Greenhouse gas Overview
Transportation of goods have always been at the forefront of every civilization, how fast can the product be made and delivered to an area where the demands are high or transportation of people over a vast distance. The development of the automobile allowed society to expand towards the edge of the city, surbanization, and the production of goods are able to reach developing towns and cities faster. While this lead to the success of developing areas, it also creates harsh living conditions for those still living within the cities.
As our cities continue to grow and expand both upward and out, the ability to sustain a healthy climate decreases. Cities being generally warmer, have more rain and clouds, creates a harsh living environment for plant life to flourish. These factors contribute to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants. The normal behavior of temperature in the troposphere is to decrease with height, allowing the concentration of pollutants to escape. As clean air sweeps the Earths surface it collects natural and anthropogenic pollutants, often called primary pollutants, these are often dispersed or diluted by the turbulent air in the troposphere keeping pollutants from reaching dangerous levels.
However, in a thermal inversion, a lower layer of cool air can be trapped beneath a layer of less dense warm air, allowing pollutants to reach a toxic level. Two types of air pollution directed related to the burning of fossil fuels and creating unhealthy living conditions in cities are photochemical, a chemical reaction activated by light, and industrial smog are the leading causes for unhealthy living conditions in urban areas.
As our cities continue to grow and expand both upward and out, the ability to sustain a healthy climate decreases. Cities being generally warmer, have more rain and clouds, creates a harsh living environment for plant life to flourish. These factors contribute to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants. The normal behavior of temperature in the troposphere is to decrease with height, allowing the concentration of pollutants to escape. As clean air sweeps the Earths surface it collects natural and anthropogenic pollutants, often called primary pollutants, these are often dispersed or diluted by the turbulent air in the troposphere keeping pollutants from reaching dangerous levels.
However, in a thermal inversion, a lower layer of cool air can be trapped beneath a layer of less dense warm air, allowing pollutants to reach a toxic level. Two types of air pollution directed related to the burning of fossil fuels and creating unhealthy living conditions in cities are photochemical, a chemical reaction activated by light, and industrial smog are the leading causes for unhealthy living conditions in urban areas.
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| Normal atmospheric state Thermal Inversion |
Urban areas face a growing concern
towards GHG as population continues to grow, contributing to the 80% of harmful
anthropogenic pollutants since 1980. As a whole, conventional vehicle in the
United States can account for approximately 28% of CO2 emissions. As the Federal Government focus more on increasing fuel efficiency and lowering greenhouse emissions, we can move further away from fossil fuel and more towards alternative energy vehicles.
References:
http://phys.org/news/2015-04-vehicle-emissons-aid-urban-sustainability.html
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
http://www.c2es.org/federal/executive/vehicle-standards
UN Data
http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=United%20States%20of%20America#Environment
EPA
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/transportation.html
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