TITLE:

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AIR

POLLUTION AND GLOBAL
WARMING

SUBMITTED TO

DR. ZULFIQAR
SUMITTED BY

UZMA TARIQ
ROLL NO. MS 09(E)

INSTITUDE OF ZOOLOGY
Association between air pollution and global
warming

Introduction

The sun, as is widely known, is the basic source of heat on Earth and sunshine duration is the
characteristic of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface that has been most widely utilized
and measured. Sunshine duration measurements have been widely made across the world since
1882. Although a sunshine duration value defines only the time period during which direct solar
radiation reaches the Earth’s surface, it also provides some data on the quantity of total solar
energy. In many climatological studies, the statistical relationships between sunshine duration
and the intensity of solar radiation or its total quantity have been used. Sunshine duration and air
temperature are connected by feedbacks not yet completely understood. One of the most
important coupling mechanisms occurs in the Earth’s surface temperature – atmospheric water
vapor system. If the temperature increases, more water evaporates from the oceans, therefore
increasing the content of atmospheric water vapor – the most powerful greenhouse gas. In this
way, the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, resulting in a further increase in temperature. The
increase in water vapor content can cause an increase in the amount of cloud cover, and also can
generate changes in the quantity and type of cloudiness, which modify the amounts of solar
energy reaching the Earth’s surface. The changes in cloudiness can cause both heating and
cooling of the Earth’s surface. Low clouds, consisting of numerous, relatively closely spaced,
water droplets, strongly reflect solar radiation during the daytime, while at night-time increase
the greenhouse effect. High clouds consisting of diffusely distributed ice crystals, let in sunlight,
and, at the same time, effectively block the escape of the Earth’s infrared radiation into space,
which results in the heating up of the Earth’s surface. Changes that include increasing low cloud
cover and decreasing high cloud cover will induce cooling of the climate. The reverse process
can raise the temperature of the Earth’s surface.

 FOREST DECLINE AND GLOBAL WARMING

Elevated CO2 concentration stimulated tree growth and developments. Enriched CO2
concentration increases photosynthesis, radial growth, leaf area, productivities and physiological
capacities of plant and algae. Therefore, increased temperature effects on individual plants
processes have been extensively studied. However, increased atmospheric temperature during
this century due to the global warming is not always one of the positive factors in plant growth
environments. Sugar maple decline has been observed in northern Pennsylvania since the early
1980s because declining stands often experience repeated drought stresses. Reduced growth of
Alaskan white spruce in the 20th century from temperature- induced drought stress. Single or
combined effects of climatic extremes such as winter frost and summer drought, have been
attributed as one of the causes of oak decline in Central Europe. Winter desiccation and altered
water use efficiency (WUE) on the trees in high elevation are the unfavorable by-products of the
global warming in high located mountain ecosystem. Abies lasiocarpa in Glacial National Park,
winter desiccation resulting in water stress on vegetation shows a strong correlation with
elevation and injury increases with elevation and on more southwesterly facing hillslopes.
Traditional, winter injury has commonly been considered to be the result of desiccation stress
that develops during winter. In these totally different regions, dieback phenomenon has been
shown single trees or groups of trees within stands, parts of stands and whole stands.

 Relation of air pollution and global warming

Air pollution and global warming are two of the greatest threats to human and animal health and
political stability. Energy insecurity and rising prices of conventional energy sources are also
major threats to economic and political stability. Many alternatives to conventional energy
sources have been proposed, but analyses of such options have been limited in breadth and
depth. Indoor plus outdoor air pollution is the sixth-leading cause of death, causing over 2.4
million premature deaths worldwide. Air pollution also increases asthma, respiratory illness,
cardiovascular disease, cancer, hospitalizations, emergency-room visits, work-days lost, and
school-days lost, 2, 3 all of which decrease economic output, divert resources, and weaken the
security of nations. Global warming enhances heat stress, disease, and severity of tropical
storms, ocean acidity, sea levels, and the melting of glaciers, snow pack, and sea ice. further, it
shifts the location of viable agriculture, harms ecosystems and animal habitats, and changes the
timing and magnitude of water supply. It is due to the globally-averaged difference between
warming contributions by greenhouse gases, fossil-fuel plus biofuel soot particles, and the urban
heat island effect, and cooling contributions by no soot aerosol particles. The primary global
warming pollutants are, in order, carbon dioxide gas, fossil-fuel plus biofuel soot particles,
methane gas, 4, 6–10 halocarbons, tropospheric ozone, and nitrous oxide gas.5 About half of
actual global warming to date is being masked by cooling aerosol particles, thus, as such
particles are removed by the clean-up of air pollution, about half of hidden global warming will
be unmasked. This factor alone indicates that addressing global warming quickly is critical.
Stabilizing temperatures while accounting for anticipated future growth, in fact, requires about
an 80% reduction in current emissions of greenhouse gases and soot particles. Because air
pollution and global warming problems are caused primarily by exhaust from solid, liquid, and
gas combustion during energy production and use, such problems can be addressed only with
large-scale changes to the energy sector. Such changes are also needed to secure an undisrupted
energy supply for a growing population, particularly as fossil-fuels become more costly and
harder to find/extract. This review evaluates and ranks 12 combinations of electric power and
fuel sources from among 9 electric power sources, 2 liquid fuel sources, and 3 vehicle
technologies, with respect to their ability to address climate, air pollution, and energy problems
simultaneously, thermal pollution, water chemical pollution, nuclear proliferation, and
undernutrition.

Air pollution

Introduction

 Definition
“Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the
atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause
damage to the climate or to materials.”

Air pollutants
There are many different types of air pollutants, such as
 gases (including ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane,
carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons)
 particulates (both organic and inorganic)
 Biological molecules.

Causes
Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to
other living organisms such as animals and food crops, and may damage the natural environment
(for example, climate change, ozone depletion or habitat degradation) or built environment (for
example, acid rain). Both human activity and natural processes can generate air pollution.
Outdoor air pollution alone causes to 4.21 million deaths annually, making it one of the top
contributors to human death. Overall, air pollution causes the deaths of around 7 million people
worldwide each year, or a global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE) of 2.9 years, and is the
world's largest single environmental health risk. Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality
are listed as two of the world's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute
World's Worst Polluted Places report. The scope of the air pollution crisis is enormous: 90% of
the world's population breathes dirty air to some degree. Although the health consequences are
extensive, the way the problem is handled is often haphazard.

Sources of air pollution

 a) Anthropogenic (human-made) sources
b) Natural sources
c) Emission factors

a) Anthropogenic (human-made) sources

These are mostly related to the burning of fuel.

 Stationary sources include:

o smoke stacks of fossil fuels and biomass power stations (see for example environmental

impact of the coal industry)
o Burning of traditional biomass such as wood, crop waste and dung. (In developing and
poor countries, traditional biomass burning is the major source of air pollutants. It is also
the main source of particulate pollution in many developed areas including the UK &
New South Wales. Its pollutants include PAHs)
o Manufacturing facilities (factories).
o waste incineration (incinerators as well as open and uncontrolled fires of mismanaged
waste, making up about a fourth of municipal solid terrestrial waste) furnaces and other
types of fuel-burning heating devices
 Mobile sources include motor vehicles, trains (particularly diesel locomotives and DMUs),
marine vessels and aircraft.
 Controlled burn practices in agriculture and forest management. Controlled or prescribed
burning is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or
greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and
controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of
some desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest.
 There are also sources from processes other than combustion:

 Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents. These can be

substantial; emissions from these sources were estimated to account for almost half of
pollution from volatile organic compounds in the Los Angeles basin in the 2010s.
 Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is highly flammable and
may form explosive mixtures with air. Methane is also an asphyxiant and may displace
oxygen in an enclosed space. Asphyxia or suffocation may result if the oxygen concentration
is reduced to below 19.5% by displacement.
 Military resources, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry.
 Agricultural emissions contribute substantially to air pollution
o Fertilized farmland may be a major source of nitrogen oxides.
Mean acidifying emissions (air pollution) of different
foods per 100g of protein

Acidifying Emissions (g SO2eq per

Food Types
100g protein)

Beef 343.6

Cheese 165.5

Pork 142.7

Lamb and mutton 139.0

Farmed crustaceans 133.1

Poultry 102.4

Farmed fish 65.9

Eggs 53.7

Groundnuts 22.6

Peas 8.5

Tofu 6.7

b). Natural sources

 Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little vegetation or no vegetation
 Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle
 Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust. Radon is a colorless, odorless,
naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is
considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in
buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement and it is the second most
frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
 Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires. During periods of active wildfires, smoke from
uncontrolled biomass combustion can make up almost 75% of all air pollution by
concentration.
 Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) on warmer days. These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic
pollutants – specifically, NOx, SO2, and anthropogenic organic carbon compounds – to
produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants. Black gum, poplar, oak and willow are
some examples of vegetation that can produce abundant VOCs. The VOC production from
these species result in ozone levels up to eight times higher than the low-impact tree species.
 Volcanic activity, which produces sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates

c). Emission factors

Air pollutant emission factors are reported representative values that attempt to relate the
quantity of a pollutant released to the ambient air with an activity associated with the release of
that pollutant. These factors are usually expressed as the weight of pollutant divided by a unit
weight, volume, distance, or duration of the activity emitting the pollutant (e.g., kilograms of
particulate emitted per tons of coal burned). Such factors facilitate estimation of emissions from
various sources of air pollution. In most cases, these factors are simply averages of all available
data of acceptable quality, and are generally assumed to be representative of long-term averages.
There are 12 compounds in the list of persistent organic pollutants. Dioxins and furans are two of
them and intentionally created by combustion of organics, like open burning of plastics. These
compounds are also endocrine disruptors and can mutate the human genes.

Figure: After rain (left) and a smoggy day (right)

Pollutants
An air pollutant is a material in the air that can have adverse effects on humans and the
ecosystem. The substance can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. A pollutant can be of
natural origin or man-made.
Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary.

a. Primary pollutants
Primary pollutants are usually produced by processes such as ash from a volcanic eruption. Other
examples include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhausts or sulfur dioxide released
from factories.

b. Secondary pollutants
Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary
pollutants react or interact. Ground level ozone is a prominent example of a secondary pollutant.
Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed
from other primary pollutants.

 Pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by human activity include:

 Carbon dioxide (CO2): Because of its role as a greenhouse gas it has been described as
"the leading pollutant “and "the worst climate pollutant”. Carbon dioxide is a natural
component of the atmosphere, essential for plant life and given off by the human respiratory
system. CO2 increase in earth's atmosphere has been accelerating.
 Sulfur oxides (SOx): particularly sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula
SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Coal and petroleum
often contain sulfur compounds, and their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further
oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO 2, forms H2SO4, and
thus acid rain is formed. This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact
of the use of these fuels as power sources.
 Nitrogen oxides (NOx): Nitrogen oxides, particularly nitrogen dioxide, are expelled
from high temperature combustion, and are also produced during thunderstorms by electric
discharge. They can be seen as a brown haze dome above or a plume downwind of cities.
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula NO 2. It is one of several nitrogen
oxides. One of the most prominent air pollutants, this reddish-brown toxic gas has a
characteristic sharp, biting odor.
 Carbon monoxide (CO): CO is a colorless, odorless, toxic gas. It is a product
of combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust contributes to the
majority of carbon monoxide let into the atmosphere. It creates a smog type formation in the
air that has been linked to many lung diseases and disruptions to the natural environment and
animals.
 Volatile organic compounds (VOC): VOCs are a well-known outdoor air pollutant.
They are categorized as either methane (CH4) or non-methane (NMVOCs). It is an extremely
 efficient greenhouse gas which contributes to enhanced  global warming, alternatively
referred to as particulate matter (PM), atmospheric particulate matter, or fine particles, are
tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to combined
particles and gas. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms,
forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the
burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also
generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged worldwide, anthropogenic aerosols –
those made by human activities – currently account for approximately 10% of our
atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as
heart disease, altered lung function and lung cancer. Particulates are related to respiratory
infections and can be particularly harmful to those with conditions like asthma.
 Persistent free radicals: connected to airborne fine particles are linked to
cardiopulmonary disease.
 Toxic metals, such as lead and mercury, especially their compounds.
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): Harmful to the ozone layer; Emitted from products that
are currently banned from use. These are gases which are released from air conditioners,
refrigerators, aerosol sprays, etc. On release into the air, CFCs rise to the stratosphere. Here
they come in contact with other gases and damage the ozone layer. This allows harmful UV
rays to reach the earth's surface. This can lead to skin cancer, eye disease and can even cause
damage to plants.
 Ammonia: Emitted mainly by agricultural waste. Ammonia is a compound with the
formula NH3. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor.
Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving
as a precursor to foodstuffs and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a
building block for the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals. Although in wide use, ammonia is
both caustic and hazardous. In the atmosphere, ammonia reacts with oxides of nitrogen and
sulfur to form secondary particles.
 Odors: Such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes.
 Radioactive pollutants: Produced by nuclear explosions, nuclear events,
war explosives, and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.
 Secondary pollutants include:
 Particulates created from gaseous primary pollutants and compounds in photochemical
smog. Smog is a kind of air pollution. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal
burning in an area, which produces a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog
does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted
on in the atmosphere by ultraviolet light from the sun to form secondary pollutants that also
combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog.
 Ground level ozone (O3): Ozone is formed from NOx and VOCs. It is a key constituent
of the troposphere. It is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere
commonly known as the ozone layer. Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it
drive many of the chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere by day and by night. At
abnormally high concentrations brought about by human activities (largely the combustion
of fossil fuel), it is a pollutant and a constituent of smog.
 Peroxyacetyl nitrate (C2H3NO5): similarly formed from NOx and VOCs.
Minor air pollutants include:
 A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in USA under
the Clean Air Act and in Europe under the Air Framework Directive.
 A variety of persistent organic pollutants, which can attach to particulates
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental
degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Because of this, they have
been observed to persist in the environment, to be capable of long-range transport, bio
accumulate in human and animal tissue, bio magnify in food chains, and to have potentially
significant impacts on human health and the environment.

Effects of air pollution

Health effects
The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing,
coughing, asthma and worsening of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can
result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency department visits, more
hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far
reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system.
Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the
degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics. The most common sources of
air pollution include particulates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Children aged less
than five years who live in developing countries are the most vulnerable population in terms of
total deaths attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution.
Mortality
The World Health Organization estimated in 2014 that every year air pollution causes the
premature death of some 7 million people worldwide. Studies published in March 2019 indicated
that the number may be around 8.8 million. Causes of deaths include strokes, heart disease,
COPD, lung cancer, and lung infections. Urban outdoor air pollution is estimated to cause 1.3
million deaths worldwide per year. Children are particularly at risk due to the immaturity of their
respiratory organ systems. In 2015, outdoor air pollution, mostly by PM2.5, was estimated to
lead to 3.3 (95% CI 1.61–4.81) million premature deaths per year worldwide, predominantly in
Asia.[33] In 2021, the WHO reported that outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause 4.2
million premature deaths worldwide in 2016. A 2020 study indicates that the global mean loss of
life expectancy (LLE) from air pollution in 2015 was 2.9 years, substantially more than, for
example, 0.3 years from all forms of direct violence, albeit a significant fraction of the LLE is
unavoidable. Moreover, communities with the most exceptional aging have low ambient air
pollution, suggesting a link between air pollution levels and longevity.
Contemporary annual deaths
A study by scientists of U.K. and U.S. universities that uses a high spatial resolution model and
an updated concentration-response function concluded in 2021 that 10.4 million global excess
deaths in 2012 and 8.7 million in 2018 were due to air pollution generated by fossil fuel
combustion, significantly higher than earlier estimates and with spatially subdivided mortality
impacts.
According to the WHO air pollution accounts for 1 in 8 deaths worldwide.

Cardiovascular disease
A 2007 review of evidence found that, ambient air pollution exposure is a risk factor correlating
with increased total mortality from cardiovascular events (range: 12% to 14% per 10 µg/m3
increase). Air pollution is also emerging as a risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing
countries where pollutant levels are highest. A 2007 study found that in women, air pollution is
not associated with hemorrhagic but with ischemic stroke. Air pollution was also found to be
associated with increased incidence and mortality from coronary stroke in a cohort study in
2011. Associations are believed to be causal and effects may be mediated by vasoconstriction,
low-grade inflammation and atherosclerosis. Other mechanisms such as autonomic nervous
system imbalance have also been suggested.

Lung disease
Research has demonstrated increased risk of developing asthma and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) from increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Additionally,
air pollution has been associated with increased hospitalization and mortality from asthma and
COPD. COPD includes diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. A study conducted
in 1960–1961 in the wake of the Great Smog of 1952 compared 293 London residents with 477
residents of Gloucester, Peterborough, and Norwich, three towns with low reported death rates
from chronic bronchitis. All subjects were male postal truck drivers aged 40 to 59. Compared to
the subjects from the outlying towns, the London subjects exhibited more severe respiratory
symptoms (including cough, phlegm, and dyspnea), reduced lung function (FEV1 and peak flow
rate), and increased sputum production and purulence. The differences were more pronounced
for subjects aged 50 to 59. The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air
pollution was the most likely cause of the observed differences. More studies have shown that air
pollution exposure from traffic reduces lung function development in children and lung function
may be compromised by air pollution even at low concentrations. It is believed that much like
cystic fibrosis, by living in a more urban environment serious health hazards become more
apparent. Studies have shown that in urban areas people suffer mucus hypersecretion, lower
levels of lung function, and more self-diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Cancer (lung cancer)

Unprotected exposure to PM2.5 air pollution can be equivalent to smoking multiple cigarettes
per day, potentially increasing the risk of cancer, which is mainly the result of environmental
factors. A review of evidence regarding whether ambient air pollution exposure is a risk factor
for cancer in 2007 found solid data to conclude that long-term exposure to PM2.5 (fine
particulates) increases the overall risk of non-accidental mortality by 6% per a 10 microg/m3
increase. Exposure to PM2.5 was also associated with an increased risk of mortality from lung
cancer (range: 15% to 21% per 10 microg/m3 increase) and total cardiovascular mortality (range:
12% to 14% per a 10 microg/m3 increase). The review further noted that living close to busy
traffic appears to be associated with elevated risks of these three outcomes – increase in lung
cancer deaths, cardiovascular deaths, and overall non-accidental deaths. The reviewers also
found suggestive evidence that exposure to PM2.5 is positively associated with mortality from
coronary heart diseases and exposure to SO2 increases mortality from lung cancer, but the data
was insufficient to provide solid conclusions. Another investigation showed that higher activity
level increases deposition fraction of aerosol particles in human lung and recommended avoiding
heavy activities like running in outdoor space at polluted areas. In 2011, a large Danish
epidemiological study found an increased risk of lung cancer for people who lived in areas with
high nitrogen oxide concentrations. In this study, the association was higher for non-smokers
than smokers. An additional Danish study, also in 2011, likewise noted evidence of possible
associations between air pollution and other forms of cancer, including cervical cancer and brain
cancer.

Kidney disease
In 2021, a study of 163,197 Taiwanese residents over the period of 2001–2016 estimated that
every 5 μg/m3 decrease in the ambient concentration of PM2.5 was associated with a 25%
reduced risk of chronic kidney disease development.

Effects on new born and children,

Children
In the United States, despite the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, in 2002 at least 146
million Americans were living in non-attainment areas – regions in which the concentration of
certain air pollutants exceeded federal standards. These dangerous pollutants are known as the
criteria pollutants, and include ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide, and lead. Protective measures to ensure children's health are being taken in cities such
as New Delhi, India, where buses now use compressed natural gas to help eliminate the "pea-
soup" smog. A recent study in Europe has found that exposure to ultrafine particles can increase
blood pressure in children. According to a WHO report in 2018, polluted air leads to the
poisoning of millions of children under the age of 15, resulting in the death of some six hundred
thousand children annually.

Prenatal exposure
Prenatal exposure to polluted air has been linked to a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders in
children. For example, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was associated with
reduced IQ scores and symptoms of anxiety and depression. They can also lead to detrimental
perinatal health outcomes that are often fatal in developing countries. A 2014 study found that
PAHs might play a role in the development of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). Researchers have also begun to find evidence for air pollution as a risk factor for
autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In Los Angeles, children who were living in areas with high
levels of traffic-related air pollution were more likely to be diagnosed with autism between 3–5
years of age. The connection between air pollution and neurodevelopmental disorders in children
is thought to be related to epigenetic dysregulation of the primordial germ cells, embryo, and
fetus during a critical period. Some PAHs are considered endocrine disruptors and are lipid
soluble. When they build up in adipose tissue, they can be transferred across the placenta.

Infants
Ambient levels of air pollution have been associated with preterm birth and low birth weight. A
2014 WHO worldwide survey on maternal and perinatal health found a statistically significant
association between low birth weights (LBW) and increased levels of exposure to PM2.5.
Women in regions with greater than average PM2.5 levels had statistically significant higher
odds of pregnancy resulting in a low-birth weight infant even when adjusted for country-related
variables. The effect is thought to be from stimulating inflammation and increasing oxidative
stress.

Agricultural effects
it was reported that air pollution by black carbon and ground level ozone had reduced crop yields
in the most affected areas by almost half in 2011 when compared to 1980 levels.

Economic effects
Air pollution costs the world economy $5 trillion per year as a result of productivity losses and
degraded quality of life, according to a joint study by the World Bank and the Institute for Health
Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. These productivity losses are
caused by deaths due to diseases caused by air pollution. One out of ten deaths in 2013 was
caused by diseases associated with air pollution and the problem is getting worse. The problem is
even more acute in the developing world. "Children under age 5 in lower-income countries are
more than 60 times as likely to die from exposure to air pollution as children in high-income
countries." The report states that additional economic losses caused by air pollution, including
health costs and the adverse effect on agricultural and other productivity were not calculated in
the report, and thus the actual costs to the world economy are far higher than $5 trillion.

Reduction and regulation

Pollution prevention seeks to prevent pollution such as air pollution and could include
adjustments to industrial and business activities such as designing sustainable manufacturing
processes (and the products' designs) and related legal regulations as well as efforts towards
renewable energy transitions.
Efforts to reduce particulate matter in the air may result in better health.
1. Pollution control
2. Energy transition
3. Alternatives to pollution
4. Control devices

1. Pollution control
Various pollution control technologies and strategies are available to reduce air pollution. At its
most basic level, land-use planning is likely to involve zoning and transport infrastructure
planning. In most developed countries, land-use planning is an important part of social policy,
ensuring that land is used efficiently for the benefit of the wider economy and population, as well
as to protect the environment. Titanium dioxide has been researched for its ability to reduce air
pollution. Ultraviolet light will release free electrons from material, thereby creating free
radicals, which break up VOCs and NOx gases. One form is super hydrophilic. Pollution-eating
nanoparticles placed near a busy road were shown to absorb toxic emission from around 20 cars
each day

2. Energy transition
Because a large share of air pollution is caused by combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil,
the reduction of these fuels can reduce air pollution drastically. Most effective is the switch to
clean power sources such as wind power, solar power, hydro power which do not cause air
pollution. Efforts to reduce pollution from mobile sources includes expanding regulation to new
sources (such as cruise and transport ships, farm equipment, and small gas-powered equipment
such as string trimmers, chainsaws, and snowmobiles), increased fuel efficiency (such as through
the use of hybrid vehicles), conversion to cleaner fuels, and conversion to electric vehicles.

3. Alternatives to pollution
There are now practical alternatives to the principal causes of air pollution:
 Strategic substitution of air pollution sources in transport with lower-emission or, during
lifecycle, emission-free forms of public transport and bicycle use and infrastructure (as
well as with remote work, reductions of work, relocations and localizations)
o Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles are a critical component of a shift to sustainable
transport; however, similar infrastructure and design decisions like electric
vehicles may be associated with similar pollution for production as well as mining
and resource exploitation for large numbers of needed batteries as well as the
energy for their recharging.
  Areas downwind (over 20 miles) of major airports have more than
double total particulate emissions in air than other areas, even when factoring in areas
with frequent ship calls, and heavy freeway and city traffic like Los Angeles. Aviation
biofuel mixed in with jet fuel at a 50/50 ratio can reduce jet derived cruise altitude
particulate emissions by 50–70%, according to a NASA led 2017 study (however, this
should imply ground level benefits to urban air pollution as well).

 Ship propulsion and idling can be switched too much cleaner fuels like natural gas.
(Ideally a renewable source but not practical yet)
 Combustion of fossil fuels for space heating can be replaced by using ground source heat
pumps and seasonal thermal energy storage.

 Electric power generation from burning fossil fuels can be replaced by power
generation from nuclear and renewable. For poor nations, heating and home stoves that
contribute much to regional air pollution can be replaced by a much cleaner fossil fuel
like natural gas, or ideally, renewables.

 Motor vehicles driven by fossil fuels, a key factor in urban air pollution, can be
replaced by electric vehicles. Though lithium supply and cost is a limitation, there are
alternatives. Herding more people into clean public transit such as electric trains can also
help. Nevertheless, even in emission-free electric vehicles, rubber tires produce
significant amounts of air pollution themselves, ranking as 13th worst pollutant in Los
Angeles.

 Reducing travel in vehicles can curb pollution. After Stockholm reduced vehicle
traffic in the central city with a congestion tax, nitrogen dioxide and PM10 pollution
declined.

 Bio digesters can be utilized in poor nations where slash and burn is prevalent, turning
a useless commodity into a source of income. The plants can be gathered and sold to a
central authority that will break it down in a large modern bio digester, producing much
needed energy to use.

 Induced humidity and ventilation both can greatly dampen air pollution in
enclosed spaces, which was found to be relatively high inside subway lines due to
braking and friction and relatively less ironically inside transit buses than lower sitting
passenger automobiles or subways.

Pollution Control devices

The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices in industry and
transportation. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an exhaust stream
before it is emitted into the atmosphere.
 Particulate control
o Mechanical collectors (dust cyclones, multicyclones)
o Electrostatic precipitators: An electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or
electrostatic air cleaner, is a particulate collection device that removes particles
from a flowing gas (such as air), using the force of an induced electrostatic
charge. Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that
minimally impede the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove
fine particulates such as dust and smoke from the air stream.

o Baghouses: Designed to handle heavy dust loads, a dust collector consists of a

blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal
system (distinguished from air cleaners which utilize disposable filters to remove
the dust).

o Particulate scrubbers: A wet scrubber is a form of pollution control

technology. The term describes a variety of devices that use pollutants from a
furnace flue gas or from other gas streams. In a wet scrubber, the polluted gas
stream is brought into contact with the scrubbing liquid, by spraying it with the
liquid, by forcing it through a pool of liquid, or by some other contact method, so
as to remove the pollutants.

Monitoring
Spatiotemporal monitoring of air quality may be necessary for improving air
quality, and thereby the health and safety of the public, and assessing impacts of
interventions. Such monitoring is done to different extents with different
regulatory requirements with discrepant regional coverage by a variety of
organizations and governance entities such as using a variety of technologies for
use of the data and sensing such mobile loT sensors, satellites and monitoring
stations. Some websites attempt to map air pollution levels using available data.

Regulations
In general, there are two types of air quality standards. The first class of standards
(such as the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards and E.U. Air Quality
Directive set maximum atmospheric concentrations for specific pollutants.
Environmental agencies enact regulations which are intended to result in
attainment of these target levels. The second class (such as the North American
air quality index) take the form of a scale with various thresholds, which is used
to communicate to the public the relative risk of outdoor activity. The scale may
or may not distinguish between different pollutants.
 Global warming

Introduction
 Definition
“Global warming is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a
general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the
weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. It is directly linked to the
increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse
effect.”
Global warming is the unusual increase of temperature in the Earth’s surface.
Global warming is when the Sun's energy enters the atmosphere and heats the
Earth by light waves. The energy warms the Earth, and then re-radiates infrared
waves back into space. Some of the infrared radiation going into space is naturally
trapped by the atmosphere, which keeps the temperatures on Earth moderate. The
thin layer of Earth's atmosphere is now being thickened by large amounts of
human-caused greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. The thickening of Earth's
atmosphere traps the infrared radiation, which then warms the temperature of
Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Over the past century the temperature has been
rapidly increasing because of greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels. In
fact, the average temperature of the planet has increased by 0.8º Celsius (33.4°
Fahrenheit) compared to the end of the 19th century. Each of the last three
decades has been warmer than all previous decades since the beginning of the
statistical surveys in 1850.At the pace of current CO2 emissions, scientists expect
an increase of between 1.5° and 5.3°C (34.7° to 41.5°F) in average temperature
by 2100. If no action is taken, it would have harmful consequences to humanity
and the biosphere.

Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect on Earth. Some incoming sunlight is reflected by Earth's atmosphere and
surface, but most is absorbed by the surface, which is warmed. Infrared (IR) radiation is then
emitted from the surface. Some IR radiation escapes to space, but some is absorbed by the
atmosphere's greenhouse gases (especially water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane) and
reradiated in all directions, some to space and some back toward the surface, where it further
warms the surface and the lower atmosphere.
Temperature changes
Earth’s temperatures are created with a natural greenhouse effect from the Sun. About 30 percent
of sunlight is reflected back into space because of clouds and ice. The other 70 percent of
sunlight is absorbed by the land and ocean. Our planet is heated by the solar energy. Without a
greenhouse effect, the Earth’s average temperature would be -18° Celsius (0° F) instead of our
temperature of 15° Celsius (59° F). Today’s atmosphere contains more greenhouse gas
molecules, so more of the infrared energy is absorbed. The extra energy from a warmer
atmosphere radiates back to the surface and increases Earth’s surface temperature. Between 1906
and 2005, the global average surface temperature has rose from 0.6 to 0.9° Celsius (1.1° to 1.6°
F). The rise of carbon dioxide is expected to raise the Earth's temperature another 3° Fahrenheit
to 9° Fahrenheit by the end of the century. Since 2000, 13 of the 15 warmest years have
occurred, 2014 being the warmest year on record and 2015 ranking as just as warm or warmer.
2015 is 1.53° Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, and 0.16° Fahrenheit ahead of 2010.

Causes of temperature changes

Greenhouse’s gases cause temperature changes. Greenhouse gases allow light from the sun to
enter in our atmosphere, and warm up the air due to trapped infrared radiation. 80% of total
greenhouse gas emissions are caused by Carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is released into our
atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), solid waste and trees and wood
products. Deforestation and soil degradation also add carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 60%
of methane gas is caused by humans, in the forms of, landfills, farming, wastewater treatment
and fossil fuel burning. Methane gas is emitted during the production and transport of coal,
natural gas, and oil. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is naturally occurring, but humans have caused a 17%
increase in release in the atmosphere due to fertilizers, crop residues and the burning of forests.
Nitrous oxide is emitted during agriculture and industrial activities, and during combustion of
fossil fuels and solid waste. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), perfluorocarbons (PFC), and
hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) all contain fluorine and are exclusively produced by human activity.
These gases are emitted from industrial processes and commercial and household uses. Water
vapor is a natural greenhouse gas that increases in volume when temperatures warm, which
magnifies the artificial greenhouse gases.

Figure: Northwestern Glacier melt, Alaska in 1940 and 2005; Retrieved from
NASA

Global warming causes

The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. However, the increase in greenhouse gases is
linked to human activities. It is thus no surprise that the world's leading climate scientists believe
that human activities are very likely the main cause of global warming since the mid-twentieth
century, mostly because of:

1. FOSSIL FUELS
The massive use of fossil fuels is obviously the first source of global warming, as burning coal,
oil and gas produces carbon dioxide - the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere - as
well as nitrous oxide.

2. DEFORESTATION
The exploitation of forests has a major role in climate change. Trees help regulate the climate by
absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. When they are cut down, this positive effect is lost and the
carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere.

3. INTENSIVE FARMING
Another cause of global warming is intensive farming, not only with the ever-increasing
livestock, but also with plant protection products and fertilizers. In fact, cattle and sheep produce
large amounts of methane when digesting their food, while fertilizers produce nitrous oxide
emissions.

4. WASTE DISPOSAL
Waste management methods like landfills and incineration emit greenhouse and toxic gases -
including methane - that are released into the atmosphere, soil and waterways, contributing to the
increase of the greenhouse effect.

5. MINING
Modern life is highly dependent on the mining and metallurgical industry. Metals and minerals
are the raw materials used in the construction, transportation and manufacturing of goods. From
extraction to delivery, this market accounts for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

6. OVERCONSUMPTION
Finally, overconsumption also plays a major role in climate change. In fact, it is responsible for
the overexploitation of natural resources and emissions from international freight transport,
which both contribute to global warming.

Global warming effects

Here are some consequences that are documented in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change Special Report on Global Warming:

 On biodiversity
The increase of temperatures and the climate upheavals disturb the ecosystems, modify the
conditions and cycles of plant reproduction. The scarcity of resources and climate change are
changing life habits and migratory cycles of animals. We are already witnessing the
disappearance of many species - including endemic species - or, conversely, the intrusion of
invasive species that threaten crops and other animals. Global warming therefore impacts
biodiversity. It is the balance of biodiversity that is modified and threatened. According to the
IPCC, a 1.5°C (34.7°F) average rise might put 20-30% of species at risk of extinction. If the
planet warms by more than 2°C, most ecosystems will struggle.

 On oceans
Because of global warming, permafrost and ice are melting massively at the poles, increasing the
sea level at a rate never known before. In a century, the increase reached 18 cm (including 6 cm
in the last 20 years). The worst-case scenario is a rise of up to 1m by 2100. The acidification of
the oceans is also of great concern. In fact, the large amount of CO2 captured by the oceans
makes them more acidic, arousing serious questions about the adaptability of seashells or coral
reefs.

 On humans
Human beings are not spared by these upheavals. Climate change is affecting the global
economy. It is already shaking up social, health and geopolitical balances in many parts of the
world. The scarcity of resources like food and energy gives rise to new conflicts. Rising sea
levels and floods are causing population migration. Small island states are in the front line. The
estimated number of climate refugees by 2050 is 250 million people.

 On the weather
For decades now, meteorologists and climatologists around the world have been watching the
effects of global warming on the weather phenomena. And the impact is huge: more droughts
and heatwaves, more precipitations, more natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, storms and
wildfires, frost-free season, etc.

Global warming prevention

Good news - there are ways to reduce global warming. But how to react to climate change? What
solutions to consider?

1. Renewable energies
The first way to prevent climate change is to move away from fossil fuels. What are the
alternatives? Renewable energies like solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.

2. Energy & water efficiency

Producing clean energy is essential, but reducing our consumption of energy and water by using
more efficient devices (e.g. LED light bulbs, innovative shower systems) is less costly and
equally important.

3. Sustainable transportation
Promoting public transportation, carpooling, but also electric and hydrogen mobility, can
definitely help reduce CO2 emissions and thus fight global warming.

4. Sustainable infrastructure
In order to reduce the CO2 emissions from buildings - caused by heating, air conditioning, hot
water or lighting - it is necessary both to build new low energy buildings, and to renovate the
existing constructions.

5. Sustainable agriculture & forest management

Encouraging better use of natural resources, stopping massive deforestation as well as making
agriculture greener and more efficient should also be a priority.

6. Responsible consumption & recycling

Adopting responsible consumption habits is crucial, be it regarding food (particularly meat),
clothing, and cosmetics or cleaning products. Last but not least, recycling is an absolute
necessity for dealing with waste.

Description of technologies

Below different proposed technologies for addressing climate change and air pollution problems
are briefly discussed.

a. Solar photovoltaics (PVs)

Solar photovoltaics (PVs) are arrays of cells containing a material that converts solar radiation
into direct current (DC) electricity. Materials used today include amorphous silicon,
polycrystalline silicon, micro-crystalline silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium
selenide/sulfide. A material is doped to increase the number of positive (p-type) or negative (n-
type) charge carriers. The resulting p- and n-type semiconductors are then joined to form a p–n
junction that allows the generation of electricity when illuminated. PV performance decreases
when the cell temperature exceeds a threshold of 45 ° C.Photovoltaics can be mounted on roofs or
combined into farms. Solar-PV farms today range from 10–60 MW although proposed farms are
on the order of 150 MW. 2b.
b. Concentrated solar power (CSP)
Concentrated Solar Power is a technology by which sunlight is focused (concentrated) by
mirrors or reflective lenses to heat a fluid in a collector at high temperature. The heated fluid
(e.g., pressurized steam, synthetic oil, molten salt) flows from the collector to a heat engine
where a portion of the heat (up to 30%) is converted to electricity. One type of collector is a set
of parabolic-trough (long U-shaped) mirror reflectors that focus light onto a pipe containing oil
that flows to a chamber to heat water for a steam generator that produces electricity. A second
type is a central tower receiver with a field of mirrors surrounding it. The focused light heats
molten nitrate salt that produce steam for a steam generator. By storing heat in a thermal storage
media, such as pressurized steam, concrete, molten sodium nitrate, molten potassium nitrate, or
purified graphite within an insulated reservoir before producing electricity, the parabolic trough
and central tower CSP plants can reduce the effects of solar intermittency by producing
electricity at night. A third type of CSP technology is a parabolic dish-shaped (e.g., satellite dish)
reflector that rotates to track the sun and reflects light onto a receiver, which transfers the energy
to hydrogen in a closed loop. The expansion of hydrogen against a piston or turbine produces
mechanical power used to run a generator or alternator to produce electricity. The power
conversion unit is air cooled, so water cooling is not needed. Thermal storage is not coupled with
parabolic-dish CSP.

c. Wind turbines
Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. Generally, a gearbox turns
the slow-turning turbine rotor into faster-rotating gears, which convert mechanical energy to
electricity in a generator. Some late-technology turbines are gearless. The instantaneous power
produced by a turbine is proportional to the third power of the instantaneous wind speed.
However, because wind speed frequency distributions are Rayleigh in nature, the average power
in the wind over a given period is linearly proportional to the mean wind speed of the Rayleigh
distribution during that period.The efficiency of wind power generation increases with the
turbine height since wind speeds generally increase with increasing height. As such, larger
turbines capture faster winds. Large turbines are generally sited in flat open areas of land, within
mountain passes, on ridges, or offshore. Although less efficient, small turbines (e.g., 1–10 kW)
are convenient for use in homes or city street canyons.

d. Geothermal
Geothermal energy is energy extracted from hot water and steam below the Earth’s surface.
Steam or hot water from the Earth has been used historically to provide heat for buildings,
industrial processes, and domestic water. Hot water and/or steam have also been used to generate
electricity in geothermal power plants. Three major types of geothermal plants are dry steam,
flash steam, and binary. Dry and flash steam plants operate where geothermal reservoir
temperatures are 180–370C or higher. In both cases, two boreholes are drilled – one for steam
alone (in the case of dry steam) or liquid water plus steam (in the case of flash steam) to flow up,
and the second for condensed water to return after it passes through the plant. In the dry steam
plant, the pressure of the steam rising up the first borehole powers a turbine, which drives a
generator to produce electricity. About 70% of the steam recondenses after it passes through a
condenser, and the rest is released to the air. Since CO2, NO, SO2, and H2S in the reservoir
steam do not recondense along with water vapor, these gases are emitted to the air. Theoretically,
they could be captured, but they have not been to date. In a flash steam plant, the liquid water
plus steam from the reservoir enters a flash tank held at low pressure, causing some of the water
to vaporize (‘‘flash’’). The vapor then drives a turbine. About 70% of this vapor is recondensed.
The remainder escapes with CO2 and other gases. The liquid water is injected back to the
ground. A binary system is used when the reservoir temperature is 120–180 C. Water rising up a
borehole is kept in an enclosed pipe and heats a low-boiling-point organic fluid, such as
isobutene or isopentane, through a heat exchanger. The evaporated organic turns a turbine that
powers a generator, producing electricity. Because the water from the reservoir stays in an
enclosed pipe when it passes through the power plant and is reinjected to the reservoir, binary
systems produce virtually no emissions of CO2, NO, SO2, or H2S. About 15% of geothermal
plants today are binary plants.

e. Hydroelectric
Hydroelectric power is currently the world’s largest installed renewable source of electricity,
supplying about 17.4% of total electricity in 2005. Water generates electricity when it drops
gravitationally, driving a turbine and generator. While most hydroelectricity is produced by
water falling from dams, some is produced by water flowing down rivers (run-of-the-river
electricity). Hydroelectricity is ideal for providing peaking power and smoothing intermittent
wind and solar resources. When it is in spinning-reserve mode, it can provide electric power
within 15–30 s. hydroelectric power today is usually used for peaking power. The exception is
when small reservoirs are in danger of overflowing, such as during heavy snowmelt during
spring. In those cases, hydro is used for baseload.

f. Wave Winds
Passing over water create surface waves. The faster the wind speed, the longer the wind is
sustained, the greater the distance the wind travels, and the greater the wave height. The power in
a wave is generally proportional to the density of water, the square of the height of the wave, and
the period of the wave. Wave power devices capture energy from ocean surface waves to
produce electricity. One type of device is a buoy that rises and falls with a wave, creating
mechanical energy that is converted to electricity that is sent through an underwater transmission
line to shore. Another type is a floating surface-following device, whose up-and-down motion
increases the pressure on oil to drive a hydraulic ram to run a hydraulic motor.

g. Tidal Tides
These are characterized by oscillating currents in the ocean caused by the rise and fall of the
ocean surface due to the gravitational attraction among the Earth, Moon, and Sun. A tidal turbine
is similar to a wind turbine in that it consists of a rotor that turns due to its interaction with water
during the ebb and flow of a tide. A generator in a tidal turbine converts kinetic energy to
electrical energy, which is transmitted to shore. The turbine is generally mounted on the sea floor
and may or may not extend to the surface. The rotor, which lies under water, may be fully
exposed to the water or placed within a narrowing duct that directs water toward it. Because of
the high density of seawater, a slow-moving tide can produce significant tidal turbine power;
however, water current speeds need to be at least 4 knots (2.05 m s1 ) for tidal energy to be
economical. In comparison, wind speeds over land need to be about 7 m s1 or faster for wind
energy to be economical. Since tides run about six hours in one direction before switching
directions for six hours, they are fairly predictable, so tidal turbines may potentially be used to
supply baseload energy.

h. Nuclear
Nuclear power plants today generally produce electricity after splitting heavy elements during
fission. The products of the fission collide with water in a reactor, releasing energy, causing the
water to boil, releasing steam whose enhanced partial pressure turns a turbine to generate
electricity. The most common heavy elements split is 235U and 239Pu. When a slow-moving
neutron hits 235U, the neutron is absorbed, forming 236U, which splits, for example, into 92Kr,
141Ba, three free neutrons, and gamma rays. When the fragments and the gamma rays collide
with water in a reactor, they respectively convert kinetic energy and electromagnetic energy to
heat, boiling the water. The element fragments decay further radioactively, emitting beta
particles (high-speed electrons). Uranium is originally stored as small ceramic pellets within
metal fuel rods. After 18–24 months of use as a fuel, the uranium’s useful energy is consumed
and the fuel rod becomes radioactive waste that needs to be stored for up to thousands of years.
With breeder reactors, unused uranium and its product, plutonium, are extracted and reused,
extending the lifetime of a given mass of uranium significantly.

i. Coal–carbon
capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the diversion of CO2 from point
emission sources to underground geological formations (e.g., saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas
fields, unmixable coal seams), the deep ocean, or as carbonate minerals. Geological formations
worldwide may store up to 2000 Gt-CO21. To date, CO2 has been diverted underground
following its separation from mined natural gas in several operations and from gasified coal in
one case. However, no large power plant currently captures CO2. Several options of combining
fossil fuel combustion for electricity generation with CCS technologies have been considered. In
one model, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology would be used to gasify
coal and produce hydrogen. Since hydrogen production from coal gasification is a chemical
rather than combustion process, this method could result in relatively low emissions of classical
air pollutants, but CO2 emissions would still be large18, 19 unless it is piped to a geological
formation. However, this model (with capture) is not currently feasible due to high costs. In a
more standard model considered here, CCS equipment is added to an existing or new coal-fired
power plant. CO2 is then separated from other gases and injected underground after coal
combustion. The remaining gases are emitted to the air. Other CCS methods include injection to
the Deep Ocean and production of carbonate minerals. Ocean storage, however, results in ocean
acidification. The dissolved CO2 in the deep ocean would eventually equilibrate with that in the
surface ocean, increasing the backpressure, expelling CO2 to the air. Producing carbonate
minerals has a long history. Joseph Black, in 1756, named carbon dioxide ‘‘fixed air’’ because it
fixed to quicklime (CaO) to form CaCO3. However, the natural process is slow and requires
massive amounts of quicklime for large-scale CO2 reduction. The process can be hastened by
increasing temperature and pressure, but this requires additional energy.

j. Corn and cellulosic ethanol Biofuels

Are solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels derived from organic matter? Most biofuels are derived from
dead plants or animal excrement. Biofuels, such as wood, grass, and dung, are used directly for
home heating and cooking in developing countries and for electric power generation in others.
Many countries also use biofuels for transportation. The most common transportation biofuels
are various ethanol/gasoline blends and biodiesel. Ethanol is produced in a factory, generally
from corn, sugarcane, wheat, sugar beet, or molasses. Microorganisms and enzyme ferment
sugars or starches in these crops to produce ethanol. Fermentation of cellulose from switch grass,
wood waste, wheat, stalks, corn stalks, or miscanthus, can also produce ethanol, but the process
is more difficult since natural enzyme breakdown of cellulose (e.g., as occurs in the digestive
tracts of cattle) is slow. The faster breakdown of cellulose requires genetic engineering of
enzymes. Here, we consider only corn and cellulosic ethanol and its use for producing E85 (a
blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline).

Available resources
An important requirement for an alternative energy technology is that sufficient resource is
available to power the technology and the resource can be accessed and used with minimal
effort. In the cases of solar-PV, CSP, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectricity, the resources
are the energy available from sunlight, sunlight, winds, tides, waves, and elevated water,
respectively. In the case of nuclear, coal-CCS, corn ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol, it is the
amount of uranium, coal, corn, and cellulosic material, respectively. Table 1 gives estimated
upper limits to the worldwide available energy (e.g., all the energy that can be extracted for
electricity consumption, regardless of cost or location) and the technical potential energy
(e.g., the energy that can feasibly be extracted in the near-term considering cost and location)
for each electric power source considered here. It also shows current installed power, average
capacity factor, and current electricity generated for each source.
a. Solar-PV
Globally, about 1700 TW of solar power are theoretically available over land for PVs, before
removing exclusion zones of competing land use or high latitudes, where solar insolation is
low. The capture of even 1% of this power would supply more than the world’s power needs.
Cumulative installed solar photovoltaic power at the end of 2007 was 8.7 GW, with less than
1 GW in the form of PV power stations and most of the rest on rooftops. The capacity factor
of solar PV ranges from 0.1 to 0.2, depending on location, cloudiness, panel tilt, and
efficiency of the panel. Current-technology PV capacity factors rarely exceed 0.2, regardless
of location worldwide, based on calculations that account for many factors, including solar
cell temperature, conversion losses, and solar insolation.

b. CSP
The total available energy worldwide for CSP is about one-third less than that for solar-PV
since the land area required per installed MW of CSP without storage is about one-third
greater than that of installed PV. With thermal storage, the land area for CSP increases since
more solar collectors are needed to provide energy for storage, but so does total energy
output, resulting in a similar total available energy worldwide for CSP with or without
storage. Most CSP plants installed to date have been in California, but many projects are now
being planned worldwide. The capacity factor of a solar–thermal power plant typically
without storage ranges from 13–25%.

d. Wind
The globally-available wind power over land in locations worldwide with mean wind speeds
exceeding 6.9 m s1 at 80 m is about 72 TW, as determined from data analysis. This resource
is five times the world’s total power production and 20 times the world’s electric power
production. Earlier estimates of world wind resources were not based on a combination of
sounding and surface data for the world or performed at the height of at least 80 m. The wind
power available over the US is about 55 PW yr1, almost twice the current US energy
consumption from all sources and more than 10 times the electricity consumption.23 At the
end of 2007, 94.1 GW of wind power was installed worldwide, producing just over 1% of the
world’s electric power. The countries with the most installed wind capacity were Germany
(22.2 GW), the United States (16.8 GW), and Spain (15.1 GW) Gt-CO2, which compares
with a fossil-fuel emission rate today of respectively.25 Denmark generates about 19% of its
electric power from wind energy. The average capacity factor of wind turbines installed in
the US between 2004–2007 was 33–35%, which compares with 22% for projects installed
before 1998.

e. Geothermal
The Earth has a very large reservoir of geothermal energy below the surface; however, most
of it is too deep to extract. Although 1390 PW yr1 could be reached, the technical potential is
about 0.57–1.21 PW yr1 due to cost limitations.
 f. Hydroelectric
About 5% or more of potential hydroelectric power worldwide has been tapped. The largest
producers of hydroelectricity worldwide are China, Canada, Brazil, US, Russia, and Norway,
respectively. Norway uses hydro for nearly all (98.9%) of its electricity generation. Brazil
and Venezuela use hydro for 83.7% and 73.9%, respectively, of their electricity generation.

g. Wave
Wave potential can be estimated by considering that 2% of the world’s 800 000 km of
coastline exceeds 30 kW m1 in wave power density. Thus, about 480 GW (4.2 PWh yr1) of
power output can ultimately be captured.

h. Tidal
The globally-averaged dissipation of energy over time due to tidal fluctuations may be 3.7
TW. The energy available in tidal fluctuations of the oceans has been estimated as 0.6 EJ.
Since this energy is dissipated in four semi-diurnal tidal periods at the rate of 3.7 TW, the
tidal power available for energy generation without interfering significantly with the tides
may be about 20% of the dissipation rate, or 0.8 TW. A more practical exploitable limit is
0.02 TW.

i. Nuclear power plants

As of April 1, 2008, 439 nuclear power plants were installed in 31 countries (including 104
in the US, 59 in France, 55 in Japan, 31 in the Russian Federation, and 20 in the Republic of
Korea). The US produces more electric power from nuclear energy than any other country
(29.2% of the world total in 2005). France, Japan, and Germany follow. France uses nuclear
power to supply 79% of its electricity. At current nuclear electricity production rates, there
are enough uranium reserves (4.7– 14.8 MT16) to provide nuclear power in current ‘‘once-
through’’ fuel cycle reactors for about 90–300 yr. With breeder reactors, which allow spent
uranium to be reprocessed for additional fuel, the reprocessing also increases the ability of
uranium and plutonium to be weaponized more readily than in once-through reactors.

Conclusion
It is more urgent to address the problem of local air pollution than that of global climate change.
The main reason is that the short-term benefits that may be obtained from air pollution control
are much larger than the long-term benefits obtainable through strategic climate change
measures, while the associated costs are in both of these policy cases much lower than the
achievable benefits (even with very low discount rates, see also our sensitivity analysis). So,
most environmental and human health policy today should be dedicated to local air pollution.
 Forest decline in several regions of the world is an obvious phenomenon. Probably, air
pollution and global warming are the one of the key factors for forest decline due to their
 greatest negative impact toward forest tree, stand and ecosystem. Especially, air pollution
has often been used to explain forest decline. However, forest decline could not be
explained by one specific type of air pollution such as ozone or acid rain, because most of
the forest decline is the result of complex interactions of multiple factors. Many studies
suggested that air pollution is supposed to be linked with forest decline of the world.
 Nine electric power sources (solar-PV, CSP, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave, tidal,
nuclear, and coal with CCS) and two liquid fuel options (corn-E85, cellulosic E85) in
combination with three vehicle technologies (BEVs, HFCVs, and E85 vehicles) with
respect to their effects on global warming-relevant emissions, air pollution mortality, and
several other factors. Twelve combinations of energy source-vehicle type were
considered. Among these, the highest-ranked were wind-BEVs and wind-HFCVs. Tier 2
technologies were CSP-BEVs, geo-BEVs, PV-BEVs, tidal-BEVs, and waveBEVs. Tier 3
technologies were hydro-BEVs, nuclear-BEVs, and CCS-BEVs. Tier 4 technologies were
corn- and cellulosic-E85. In summary, the use of wind, CSP, geothermal, tidal, solar,
wave, and hydroelectric to provide electricity for BEVs and HFCVs result in the most
benefit and least impact among the options considered. Coal-CCS and nuclear provide
less benefit with greater negative impacts. The biofuel options provide no certain benefit
and result in significant negative impacts. Because sufficient clean natural resources (e.g.,
wind, sunlight, hot water, ocean energy, gravitational energy) exists to power all energy
for the world, the results here suggest that the diversion of attention to the less efficient or
non-efficient options represents an opportunity cost those delays solutions to climate and
air pollution health problems. The relative ranking of each electricity-BEV option also
applies to the electricity source when used to provide electricity for general purposes. The
implementation of the recommended electricity options for providing vehicle and
building electricity requires organization. Ideally, good locations of energy resources
would be sited in advance and developed simultaneously with an interconnected
transmission system. This requires cooperation at multiple levels of government.
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