consumption

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

The China Energy Group of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) recently released the eighth edition of the China Energy Databook —the most comprehensive publicly available resource known to exist covering China’s energy and environmental statistics. Click to enlarge.

Environment

Environment Energy Coal United States

Discovery of mechanism for atmospheric particle formation suggests need for ammonia emission regulations

Green Car Congress

MAY 23, 2022

There are no factories or farms, and planes are thought to make up most of the pollutants in this area. Any pollutants in the upper troposphere will play a very different role than they do in the boundary layer (the lowest part of the troposphere, directly impacted by the presence of the earth’s surface). —Mingyi Wang.

Emissions

Emissions Climate Pollution Climate Change

Study from Thuringia shows 50% of harmful soot comes from local sources, 50% from long-distance transport

Green Car Congress

JUNE 12, 2021

Soot particles from oil and wood heating systems as well as road traffic can pollute the air in Europe on a much larger scale than previously assumed. Carbonaceous aerosol particles predominate in the total mass of particles, consisting of a large number of chemical species and can be divided into organic aerosol (OA) and black carbon (BC).

Transportation

Transportation Germany Climate Change Climate

MIT researchers build model simulating atmospheric transport of PAHs; how chemicals get to the Arctic

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

Persistent organic pollutants are chemicals of substantial international concern. The presence of these pollutants in the Arctic is important for several reasons. Organic pollutants typically condense and rain down into Arctic regions. First, the researchers say there’s a very real health concern.

MIT

MIT Transportation Rhode Island Building

Researchers identify new nitrated PAH compounds from combustion that are hundreds of times more mutagenic than parent PAHs

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 6, 2014

These new compounds were not previously known to exist, and raise additional concerns about the health impacts of heavily-polluted urban air or dietary exposure. PAHs form naturally as the result of almost any type of combustion, from a wood stove to an automobile engine, cigarette or a coal-fired power plant. Staci Simonich.

Pollution

Pollution Oregon Los Angeles Universal

A Child’s IQ Can Be Affected by Mother’s Exposure to PAHs Pollution in Urban Air

Green Car Congress

JULY 22, 2009

PAHs are chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. Study participants exposed to air pollution levels below the average were designated as having low exposure, while those exposed to pollution levels above the median were identified as high exposure.

Pollution

Pollution New York City New York Environment

Renault makes public its lifecycle study of Fluence ICE vs Fluence EV

Green Car Congress

JULY 11, 2013

Quantifies the production of pollutant ozone (? to ozone layer), the results of the reaction of sunlight on NO x and volatile organic compounds. Abiotic Resource Depletion Potential (kg Sb equivalent). water, and non-renewable energies (crude oil, coal.) consumption leading to resources and abiotic depletion.

Li-ion

Li-ion Gasoline-Electric Ozone Diesel

Obama Announces Steps to Boost Biofuels, Clean Coal; RFS2, BCAP, BIWG and Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 4, 2010

In addition, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum creating an Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage to develop a comprehensive and coordinated federal strategy to speed the development and deployment of advanced lower-emission coal technologies. Sustainability – EPA and USDA.

Obama

Obama Coal Clean Cleaning

EPA report shows progress in reducing urban air toxics across US; 50% reduction from mobile sources since 1990

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 22, 2014

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress—the final of two reports required under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to inform Congress of progress in reducing public health risks from urban air toxics (also referred to as hazardous air pollutants or HAPs).

EPA

EPA Congress Pollution Gasoline-Electric

Worldwatch: Fossil fuel subsidies continue to outweigh those for renewable energy; international pledges on reform unfulfilled

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 22, 2012

Total subsidies for renewable energy stood at $66 billion in 2010 (a 10% increase from the year before); the total value of global fossil fuel subsidies is estimated at between $775 billion and more than $1 trillion in 2012, Two thirds of the renewable energy subsidies went to renewable electricity resources and the remaining third to biofuels.

Renewable

Renewable International Fuel Energy

CMU study finds controlled EV charging can reduce generation cost, but at greater health and environmental costs depending upon the generation mix

Green Car Congress

APRIL 16, 2015

Results from the study also suggest that with sufficient coal plant retirement and sufficient wind power, controlled charging could result in positive net benefits instead of negative. However, this shift results in increased externality costs of health and environmental damages from increased air pollution.

Charging

Charging Coal Grid District of Columbia

Obama climate plan calls for new fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles post-2018; cleaner fuels and investment in advanced fossil energy

Green Car Congress

JUNE 25, 2013

The new goal is that efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings set in the first and second terms combined will reduce carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030—equivalent to nearly one-half of the CO 2 emissions from the entire US energy sector for one year.

Obama

Obama Cleaner Climate Fuel Economy

Study finds rising temperatures increase risk of unhealthy ozone levels absent sharp cuts in precursors

Green Car Congress

MAY 5, 2014

Ozone pollution across the continental United States will become far more difficult to keep in check as temperatures rise, according to new work led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). These gases come from human activities such as combustion of coal and oil as well as natural sources such as emissions from plants.

Ozone

Ozone Climate Change Pollution Climate

Researchers describe the “where” and “when” of life cycle emissions from gasoline and ethanol in the US

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Researchers from the University of Minnesota have produced a spatially and temporally explicit life cycle inventory (LCI) of air pollutants from gasoline, ethanol derived from corn grain, and ethanol from corn stover for the contiguous US (the lower 48 states). The researchers included a sixth pollutant, ammonia (NH 3 ).

Gasoline

Gasoline Emissions Gasoline-Electric Pollution

Geely invests in Carbon Recycling Intl.; vehicles fueled by methanol from CO2, water and renewable energy

Green Car Congress

JULY 8, 2015

Geely Auto has invested significant resources in the development and promotion of methanol-fueled engines and vehicles over a long period and has already made progress with this technology in China. cited one study showing that the full lifecycle (well-to-wheel) CO 2 emissions from M85 (with coal-derived methanol) are 2.5 and Gong, H.

Renewable

Renewable Carbon Water Fuel

Study: 87% of world’s population in 2013 lived in areas exceeding WHO PM2.5 guidelines

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2015

In 2013, 87% of the world’s population lived in areas exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guideline of 10 μg/m 3 PM 2.5 The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 provided important estimates of the global health impacts attributable to ambient air pollution. Between 1990 and 2013, global population-weighted PM 2.5

2013

2013 Ozone Asia Africa

Fast action on black carbon, ozone and methane could help limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees C

Green Car Congress

JUNE 15, 2011

Fast action on pollutants such as black carbon, ground-level ozone and methane may help limit near term global temperature rise and significantly increase the chances of keeping temperature rise below 2 °C (3.6 °F)—and ventilation air from coal mines. Replacing coal by coal briquettes in cooking and heating stoves.

Ozone

Ozone Carbon Climate Change Global

PNNL modeling study finds climate benefit for cutting soot, methane smaller than previous estimates

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 13, 2013

International leaders took note and formed the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants in 2012. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is released from leaking pipelines, coal mines, oil wells, cattle, rice paddies and landfills. —Steven Smith. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1308470110. 1308470110.

Climate

Climate Pollution Carbon Emissions

IEA: improving efficiency of road-freight transport critical to reduce oil-demand growth; three areas of focus

Green Car Congress

JULY 3, 2017

Improving the efficiency of road-freight transport is critical to reducing the growth in oil demand, carbon emissions and air pollution over the next decades, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest report, The Future of Trucks: Implications for energy and the environment. —“The Future of Trucks”.

Oil

Oil Transportation Alternative Fuels Fuel Economy

List of The Best 10 Alternative Fuels for Cars that Could Replace Gasoline

Get Electric Vehicle

JUNE 5, 2023

from automobiles, environmental pollution, depletion of fossil fuels, etc. It takes really long to form fossil fuels They are air pollutants – Combustion of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases causes air pollution Global warming – as a result of greenhouse gas emission, atmospheric temperature increases ( how? ).

Alternative Fuels

Alternative Fuels Gasoline Fuel Gasoline-Electric

Researchers Discover New Chemistry for Ozone Formation; Not Yet Monitored or Incorporated into Atmospheric Models

Green Car Congress

JULY 24, 2009

Up to now, the deposition of HCl and NO y (NO y = NO x + HNO 3 + organic nitrates + inorganic nitrates) onto surfaces has been regarded as a permanent removal mechanism. This reaction is not included in computer models used to predict air pollution levels and the effectiveness of ozone control strategies. Raff et al. Jonathan D.

Ozone

Ozone Pollution 2009 Coal

Study projects thermoelectric power in Europe and US vulnerable to climate change due to lower summer river flows and higher river water temperatures

Green Car Congress

JUNE 3, 2012

In the US and Europe, at present 91% and 78% of the total electricity is produced by thermoelectric power plants, which directly depend on the availability and temperature of water resources for cooling. This causes downstream thermal pollution affecting, for example, life cycles of aquatic organisms. 19% in Europe and 4.4—16%

Climate Change

Climate Change Water Climate Europe

Study Finds Controlling Soot May Be Fastest Method to Reduce Arctic Ice Loss and Global Warming; Second-Leading Cause of Global Warming After CO2

Green Car Congress

JULY 29, 2010

Jacobson used a computer model of global climate, air pollution and weather that he developed over the last 20 years and updated to include additional atmospheric processes to analyze how soot can heat clouds, snow and ice. 1990; Anisimov, 2007] and chemical production of ozone in already-polluted locations [Jacobson, 2008b].

Global

Global Ozone CO2 Pollution

Separate MIT, IEA reports both outline major expansion in role of natural gas; caution on climate benefits

Green Car Congress

JUNE 10, 2011

The study—managed by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and carried out by a team of Institute faculty, staff and graduate students—examined the scale of US natural gas resources and the potential of this fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. World primary energy demand by fuel in the IEA high gas scenario. Source: IEA.

MIT

MIT Gas Climate Gas-Electric

NASA GISS Study Finds That Methane Has an Elevated Warming Effect Due to Interactions With Aerosols

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 30, 2009

As a result of their findings, published in the 30 October issue of the journal Science , the authors argue that assessments of multigas mitigation policies, as well as any separate efforts to mitigate warming from short-lived pollutants, should include gas-aerosol interactions. —Drew Shindell. —Drew Shindell.

Climate Change

Climate Change Climate Ozone Pollution

HEI report identifies potential health consequences from new vehicle fuels and technologies; recommended actions

Green Car Congress

MARCH 14, 2011

Emerging technologies and pollutants of concern. HEI is a nonprofit corporation chartered in 1980 as an independent research organization to provide high-quality, impartial, and relevant science on the health effects of air pollution. Source: HEI. Click to enlarge.

Fuel

Fuel Vehicles Emissions Oil-Sands

Black carbon is a much larger cause of climate change than previously assessed; about twice previous estimates, and 2/3 the effect of CO2

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 16, 2013

The authors of the study organized their major findings into twelve areas: Black carbon properties. Reducing emissions from diesel engines and domestic wood and coal fires is a no-brainer, as there are tandem health and climate benefits. The large uncertainty derives principally from the indirect climate-forcing effects. Bond et al.

Climate Change

Climate Change Climate Carbon CO2

House Chairmen Waxman, Markey Release Draft of Energy and Climate Legislation; Among the Many Provisions Are Cap-and-Trade, Harmonization of CAFE and California Vehicle Regulations, and Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2009

The draft promotes development of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies to establish a continuing place for coal in the US energy mix. The draft includes a CCS early demonstration program, incentives for the wide-scale commercial deployment of CCS, and performance standards for new coal-fired power plants.

Climate

Climate Standards Carbon California

The Complex Calculus of Clean Energy and Zero Emissions

Cars That Think

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

And then you start to see how siting these resources trades off against other land use or conservation priorities, and who’s going to bear the impacts and gain benefits—such as local tax revenue and jobs versus seeing wind turbines all around your community. You need a bigger grid to supply that electricity.

Clean

Clean Cleaning Energy Emissions

DOE to Award Up to $27M in Phase III Small Business Awards; Algae Processing, Fuel Cells, Improved Materials for Motors, Synthetic Fuels Among Areas of Interest

Green Car Congress

JULY 10, 2010

Areas of interest here include Transitional Technology for Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs); SSL Products made from Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs); and “Core” Technology for Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). Buildings Technologies. Geothermal Technologies.

Fuel

Fuel Motor Motors Motoring

MITEI releases report on Electrification of the Transportation System

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2011

The symposium was organized into four panels that addressed key issues: (1) Why vehicle electrification matters; (2) vehicle technologies; (3) infrastructure; and (4) policy options. With the current fuel mix of the US power sector (about half coal, about 30% “carbon-free”), CO 2 emissions for HEVs and EVs are similar.

Transportation

Transportation MIT Oil Prices Oil

Senators Kerry and Lieberman Release Details of Energy and Climate Bill; Incentives for Electric Drive and Natural Gas Vehicles

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2010

Farmers are exempt from the carbon pollution compliance obligations in the bill. Emissions from the transportation sector will remain under the carbon pollution cap. The bill only requires the largest sources of pollution to comply with reduction targets: those who produce more than 25,000 tons of carbon pollution annually.

Gas-Electric

Gas-Electric Climate Gas Energy

Final session on international mercury convention this week expected to culminate in agreement; UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2013 finds industrial source Hg emissions may be rising

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2013

Unintentional emission sectors: Coal burning, ferrous- and non-ferrous (Au, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn) metal production, cement production. Apart from contaminated sites, the mercury pollution detected today is often found in locations very far away from its original source. Source: UNEP. Click to enlarge.

Mercury

Mercury Emissions 2013 Global

Study finds coal trains add significant amount of PM2.5 pollution in urban areas

Study finds half of the world’s population exposed to increasing air pollution

Harvard/Nanjing study: China’s war on PM2.5 pollution is causing more severe ozone pollution

China study connects ozone pollution to cardiovascular health

Berkeley Earth study calculates that air pollution contributes to 1.6M deaths per year in China

Pollutant emitted by biomass burning found to cause DNA damage and lung cell death; the role of retene

CSIRO study finds little to no environmental impact from fracing in Queensland

UNICEF: 300M children worldwide breathing air exceeding WHO pollution guidelines by 6x or more

DOE awards $7M to eight oxy-combustion coal technology projects; carbon capture, utilization and storage

UMD-led study finds China’s SO2 emissions down 75% since 2007, India’s up 50%; India may now be the top SO2 emitter

WVU opens new research facility to extract valuable rare earth elements from acid mine drainage

Berkeley Lab releases 8th edition of databook on China’s energy and environment; finding the “missing” energy consumption

Discovery of mechanism for atmospheric particle formation suggests need for ammonia emission regulations

Study from Thuringia shows 50% of harmful soot comes from local sources, 50% from long-distance transport

MIT researchers build model simulating atmospheric transport of PAHs; how chemicals get to the Arctic

Researchers identify new nitrated PAH compounds from combustion that are hundreds of times more mutagenic than parent PAHs

A Child’s IQ Can Be Affected by Mother’s Exposure to PAHs Pollution in Urban Air

Renault makes public its lifecycle study of Fluence ICE vs Fluence EV

Obama Announces Steps to Boost Biofuels, Clean Coal; RFS2, BCAP, BIWG and Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force

EPA report shows progress in reducing urban air toxics across US; 50% reduction from mobile sources since 1990

Worldwatch: Fossil fuel subsidies continue to outweigh those for renewable energy; international pledges on reform unfulfilled

CMU study finds controlled EV charging can reduce generation cost, but at greater health and environmental costs depending upon the generation mix

Obama climate plan calls for new fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles post-2018; cleaner fuels and investment in advanced fossil energy

Study finds rising temperatures increase risk of unhealthy ozone levels absent sharp cuts in precursors

Researchers describe the “where” and “when” of life cycle emissions from gasoline and ethanol in the US

Geely invests in Carbon Recycling Intl.; vehicles fueled by methanol from CO2, water and renewable energy

Study: 87% of world’s population in 2013 lived in areas exceeding WHO PM2.5 guidelines

Fast action on black carbon, ozone and methane could help limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees C

PNNL modeling study finds climate benefit for cutting soot, methane smaller than previous estimates

IEA: improving efficiency of road-freight transport critical to reduce oil-demand growth; three areas of focus

List of The Best 10 Alternative Fuels for Cars that Could Replace Gasoline

Researchers Discover New Chemistry for Ozone Formation; Not Yet Monitored or Incorporated into Atmospheric Models

Study projects thermoelectric power in Europe and US vulnerable to climate change due to lower summer river flows and higher river water temperatures

Study Finds Controlling Soot May Be Fastest Method to Reduce Arctic Ice Loss and Global Warming; Second-Leading Cause of Global Warming After CO2

Separate MIT, IEA reports both outline major expansion in role of natural gas; caution on climate benefits

NASA GISS Study Finds That Methane Has an Elevated Warming Effect Due to Interactions With Aerosols

HEI report identifies potential health consequences from new vehicle fuels and technologies; recommended actions

Black carbon is a much larger cause of climate change than previously assessed; about twice previous estimates, and 2/3 the effect of CO2

House Chairmen Waxman, Markey Release Draft of Energy and Climate Legislation; Among the Many Provisions Are Cap-and-Trade, Harmonization of CAFE and California Vehicle Regulations, and Low Carbon Fuel Standard

The Complex Calculus of Clean Energy and Zero Emissions

DOE to Award Up to $27M in Phase III Small Business Awards; Algae Processing, Fuel Cells, Improved Materials for Motors, Synthetic Fuels Among Areas of Interest

MITEI releases report on Electrification of the Transportation System

Senators Kerry and Lieberman Release Details of Energy and Climate Bill; Incentives for Electric Drive and Natural Gas Vehicles

Final session on international mercury convention this week expected to culminate in agreement; UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2013 finds industrial source Hg emissions may be rising

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