Questions I Had—Pollution

We are lovers of renewable energy, and as such, have questions about things like pollution, waste, and the various ways we can minimize our carbon footprint on this incredible planet of ours.

So we decided to find answers to some of our own questions about pollution, including what exactly is pollution, what are the main contributors to pollution, which vehicles emit the most CO2, what’s the cleanest way to travel, what is smog, and how much impact does smog have on the air? And, of course, we wanted to know what we can do to minimize our negative impact on the planet when it comes to pollution. Here’s what we found.

What is pollution?

Pollution is the harmful result that comes when ozone-damaging materials are introduced into the environment. Harmful materials are known as pollutants, and they have a lasting impact on things like the air we breath, the water we drink, and the land we live on.

Pollutants can be introduced into our atmosphere in two ways: naturally (meaning it comes by way of a naturally occurring event) or artificially (meaning it comes by way of a man-made event). As a society, we have very little control over pollutants that contaminate our planet due to naturally occurring events. These are pollutants like ash, soot, sulfur dioxide, smog, or salt spray (which can pollute the air) from things like volcanos, wildfires, or grass fires.

But we can absolutely control artificial pollutants. These are essentially the same pollutants that result in naturally-occurring events, but that arise because of human intervention of things like vehicles, engines, plants, technology, and other man-made impacts on the air and the environment. We could spend the whole day talking about the various different artificial pollutants, but today we’re going to focus on air pollutants from artificial pollutants, as they are a huge contributor to increased greenhouse gasses.¹

What are the main contributors to air pollution?

Cars. That may seem obvious, but we’d like to quickly hone in on the point so as to raise awareness. If you’re traveling alone, cars emit the most CO2 per mile per passenger. According to the EPA, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This number can vary based on a vehicle’s fuel, fuel economy, and the number of miles driven per year.² If we assume that there are roughly 1 billion passenger vehicles out in the world today, that’s roughly 4.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted into our atmosphere per year. For comparison, an average, single-story home weighs roughly 150 metric tons, so that’s like filling about 30 million homes, which is slightly under the total population of the state of California.³ Yikes.

Outside of cars, planes are the second-worst emitters of CO2 per mile, per passenger. Following planes and cars, it goes buses, then trains. The cool thing is that if you add even just one person to your commute, you cut your emissions per passenger in half (more on that later), so in that case, planes emit the most carbon dioxide.

What’s the cleanest way to travel?

Electric vehicles are the best because they don’t emit any carbon dioxide. Apart from that, and very generally speaking, trains are best because they hold a large number of passengers at once, which automatically cuts down on the number of cars on the road. After that it goes planes, then single-driver automobiles are last. Always keep in mind that the number of passengers drastically changes these results. If you have even one other person in the car with you, planes become the enemy of air pollution, and cars are bumped up in line. That’s because cars emit close to the same amount of carbon dioxide, whether it’s empty or full, but more passengers mean fewer cars on the road and therefore half CO2 per passenger, per car.

What is smog?

Smog sucks. It’s basically pollution in the air that minimizes visual visibility and can impact lung health. The smog we interact with today is pretty bad. It’s called photochemical smog, and it occurs when sunlight responds to nitrogen oxide (stuff that comes from car exhaust, coal power plants, factory emissions, etc.), and another compound called a volatile organic compound (the strong-smelling stuff that comes from car gas, house paints, cleaning solvents, etc.). When the sun’s rays come into contact with these chemicals, they create airborne particles and ground-level ozone—or smog.⁴ Gross.

High up ozone is actually good. That’s the layer that protects us from the sun’s UV radiation, so we don’t all die horribly painful deaths. But, down low ozone (aka smog) is absolutely not great for us. Smog can cause lung damage, exacerbate respiratory problems, and cause your eyes to itch and burn. It can also hurt sinuses and potentially impact the likelihood of you getting the yearly flu (speaking from experience). It’s really bad stuff, and we feel that reducing the amount in the air would really benefit...well...everyone, especially considering the potentially harmful impacts of COVID-19.

What can I do to minimize the amount of pollution in the air?

As it turns out, you can do more than you think.

- Consider electric. Green mobility technology has come a long way in recent years so there are some great options out there for electric cars, electric scooters, and even electric powersports.
- Drive less. Walk, bike, carpool, carpool, carpool, or try using public transportation whenever possible.
- Take care of your car(s). Getting regular tune-ups, changing the oil on schedule, and inflating tires to the proper level can improve gas mileage and reduce emissions.
- Fuel up during the cooler hours of the day. This prevents gas fumes from heating up and producing ozone.
- Avoid products that release high levels of VOCs. For example, use low-VOC paints.
- Avoid gas-powered yard equipment, like lawnmowers. Use electric appliances instead.⁵

endnotes:

¹ “Pollution.” National Geographic. Resource Library. Encyclopedic Entry. Washington, D.C. Published August, 18, 2011. Accessed August 20, 2020.
² “Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. Green Vehicle Guide. Washington, D.C. Updated May 10, 2018. Accessed August 20, 2020.
³ “QuickFacts California.” US Census Bureau. Washington, D.C. Updated May 6, 2020. Accessed August 20, 2020.
⁴ “Smog.” National Geographic. Resource Library. Encyclopedic Entry. Washington, D.C. Published January, 21, 2011. Accessed August 20, 2020.
⁵ “Smog.” National Geographic. Resource Library. Encyclopedic Entry. Washington, D.C. Published January, 21, 2011. Accessed August 20, 2020.