The Environmental Impacts Of Our Choices
It's A Personal Issue, Not Just Industrial
Your individual efforts can help make large gains in improving the air quality in southeastern Wisconsin. Ozone is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react chemically in sunlight on hot summer days. Industrial sources have made great reductions in their VOC emissions over the years. As individuals, our personal choices now represent a big opportunity for reducing VOC emissions. Locally, automobiles contribute about 25% of all VOC emissions. Sources such as off-road vehicles, pesticides, consumer products, lawn and garden equipment, and motor boats contribute about 30% of VOC emissions.
You Can Be Part of the Pollution Solution
Carpooling drastically cuts vehicle emissions. For example, suppose 100 employees of a company who normally drive 20 miles to work and back (10 miles each way) decide to commute in pairs instead of driving alone. In two weeksÂ’ time, their choice would eliminate 10,000 miles of vehicle travel, preventing the following harmful bi-products from entering the environment:
- 75 pounds of hydrocarbons
- 30 pounds of nitrogen oxides
- 550 pounds of carbon monoxide
- 9,900 pounds of carbon dioxide
- 500 gallons of gasoline (DOT)
Exercise and Health Insurance
Did you know that people who exercise regularly have 14% fewer medical claims to their medical insurance companies than those who do not exercise regularly. Considering 17% of the miles traveled by individual are for trips of 5 miles or less, many trips can be made by bicycle or on foot (EPA).
Biking 5 Miles Can Go a Long Way
On average, biking a four mile round-trip prevents 15 lbs. of air pollutants from contaminating the air. Bike travel already reduces automotive pollution by 1% nationally and saves an estimated 700 million gallons of fuel annually (Bikes Belong).
Buses Are More Efficient than Cars
Many people think of buses as major polluters because of their smoke and odor. This is because most buses use diesel fuel, which emits more particulate matter than gasoline combustion. But comparing the emissions of a typical car (only a driver in it) to a diesel bus (carrying 20 passengers) the bus emits:
- One-tenth the hydrocarbon
- One-tenth the carbon monoxide
- One-third the carbon dioxide
- One-twentieth the nitrogen oxide (DOT)
A transit bus, with as few as seven passengers, uses less fuel per passenger mile than a typical car with only a driver (DOT).
Will You Make a Choice That Will Make A Difference?
Comparing one hour of operation of the cordless electric lawn mower (and the power plant emissions they involve) to the gasoline lawn mower, the gasoline mower emits:
- 8 times more nitrogen oxides
- 3,300 times more hydrocarbons
- 5,000 times more carbon monoxide more than twice the carbon dioxide (McCarthy & Assoc., CLEANER Lawn Care Study)
The Average American Lawn
- As much as 60% of urban fresh water is used to water lawns
- $5.25 million is spent on fertilizers derived from fossil fuel
- 580 million gallons of gas used annually for lawn mowers
- $25 billion spent per year for lawn care in the U.S.
- $700 million spent for pesticides for U.S. lawns
- 7% of southeastern WisconsinÂ’s VOCs are produced by lawn and garden equipment (EPA)
The Pollution Solution That Just Keeps Growing
As trees leaf out in the summer months they can have a very positive impact on air quality. By planting in your yard or in your community, you will be taking steps that will help add up to cleaner air.
The Effects of Fossil Fuels
Six of the seven regulated air pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter (PM), are generated from the combustion of fossil fuels. These pollutants affect the natural environment by contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone, haze and acid rain. Airborne pollutants damage plant life, including crops and forest. Air pollution causes agricultural losses of over $2 billion each year-costs that are eventually passed on to consumers (EPA).