What "Dieselgate" Tells us about City Air
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| Diesel, the city and the Chesapeake Bay |
But behind all that is an even bigger story, one of competing interests between nations in the race to lower CO2, and cities trying to comply with the Clean Air Act. The story of competing principles and different ideas about what it means to have clean air and what the right priorities should be in the wake of air pollution, dwindling resources, and climate change.
The cheating debacle concerning VW's Diesel engine and the attempt to sell it as the greenest combustion engine of all times falls squarely between the battle lines of these competing strategies. It illuminates the fact that clean air isn't as simple as clean or dirty. There are many shades of grey: It turns out what is good to combat climate change (CO2 reduction, for example) isn't the same for conserving fossil fuels (high MPG) and may not even be good for our health, especially health in cities. (Ok, truly clean air is clean, period. I am talking about relatively cleaner or dirtier air and priorities in industrial societies that pollute from many sources).
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| Diesel emissions |
We know that what is really good for climate change can otherwise be pretty bad. Nuclear power is a great example – it can be generated almost entirely without emission of greenhouse gases, and would be a fantastic solution using only relatively abundant resources were it not for the health risks of radiation and the so far unsolved issue of storage or recycling of radioactive nuclear waste.
The Diesel debate has shown us the difference in the strategies between Europe and the US that are at the core of VW’s attempt to beat the US system. Europe has focused more on climate change, the US more on clean air. It now appears that Europe, in its eagerness to reduce greenhouse gases (foremost CO2) has skimped on the health of its citizens in urban conglomerations. Europe's incentives for Diesel (lower taxes in many EU countries than petrol or gasoline) precede serious debate about climate change, but went into overdrive after the main focus of environmental policies in the EU shifted to reductions in consumption of fossil fuels and reductions of CO2 emissions. As a result of policies and incentives, around 50% of all European cars are now Diesels, this on top of trucks, vans, and buses, locomotives, and generators. A fantastic improvement of fuel consumption was the result, but as we now know, also an increase in the emission of nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide, even though Diesel fuel had been refined with lower sulfur than ever and emission standards had been ratcheted down in EU standards over the years as well. What happened?
The VW Diesel scandal brought much more to light than the duping of nearly half a million US Diesel owners , or more than 11 million car owners globally. It brought to light that EU countries for many years not only allowed Diesel to have much higher NOx levels than allowed in the US or for gasoline powered cars, but that the regulatory agencies and governments looked the other way when even those limits were not met in real life.
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| 57 of Chicago's Nitrogen emissions are from mobile sources |
The VW Diesel scandal brought much more to light than the duping of nearly half a million US Diesel owners , or more than 11 million car owners globally. It brought to light that EU countries for many years not only allowed Diesel to have much higher NOx levels than allowed in the US or for gasoline powered cars, but that the regulatory agencies and governments looked the other way when even those limits were not met in real life.
But before we thump our chest too much about our much tougher NOx standards or our EPA that brought VW's cheating to light, let's not forget that VW managed to sell those rigged NOx spewers for a full six years right here in the US and right under the nose of EPA without ever being checked for on-the-road compliance or ever raising any suspicion. The uncovering of the truth came, as we now know, from engineers in the hills of tiny Morgantown, West Virginia. On top of lax oversight, many US cities are also far from attainment of clean air and regularly fail when it comes to compliance with the Clean Air Act.
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| NOx measurements in Germany have gone down very little in spite of more stringent standards |
There is a good reason why we have strict NOx standards: Nitrogen oxides pave the way to smog formation especially in sunny and hot climates. The US has many more cities in hot and sunny climates than Europe. That is why California has become a leader in controlling emissions that aid in smog formation: California's large urban centers all had a terrible problem with smog and non/compliance with the federal Clean Air Act and still do. So does Maryland, which is why it was a good idea of the previous State government to adopt the California emission standards here as well.
EPA's ozone regulations have been a political punching bag for years and environmentalists had even sued the agency for not doing enough to protect Americans from smog related health impacts such as asthma. Just this week EPA lowered the ozone levels by 5ppm to 70ppm, a move decried by health advocates as too timid and by emitting industries as too stringent.
Proof that the relation between Volkswagen's scandal and the clean air of cities hasn't just been contrived for the sake of this article comes from this press release from Harris County Texas, home to the City of of Houston:
These tampered cars were emitting nitrogen oxides, or NOx, every day well in excess of legal limits. Volkswagen’s deceitful acts have damaged the county’s ability to improve air quality, reach clean air attainment status and protect our citizens.”
The results of European countries turning a semi-blind eye towards nitrogen oxide emissions over decades of favoring Diesels manifests itself in dirty city air in German cities. Stuttgart, home of Mercedes (the company with the longest history of making Diesel cars) and Porsche, an auto town deep in its DNA, is the leader of the pack in terms of dirty air with the highest NO2 emissions in Germany as measured at the downtown location of Neckartor. (See graph). Stuttgart also fares badly when it comes to fine particulate pollution, another pollutant coming in large part from Diesel engines.
Unfortunately, in spite of US focus on stringent NOx controls, US cities in many cases still don't comply with the Clean Air Act and are regularly declared to be non compliance areas as already noted. The most polluted cities (Considering Ozone as a proxy to NOx and particulates, the actual correlation is more complicated) are still in California (Los Angeles, Bakerfield). but the Baltimore-Washington metro area is not too far down on the bad list (#9 for ozone in 2013), Baltimore City gets a D for ozone and an F for peak particulate pollution. (link), a fact that makes the State's cancellation of a clean electric rail transit solution in favor of Diesel operated buses even more irresponsible.
Clearly, half a million Volkswagen don't make a dent in the US urban air quality problems. But all Diesel consumers combined, they make a big difference here as well, even though the number of Diesel cars is minuscule. What about vans, large and small trucks, transit and tour buses, emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances, locomotives, vessels, construction equipment and heating plants powered with oil?
All of these emitters are concentrated in cities and urbanized areas and they all add to the air quality and health problems of our metro areas. All these emitters are subject to the same irrefutable laws of physics and chemistry which unfortunately conspire to increase NOx and some other pollutants the more motors are engineered to be efficient. Even gasoline engines produce higher NOx if they have increased compression and higher combustion temperatures. It is almost the same as with regenerated nuclear waste: The amount gets reduced but what is left is even more toxic.
Our cities continue to languish in a state of non-compliance while the bureaucracies create ever new work-arounds to essentially accept the state of affairs without shutting down traffic or powerplants as the Clean Air Act would initially have required. The Volkswagen scandal brought to light that, in spite of a different approach to air pollution on both sides of the Atlantic, the wink-and-nod approach is all too common here and there.
The facts now in plain sight should bring about better oversight of automobile emissions, stricter standards on trucks and heating fuels and be accompanied by something that European cities have done for a long time: public and demonstrative local measuring with read outs for any passing resident and citizen who cares to take a look. Cities not only have really bad air in many places, they also have huge disparities of air quality within their boundaries. Air quality closely tracks poverty contributing to the third world health outcomes prevalent in many disadvantaged communities. And the welcome renaissance of cities, fueled by innovators and creatives, will only continue if air quality is no longer a stepchild of urban policy. Some of those envisioned super-sized VW penalties should be used for urban clean-up. But first VW needs to stop adding the extra pollution.
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| Smog in US cities (non attainment days in 2010) |
Unfortunately, in spite of US focus on stringent NOx controls, US cities in many cases still don't comply with the Clean Air Act and are regularly declared to be non compliance areas as already noted. The most polluted cities (Considering Ozone as a proxy to NOx and particulates, the actual correlation is more complicated) are still in California (Los Angeles, Bakerfield). but the Baltimore-Washington metro area is not too far down on the bad list (#9 for ozone in 2013), Baltimore City gets a D for ozone and an F for peak particulate pollution. (link), a fact that makes the State's cancellation of a clean electric rail transit solution in favor of Diesel operated buses even more irresponsible.
Many cities suffered fewer ozone days (by weighted average) than in the 2014 report, but almost as many of the most polluted cities suffered more days. Steps to reduce ozone continue to pay off in many ozone-burdened metropolitan areas, as exemplified in Los Angeles, still ranked as the most ozone-polluted city in the nation.The better state of Baltimore's air in 2015 (compared to 2013) is most likely the result of two cooler summers since ozone is a product of pollution and sun.
- Los Angeles experienced its best three-year period since this report begandropping more than one-third of its average number of unhealthy air days since the late 1990s. Four other metropolitan areas reported their fewest high ozone days on average in the 2015 report: Visalia (CA); Bakersfield (CA); Sacramento (CA); and Washington, DC- Baltimore.1 (Report)
Clearly, half a million Volkswagen don't make a dent in the US urban air quality problems. But all Diesel consumers combined, they make a big difference here as well, even though the number of Diesel cars is minuscule. What about vans, large and small trucks, transit and tour buses, emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances, locomotives, vessels, construction equipment and heating plants powered with oil?
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| With ultra low sulfur Diesel this has become rarer |
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| Vessels use high sulfur fuel and are huge polluters in port cities |
All of these emitters are concentrated in cities and urbanized areas and they all add to the air quality and health problems of our metro areas. All these emitters are subject to the same irrefutable laws of physics and chemistry which unfortunately conspire to increase NOx and some other pollutants the more motors are engineered to be efficient. Even gasoline engines produce higher NOx if they have increased compression and higher combustion temperatures. It is almost the same as with regenerated nuclear waste: The amount gets reduced but what is left is even more toxic.
Our cities continue to languish in a state of non-compliance while the bureaucracies create ever new work-arounds to essentially accept the state of affairs without shutting down traffic or powerplants as the Clean Air Act would initially have required. The Volkswagen scandal brought to light that, in spite of a different approach to air pollution on both sides of the Atlantic, the wink-and-nod approach is all too common here and there.
The facts now in plain sight should bring about better oversight of automobile emissions, stricter standards on trucks and heating fuels and be accompanied by something that European cities have done for a long time: public and demonstrative local measuring with read outs for any passing resident and citizen who cares to take a look. Cities not only have really bad air in many places, they also have huge disparities of air quality within their boundaries. Air quality closely tracks poverty contributing to the third world health outcomes prevalent in many disadvantaged communities. And the welcome renaissance of cities, fueled by innovators and creatives, will only continue if air quality is no longer a stepchild of urban policy. Some of those envisioned super-sized VW penalties should be used for urban clean-up. But first VW needs to stop adding the extra pollution.
Klaus Philipsen, FAIA
Mayor Hidalgo of Paris: La lutte contre le diesel est un sujet majeur pour Paris. Je le redis : mon objectif est d'éradiquer ce carburant nocif, dans notre ville.
"The fight against the Diesel is a major topic for Paris. I say it again: It is my goal to eradicate this toxic fuel in our city."
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