Over the past few months, there has been a growing concern over the worsening of traffic congestion particularly in Manhattan. The speed of traffic in Midtown has declined by 23% since 2010. This traffic gridlock will cost the City over millions of dollars in wasted fuel, wasted time and carbon emissions. This past summer, Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed a millionaire tax to fund infrastructure improvements on the subway. Later in October 2017, he laid out a Five-Point Plan to reduce traffic congestion. Working closely with Con Edison, the Mayor has also set the goal for 20% of all city vehicles to be electric by 2025. In addition to these initiatives, Governor Andrew Cuomo has appointed a panel to study congestion pricing and report back to him by the end of the year.
The moderator and panelists of this discussion session at NYU School of Law on November 7, 2017 sought to identify the impacts and explore plausible solutions to this perpetual problem. The discussion was moderated by Katrina Wyman from NYU School of Law and featured the following panelists: (i) Iyad Kheirbek, Executive Director of the Air Quality Program at NYC Health; (ii) Sam Schwartz, CEO of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants; (iii) Ashwini Chhabra, Policy Director at Uber; and (iv) Elizabeth Stein, an attorney in EDF’s Clean Energy Program.
Mr. Kheirbek from NYC Health initiated the discussion by identifying some of the most common traffic-related pollutants (PM2.5, BC, NOx, etc.) and their adverse health impacts (premature deaths, respiratory hospitalization, etc.). Based on the data collected by NYC Health, the largest contributor of air pollutants are heavy-duty diesel trucks, which account for only 5% of total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) but 50% of the health impacts. Although the air quality in the city has generally improved over the past seven years (PM2.5 and NO2 levels have gone down by 18% and 24% respectively), higher pollution levels continue to plague many neighborhoods. These pollution hotspots include areas of heavy truck traffic in Manhattan, the Bronx, North Brooklyn and Queens, particularly in communities near major roadways. A concerted effort is therefore required to reduce the vehicle emission through
Three quarters of emissions in 2004 were coming from road traffic (Woodcock, p.1930, 2009). Emissions used from transportation are forecasted to increase from the year 2007-2030 by about 80% according to studies done by James Woodcock who is currently studying climate change and health from car fuels (Woodcock, p.1930, 2009). This is due to the fact that the emissions from vehicles are increasing significantly and are higher than any other energy fragment (Woodcock, p.1930, 2009). The only way to lower this percentage is to decrease the number of individual automobiles on the road and increase the number of public transit systems, starting long distance walking to work or school, carpooling or even biking to destinations. These principles would
There are various types of air pollution contributors in California such as fire generated pollutants and vehicle traffic, which add particulate matter and carbon monoxide into the air we breathe. According to an article by Union of Concerned Scientists (Cars, trucks, and air pollution, 2014) particulate matter is made up of fine particles soot and metal that can pose serious threats to human health when deep in the lungs. Other pollutants emitted from vehicles are: nitrogen oxide which lowers the body’s defense system against respiratory infections such as pneumonia, carbon monoxide which blocks oxygen from reaching vital organs, sulfur dioxide which is emitted by both power plants and vehicles affect children and asthmatics, and hazardous air pollutants (toxics) which are chemicals that are linked to cancer, birth defects and other illnesses (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014).
Air Pollution today has lead CDC's fight against environmental -related respiratory illness, including asthma.An estimated number of 6.5 million deaths are attributed each year to poor air quality, making this the world's largest threat to human health.According to the World Energy Outlook and the IEA estimate that death due to household air pollution in Africa may decrease by 110,00 to 2040.However, due to economic growth, urbanization and automobile emissions, outdoor air pollution may rise from 300,00 to 450,000 over the same period. Am going to be looking at the causes of air pollution. the problems emerging with air pollution and also how we as a community can help decrease the amount of death rate associated with air pollution.I remember growing up in Africa Air pollution was always a talk about a subject that always comes out because it is really contagious due to the fact that we are breathing bad air that is caused by our human contribution to the environment.Air pollution is considered to be a public health problem, it is responsible for most of our health problems after some research has been conducted in many different parts of the world and regions. According to the Geochemistry and Health paleopathological research suggests that air pollution is a form of smoke, plagued our oldest ancestors.Air pollution has emerged as one of the leading risk factors for stroke worldwide.
The author begins the article by discussing the death percentage related to air pollution and what causes the elevated levels of air pollution. Huth continues the article by pointing out that different areas have different problems related to air pollution. Finally, Huth draws attention to the fact that different countries have different solutions to the air pollution. Though this piece was written for the entire United States, the fact that air pollution can be deadly to humans is universally applicable. Though Huth is a reporter and not an environmental scientist, Huth does cite reports made by credible institutions. Though this article talks only about how air pollution is deadly and does not expand the idea to talk about other health complications, the fact that air pollution is dangerous to human health does support my claim that a reduction in air pollution will lead to a better quality of
Improved air quality wasn’t a subject of national concern until the mid 1900s. After decades of coal burning, unregulated gas emissions from cars and the excessive burning of fossil fuels, people started noticing bad air quality as a hazard to their lives. Over several decades, after seeing the costly effects air pollution was having on the environment and people’s health, interest groups like the Friends of The Earth club and the influences of Theodore Roosevelt and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring finally came together to persuade the government to enforce legislation that would reduce air pollution. Because of these efforts, the policies of the Clean Air Act of 1963 and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Act of 1965, that aimed to control air pollution and raise air quality standards, helped create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 2, 1970. Since then, the EPA has passed more air quality improvement acts, and amendments to previous acts passed, to increase restrictions on air pollutants, with their main policy concern being the Clean Air Act. Improved air quality acts imposed by the EPA have been successful in cleaning the United States’ air quality by reducing ground-level ozone pollution and reducing emissions, allowing for a decrease in pollution related deaths/illnesses and a better standard of living. The EPA, through regulations and the Clean Air Act, has delivered it’s promise to improve air quality in the United States.
Transportation is an important factor in the United States of America. Many people need to get to a certain point at a certain time, and traffic gets worse day by day. Riding a bicycle would be the best kind of transportation for the Tampa Bay Area because it reduces pollution in the air, it allows people to exercise, and it cost less than a vehicle.
We need you and other members of the government to take More serious action to assist this issue. Forms of public transportation have been put in place to attempt to lower the amount of vehicle pollution, more emphasis needs to be put on them. Past attempts to assist the issue need to be reinvigorated, such as the “carpool lanes”. And, while I may not know enough to give realistic ideas on how to improve the condition, there are others more knowledgeable than me who would know how to improve the
The first legislation for air pollution was the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. Although air pollution was not a new phenomenon this legislation was the first to fund research to investigate the sources of air pollution, and raise public awareness. This legislation followed the 1948 incident in Donora, Pennsylvania of industrial smog that killed 21 people and sickened over 6000 people, and the international incident in London where smog killed over 4000. After research and investigation the Air Pollution Control Act was expanded into the Clean Air Act of 1963 and this Act was amended up until 1990. I believe that political/governmental reactions has been the biggest influence on reducing air pollution. Once the data and research was available the potential health risks were obvious. The CAA identified the largest contributors and imposed limits and subjected them to monitoring. The CAA has reduced emissions, removed lead from gasoline, reduced byproducts of fossil fuel combustion (SO2,NO2), increased fuel economy standards, and reduced the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's). A lot of these help regulate one of the biggest human contributors to air pollution, DRIVING. Big cities all suffer from traffic and congestion so my city (DC) implemented an anti-idiling law where vehicles are not allowed to idle for more than three minutes. My city also offers education and outreach services for air quality issues. The government in my opinion is the
If the public transportation improves, more and more people would take buses instead of driving. Then there would be less CO2 for our environment. Mohammad-Beigi, Nouri and Liaghati (2015) claim that the population in large cities is growing very fast, which means that transportation needs also increase really fast which leads to environmental problems. Therefore, in order to solve the problem, improving public transportation is a good solution. This study shows that driving cars really causes air pollution and it is harm for our environment. Phoenix is the largest city in Arizona, so the population growth in Phoenix will lead to the same problem that the three author mentioned. Improving public transportation will be helpful in decreasing the number of drivers and therefore reducing toxic emission. According to the PR Newswire Europe Improving public transportation in Brasilia (2009) claim public transportation is good because buses are more orderly, and they are safer and have less impact on the environment. It also shows that public transportation can help to reduce air pollution. Phoenix is an urban city like Brasilia, so it has a similar situation. Improving public transportation would be a good solution because it will lead to less driving. Then we will reduce exhaust gas
In addition, diesel exhaust increases cancer risks, and a 2000 California study found that “diesel exhaust is responsible for 70 percent of the cancer risk from air pollution” (vi). In fact, recent studies have linked diesel exhaust with asthma. Major air pollutants from diesel engines at ports that can affect human health include; particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur oxides (SOx). (Harboring Pollution)
This pollution increases health risks by introducing people to harmful toxins released by cars, specifically in the asthmatic population. Hence, one can see the problems associated with traffic congestion and pollution. There are several ways to counteract the problem of traffic congestion and pollution. Firstly, the most practical solution to New York City’s congestion problem is to decrease the number of cars on the road. One plausible way would be to promote and offer alternative methods of transportation such as buses, subways, and taxis. If people used more public transportation there would be fewer cars on the road, less congestion, and less traffic pollution. Another alternative would be to increase toll prices. By increasing tolls on bridges and tunnels, people would be much less inclined to drive to the city and as a result there would be less traffic congestion and pollution. Gridlock is a major cause of traffic problems in Manhattan. If we were to implement more severe fines for blocking intersections, people would not try to “beat the light,” in effect decreasing overall congestion. A third approach to try and resolve this issue would be to change some one-way streets to two-way streets. Doing this would allow easier access to destinations and would eliminate indirect route taking. As a result, overall pollution would decrease. These are some of the methods that would be viable in decreasing
Transportation is the number one thing we consumers do that harms the environment. Transportation causes the highest amount of environmental damage overall - nearly half of the toxic air pollution and more than a quarter of the greenhouse gases traceable to household consumption. Over time, however, sales of trucks, vans and SUV's went from 16% market share to over 50%. One big auto manufacturer even shelved their work of the last three years, spent updating their most popular selling economy car, so they could spend the money getting SUVs to market faster.
Over the post two decades, China has experienced a dramatic increase in auto ownership and use, with the number of privately owned vehicles increasing more than 70 fold in twenty years.In 2010, the number of privately owned vehicles showed a dramatically increased from 0.82 million in 1990 to 59.39 million in 2010.China Statistical Yearbook (2001 cited in Shun Feng, 2011). It caused more and more congested in major China cities. The government should put on the agenda. One issue is the people’s safety when cross the street, another is air pollution of emission.This essay will discuss the problem brought by congestion and supply solution to solve it.
To a great degree the eminent problem is the air pollution we breathe. Who can help amend the air we breathe. In order to improve the quality of the air, people have to be aware of the specific mode of pollution and the effect of it. The traffic-pollution causes affliction and distress to individuals. The reason for this tragedy is due in part by every one of us. High concentration of vehicle exhausts is the main source of air pollution in urban areas. Neighborhoods in proximity to heavy traffic areas can negatively impact a community’s health conditions and outcomes. Those people that are disproportionately exposed to great levels of exhaust fumes are those who have a low socioeconomic and educational status and are part of race/ethnicity
Truck transportation has been the backbone of freight movements in the United States and across the globe for decades. While utilizing trucks is an economical way to move freight for short hauls of less than a 1,000 miles, there are high environmental and infrastructure costs for utilizing this mode of transportation. According to Lowe, road transportation’s use of energy resources rose 103 per cent in the period since 1970 (2005). Additionally, Lowe points out that road transportation’s emission of green house gasses, “increased by 76% between 1971 and 1989” (Lowe, 2005, p. 112). Furthermore, road transportation is the largest polluter in the industry. It utilizes “over 80% of the total energy used in the transport sector and contributes over 75% of its total CO2 output (Lowe, 2005, p. 113). Finally, freight transportation by heavy vehicles causes pavement damage at significantly higher rates than passenger traffic (SSTI, 2011).