Who has the Right to a Healthy Environment and Who Doesn’t?

Right to a healthy environment?(Dianne Saxe, Envirolaw, Apr. 5, 2013)

Also discussed here : The Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment(David R. Boyd, Environment Science and Policy for Sustainable  Development, Aug. 2012)

The answer to the title of today’s post is in 177countries of the world, but not in United States, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, among 16 “laggards”, according to the report reviewed today. Why not? Those few countries that do not have substantive protection apparently are influenced by a series of concerns including the fear of the court taking precedence over legislators, a fear of a “flood of litigation” or “too vague to be useful”. Makes you wonder, especially if you are a Canadian, especially at a time when full government action is needed (and absent) to take on the challenge of climate change and air pollution.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Atmospheric Energy Imbalances and Climate Change

Energy and Climate – Dr Kevin E Trenberth(Royal Meteorological Society, Feb, 2013)

Also discussed here:
(NCAR, Apr. 14, 2010)

And here:
Surface Energy Budget of Central Canada(194 pages, William Pugsley. Publication in Meteorology #96, Arctic Meteorology Research Group. Dept of Meteorology, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Sep. 1970)
Today we review a topic close to my heart and the subject of my MSc thesis 40 years ago- the flows of energy and radiation in the atmosphere and with the earth’s and ocean surface. Dr Trenberth suggests that the balance that existed between outgoing and incoming radiation has changed recently with an unexplained or missing amount of energy that may be stored or accumulating in the deep ocean. He calls for better global atmospheric-oceanic modeling to account for this and to better anticipate the net impact that carbon fuel use has on atmospheric warming and climate change – which, as we have seen from previous posts, mainly affect people and their health in cities.

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Impact of Long-Term Trend of Climate Change on Stagnation and Air Pollution

Response of air stagnation frequency to anthropogenically enhanced radiative forcing(10 page pdf, Daniel E Horton1, Harshvardhan and Noah S Diffenbaugh, Environ. Res. Lett. , Nov. 27, 2012)

Also discussed here: Greater air stagnation could lead to more deaths(EnvironmentalResearchWeb, Jan. 25, 2013)

Today we look at an application global climate models to estimate what impact changes in the atmospheric circulation would have on stagnation and as consequence, air pollution, around the world. Stagnation of the air near the ground occurs when there is light wind, little rainfall and is often accompanied by a temperature inversion which traps local emissions and allows them to accumulate. Large cities, especially in North America (New York, Atlanta, Mexico City), Europe (Rome) and Asia(New Delhi, Shanghai and Beijing), are expected to have 25% more days of stagnate air by the end of the century. This, along with the increase in the number of hot spells which promotes smog formation, is likely to aggravate the impact of air pollution on health.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

The Global Impact of Air Pollution on Health

A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (37 page pdf, Stephen S Lim, Theo Vos, Abraham D Flaxman, Goodarz Danaei, Kenji Shibuya, Heather Adair-Rohani, Markus Amann, H Ross Anderson, Kathryn G Andrews, Martin Aryee, Charles Atkinson, Loraine J Bacchus, Adil N Bahalim, Kalpana Balakrishnan, John Balmes, Suzanne Barker-Collo, Amanda Baxter, Michelle L Bell, Jed D Blore, Fiona Blyth, Carissa Bonner, Guilherme Borges, Rupert Bourne, Michel Boussinesq, Michael Brauer, Peter Brooks, Nigel G Bruce, Bert Brunekreef, Claire Bryan-Hancock, Chiara Bucello, Rachelle Buchbinder, Fiona Bull, Richard T Burnett, Tim E Byers, Bianca Calabria, Jonathan Carapetis, Emily Carnahan, Zoe Chafe, Fiona Charlson, Honglei Chen, Jian Shen Chen, Andrew Tai-Ann Cheng, Jennifer Christine Child, Aaron Cohen, K Ellicott Colson, Benjamin C Cowie, Sarah Darby, Susan Darling, Adrian Davis, Louisa Degenhardt, Frank Dentener, Don C Des Jarlais, Karen Devries, Mukesh Dherani, Eric L Ding, E Ray Dorsey, Tim Driscoll, Karen Edmond, Suad Eltahir Ali, Rebecca E Engell, Patricia J Erwin, Saman Fahimi, Gail Falder, Farshad Farzadfar, Alize Ferrari, Mariel M Finucane, Seth Flaxman, Francis Gerry R Fowkes, Greg Freedman, Michael K Freeman, Emmanuela Gakidou, Santu Ghosh, Edward Giovannucci, Gerhard Gmel, Kathryn Graham, Rebecca Grainger, Bridget Grant, David Gunnell, Hialy R Gutierrez, Wayne Hall, Hans W Hoek, Anthony Hogan, H Dean Hosgood III, Damian Hoy, Howard Hu, Bryan J Hubbell, Sally J Hutchings, Sydney E Ibeanusi, Gemma L Jacklyn, Rashmi Jasrasaria, Jost B Jonas, Haidong Kan, John A Kanis, Nicholas Kassebaum, Norito Kawakami, Young-Ho Khang, Shahab Khatibzadeh, Jon-Paul Khoo, Cindy Kok, Francine Laden, Ratilal Lalloo, Qing Lan, Tim Lathlean, Janet L Leasher, James Leigh, Yang Li, John Kent Lin, Steven E Lipshultz, Stephanie London, Rafael Lozano, Yuan Lu, Joelle Mak, Reza Malekzadeh, Leslie Mallinger, Wagner Marcenes, Lyn March, Robin Marks, Randall Martin, Paul McGale, John McGrath, Sumi Mehta, George A Mensah, Tony R Merriman, Renata Micha, Catherine Michaud, Vinod Mishra, Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafi ah, Ali A Mokdad, Lidia Morawska, Dariush Mozaff arian, Tasha Murphy, Mohsen Naghavi, Bruce Neal, Paul K Nelson, Joan Miquel Nolla, Rosana Norman, Casey Olives, Saad B Omer, Jessica Orchard, Richard Osborne, Bart Ostro, Andrew Page, Kiran D Pandey, Charles D H Parry, Erin Passmore, Jayadeep Patra, Neil Pearce, Pamela M Pelizzari, Max Petzold, Michael R Phillips, Dan Pope, C Arden Pope III, John Powles, Mayuree Rao, Homie Razavi, Eva A Rehfuess, Jürgen T Rehm, Beate Ritz, Frederick P Rivara, Thomas Roberts, Carolyn Robinson, Jose A Rodriguez-Portales, Isabelle Romieu, Robin Room, Lisa C Rosenfeld, Ananya Roy, Lesley Rushton, Joshua A Salomon, Uchechukwu Sampson, Lidia Sanchez-Riera, Ella Sanman, Amir Sapkota, Soraya Seedat, Peilin Shi, Kevin Shield, Rupak Shivakoti, Gitanjali M Singh, David A Sleet, Emma Smith, Kirk R Smith, Nicolas J C Stapelberg, Kyle Steenland, Heidi Stöckl, Lars Jacob Stovner, Kurt Straif, Lahn Straney, George D Thurston, Jimmy H Tran, Rita Van Dingenen, Aaron van Donkelaar, J Lennert Veerman, Lakshmi Vijayakumar, Robert Weintraub, Myrna M Weissman, Richard A White, Harvey Whiteford, Steven T Wiersma, James D Wilkinson, Hywel C Williams, Warwick Williams, Nicholas Wilson, Anthony D Woolf, Paul Yip, Jan M Zielinski, Alan D Lopez†, Christopher J L Murray†, Majid Ezzati, Lancet, Dec. 2012)

Also discussed here: Beijing is not the only Asian city with lethal air pollution – The Chinese capital is just one of hundreds of cities where poisonous air is the fastest growing cause of death(Guardian, Jan. 17, 2013)

Today we review a massive global assessment of causes of death from a variety of factors or risks and how these have changed in time and by region or location. The impact of the population shifts toward cities and the increase in sheer numbers of cars in those cities highlighted the growth of air pollution and associated health impacts, especially in large Asian cities, such as Beijing. Overall, the number of deaths attributed to air pollution have quadrupled over the last decade from 800,000 (2000) to 3.2 million (2010) and air pollution, for the first time, is listed as one of the top ten killer diseases.

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How Can the World deal with Climate Change and Overpopulation?

Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided?(10 page pdf, Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Jan. 8, 2013)

Today we review a paper written by ecologist Paul Ehrlich on his election to the Royal Society in 2012. He assesses the prospects for survival of human civilization as we know it, faced with overpopulation, increasing consumption of natural resources and a growing set of interacting and serious challenges that slowly but persistently threaten to overwhelm society’s ability to cope. One apt observation about this state of affairs is the difficulty in dealing with slow, almost imperceptible, changes, given that the magnitude of the responses needed become greater with time- something that many short term political thinkers have difficulty with.

This leads to the suggestion for “foresight intelligence”- an approach that looks at the various scenarios possible or likely and where these lead so that the re4sults of various policies can be evaluated in advance. It strikes this reviewer that thinking about change is needed from the bottom-up rather than leaving it all to action and policy at the global level because it is in urban centres where most people live and where the impacts of inaction are so often first felt and where a change in energy use and consumption can probably best be achieved.

English: Climate zones of the world (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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The Price of Carbon and the Cost of Inaction

Probabilistic cost estimates for climate change mitigation(Abstract, Joeri Rogelj, David L. McCollum, Andy Reisinger, Malte Meinshausen & Keywan Riahi, Nature, Jan. 2, 2013)

Also discussed here: Carbon price of $30 needed to avoid 2°C climate target(Ed King, RTCC, Jan. 3, 2013)

Today we review a report from the highly respected International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) that looks at the relationship between the price put on carbon consumption and the resulting global temperature increase that follows because of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. An analysis of the climate impacts and instability that result from more than 2 degrees C warming, starting with”extreme heat waves with severe societal impacts” and leading to “global mass extinctions” indicates the need to have a carbon price that would limit warming to that amount. However, continued inaction by political leaders for another decade, the factor seen to be the dominant one, to increase the carbon price from $10/ton leaves the chances of staying below 2 deg C as next to impossible. Even $30/ton has only a 60% chance of success. The role of cities, especially large ones, in reducing carbon emissions is clear as is the link between carbon pricing and road pricing to reduce emissions from transportation.

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Looking at the Future of Energy Using Scenarios

Shell energy scenarios to 2050(52 page pdf, Shell International, 2008)

Also discussed here: Shell Scenarios: Keeping an Eye on the Future(Rigzone, Dec. 13, 2012)

And here: Don’t kill the shale-gas boom(Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post. Dec. 23, 2012)

Shell’s scenarios over the last 40 years have produced insightful analyses of possible options that have led to a number of wise decisions in both the political and economic areas. Today we review their look at energy scenarios where the future is determined either by short range reactive thinking by governments “Scramble” (which seems to be the order of the day) or by a more disciplined long term planning approach “Blueprint”. The projections from each scenario out to 2050 produce widely different results as might be expected with implications for climate change and the economy, as well as the need to keep a special eye out for the major triggers or uncertainties among which are the future of shale gas (a Scramble approach) and the future of a carbon tax which also takes the form of road pricing (a Blueprint approach). The last of the noted links above show the political-natural gas aspect.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Can We Mitigate Climate Change in Short-Term without Nuclear Energy?

Is nuclear power necessary for solving climate change?(Guardian, Dec. 21, 2012)

Also discussed here: Costs of low-carbon generation technologies(161 page pdf, Committee on Climate Change, May 2012)

And here: Global Energy Assessment – Toward a Sustainable Future(118 page pdf, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 2012)

And here: Kyoto Protocol(Wikipedia)

Today we review a call to look at the best options to replace carbon fuels with a non-carbon energy source in time to have any realistic effect in terms of stabilizing what many see as run-away climate change. This topic has been discussed at the highest levels in recent years, notably at the 18 conferences of the parties (COPs) held since 1997 as part of the Kyoto Protocol under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Despite this, global energy consumption continues to increase at 2% per year along with the carbon emissions that destabilize the atmosphere which has already led to more frequent extreme climatic events. Can we afford to scale back on nuclear? Will the yet unproven Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) prove to be viable? Will solar and wind energy ever be economical? Answers are needed.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Climate Change, Life Expectancy and Human Development for the Next Century

Exploring future impacts of environmental constraints on human development(37 page pdf, Barry B. Hughes, Mohammod T. Irfan, Jonathan D. Moyer, Dale S. Rothman and José R. Solórzano, Sustainability, May 10, 2012)

Today we review a look at the long term impact of climate change on human development for the next century where the policy choices made to deal with climate change on the one hand (example carbon taxes applied globally) are combined in a model with varying degrees of possible environmental scenarios. Not surprisingly, the results do not produce a future or futures with a lot of hope and the road to global disaster “has a low probability”. The impacts on the economy, well-being and the environment,  particularly for developing countries could be very useful in preparing the world for what lies ahead.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Global Trends for Cities

Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds(160 page pdf, National Intelligence Council Annual Report, 2012)

Also discussed here: National Intelligence Council Releases ‘Global Trends 2030’: Prominent Roles Predicted for Demographic and the Environmental Trends(Schuyler Null & Kate Diamond, New Security Beat, December 11, 2012)

We review today a look at recent trends and the next 20 years for the world and in particular at what this means for urban centres. Some the key trends are the shift in middle class consumption and manufacturing from North America to the developing world, especially to mega-cities in China and India, the improvements coming from technology that range from smart city infrastructure to self driving cars. Much more is said about diplomacy, military power and security but for this review we concentrated on the urban aspects.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Satellite Monitoring of Air Pollution in the World’s MegaCities

AOD trends over megacities based on space monitoring using MODIS and MISR(11 page pdf, Pinhas Alpert, Olga Shvainshtein, and Pavel Kishcha, American Journal of Climate Change, Nov. 2012)

Also discussed here: Tracking Pollution from Outer Space: Team Uses NASA Satellites to Measure Pollution Hovering Over World’s Megacities(ScienceDaily, Nov. 27, 2012)

Today we review research that used three different satellite sensors to estimate atmospheric optical depth for 189 large cities world-wide over an eight year period. One big advantage of this method is that it gets away from the sometimes non standard or inconsistent pollution monitors on the earth’s surface. Another is that trends in air quality in various cities can be measured and compared using the saem equipment. While cities in Southeast Asia and Northeast USA show an improvement, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Northern China show deteriorating air quality. This approach looks very promising for future monitoring on a global basis.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

How Well Do Countries Follow Ambient Air Pollution Standards?

Global review of national ambient air quality standards for PM10 and SO2 (24 h)(7 page pdf, Candace Vahlsing & Kirk R. Smith, Air Qual Atmos Health, Jan. 2011)

Today we review an assessment of national air quality standards for PM10 and SO2 for over 80% of the population of the world compared to guidelines issued by the United Nations through the World Health Organization. Results indicate that average national standards in place exceed those of the WHO. Also, the degree of national compliance is inversely proportional to energy use and directly proportional to observed national PM levels i.e. standards are less applied in high energy use countries and more applied where the pollution is poorer. An interesting observation when it comes to health impacts fro air pollution is that countries tend to restrict their use of these studies tot hose conducted within their country rather than extrapolate findings from other countries.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Where are the Worst Hazardous Waste Sites in the World?

The World’s Worst Pollution Problems: Assessing Health Risks at Hazardous Waste Sites(52 page pdf, Blacksmith Institute, Oct. 23, 2012)

Also discussed here: Pollution as harmful as malaria, TB in developing world – study(Jonathan Allen, AlertNet, Oct. 23, 2012)

Today we review a report that assesses the state of toxic waste sites around the world and how much waste from ten industries affect human health and mortality- excluding the contributions from urban emissions from traffic and poor sanitation but including the impact of landfills and such items as electronic waste. The results, in terms of years of healthy life lost, indicate that these sources of pollution have a similar impact (17M) as malaria (14M), tuberculosis(25M) or HIV (29M) in the 49 countries examined.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Cities to Avoid for Traffic Congestion

Top 10 Worst Cities for Driving (Jason Siu, AutoGuide, Jun. 29, 2012)

What is surprising is that only one city- Toronto, Ontario- made it to the top of the world’s worst cities for drivers.  Looking at the narratives, what is also striking is the lack of pricing in the cities listed- which large cities such as London England and Stockholm Sweden have tackled with both congestion fees and improved transit. Although misery for drivers is not necessarily an indication of pollution free cities, it is a sign of too much traffic for the road capacity- and that usually means a lot of unnecessary idling and emissions which often put these cities on the most air polluted list as well.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Monitoring Pollution below the Clouds from Space

Improving aerosol distributions below clouds by assimilating satellite-retrieved cloud droplet number (Abstract, Pablo E. Saide, Gregory R. Carmichael, Scott N. Spak, Patrick Minnis, and J. Kirk Ayers, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), Jul. 9, 2012)

Also discussed here: Researchers Develop Technique to Help Pollution Forecasters See Past Clouds (ScienceDaily, Jul. 10, 2012)

Today we review research aimed at deducing how much particulate pollution exists below clouds, as observed by satellites which normally have their air quality sensors blocked by the opaqueness of the clouds. The technique is based on comparing the number of droplets observed in a region which does not have particulates with one that does and then accounting for the difference. If applied and found successful, this would overcome one of the main difficulties in monitoring particulates near the ground from space.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

2012 Global Ranking of Countries by Environmental Performance

The 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) (99 page pdf, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University, Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University, 2012)

Also discussed here: New Rankings on Environmental Performance (The Dirt, ASLA, Jun. 5, 2012)

The Environmental Performance Index assesses the relative progress of 132 countries with 22 performance indicators. The 2012 ranking showed Switzerland, Latvia and Norway at the top, Canada in 37^th position and the USA, 49^th. Rising greenhouse gas emissions are a particular challenge for developed countries while safe drinking water is the biggest one for developing countries. Major data gaps exist for monitoring air pollution and greenhouse gas with the notable exception of the European Union(which had 20 of the top ranked 22 countries overall).

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

The Challenge of the Future for the Cities of the World

Planet Under Pressure – A major international conference focusing on solutions to the global sustainability challenge  (Mar. 26-29, 2012, London, UK)

Also discussed here: Sustainable Cities: Meeting the Challenge of Rapid Urbanization the Focus of “Planet Under Pressure 2012″ (Andrew Burger, Triple Pundit,  Mar. 28, 2012)

And here: Planet under pressure / Navigating the Anthropocene (Susan MacMillan , ILRI news, Mar. 29, 2012)

And here: Human activities and global environmental change (28 slide PowerPoint show, Diana Liverman, 2012)

The focus today is on a major conference held in London at the end of March 2012 where the topic was the impact humanity is increasingly having on the world’s environment, a process now referred to, in geological terms, as “the Anthropocene”. Urbanization world-wide is expected to grow over the next 20 years to an area greater than Germany, Spain and France combined. How prepared is society for these changes?

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Happy New Year!

Image via Wikipedia

Taking a week off to recharge the batteries.

New posts will begin again on January 3, 2012

Best wishes to all for a healthy and happy New Year!

To see Links about this post, click HERE

Global Overview of Health Impacts from Particulate Matter

Premature Mortality and Particulate Matter: A Critical Challenge in Urban Management – A Global Perspective on Effects, Placed in an Asian Context (57 page pdf slides, Bob O’Keefe, Sixth Regional EST Forum in Asia, New Delhi, India, Nov. 9, 2011)

Today, we review the keynote address to The Sixth Regional EST Forum in Asia,sponsored by the World Health Organization  with the Theme: Sustainable Mobility. The author provided highlights of recent  research into the health impact associated with air pollution, pointing out the risks of proximity (within 300-500 m) of most urban populations to traffic.

To see key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

 

Health Benefits from Mitigating Climate Change in Transportation

Health co-benefits of climate change mitigation – Transport sector (156 page pdf, Jamie Hosking, Pierpaolo Mudu, Carlos Dora, Health Impact Assessment, World health Organization, Dec., 2011)
Today the focus is on a report issued by the World Health Organization in connection with the Climate Change  Conference held at Durban, South Africa. The report examines the positive impacts on health by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and the advantages and disadvantages of certain strategies such as the results of congestion pricing (positive) or the shift to diesel fuel (negative).

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

 

Cities of World Ranked by Exposure to Particulates

Database: outdoor air pollution in cities (World Health Organization – Public Health and Environment)

The focus today is on a list of cities in the world with the most and least pollution. Not surprisingly, those with the least pollution are small cities located some distance from industry in western Canada and USA and in southeast Australia, while the most polluted are in developing industrialized countries in Asia and Central America. The measure used for this comparison is particulate matter which comes from a number of sources in industry and from (diesel) vehicle emissions. IMHO, a better measure in cities afflicted with traffic air pollution might be nitrogen and carbon oxides (NO2 and CO2).

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Investing in Toll Roads Internationally

Image via Wikipedia

For Whom the Road Tolls: Reviewing Listed Toll Roads, Bridges and Tunnels (Seeking Alpha, May 3, 2011)

Today’s review article contains an investment analysis of 23 toll roads in 8 countries which differ significantly both in national financial policies and in the amounts invested and the returns and dividends. While Italy has the largest market capitalization for one toll road (Atlantia SPA), China’s roads offer the most attractive prospects with equity ratios as high as 70%.

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Reaching Climate Stabilization by Reducing Non-CO2 emissions

Non-CO2 greenhouse gases and climate change (Abstract, S. A. Montzka, E. J. Dlugokencky & J. H. Butler, Nature 476, 43–50, Aug.4, 2011)

Stabilizing climate change  requires reducing emissions from carbon fuels alone by almost 100%.  It is clear that even if the world found a way of doing this that it would not be achieved in a century or more- far too long to avoid the impacts from a changing atmosphere. The article reviewed today examines the non carbon gas emissions which have much shorter lifetimes in the atmosphere , contribute significantly to climate change and therefore represent an opportunity to reach stabilization more quickly than through  CO2 emission reductions alone.

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What Determines Parking Rates Globally

Parking Rates Broadly Up – Worldwide (4 page pdf, Ross J. Moore Chief Economist | USA, Colliers, CBD Parking Rates, 2011)

The focus of today’s review is an update on a comparison of central business district (CBD) parking rates around the world. While one expects them to correlate well with real estate prices, one finds considerable differences, not only within a city but between cities. Parking rates are known to also impact on the degree of traffic congestion with higher rates favouring less congestion as a rule along with reduced vehicle emissions in downtown urban areas.

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Can Simulation Modelling Steer Us toward Sustainability?

Cover via Amazon

Virtual Sustainability (16 page pdf, Sims Bainbridge, W. Sustainability 2010, 2, 3195-3210, Sep. 30,2010)

Models simulating  the ways that people interact with the natural world and themselves have long been used to create scenarios that allow environmental and economic policies to be tested. The World 2 model was developed Jay W. Forrester in 1970, using system dynamics techniques to examine global energy and consumption trends, and led to the “Limits to Growth” book from the Club of Rome. The article reviewed today takes that concept further by examining social interactions in an online multi-player environment to test such propositions as telecommuting.

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Mapping Environmental Security

2010 Environmental Performance Index (Environmental Performance Index, Yale University)

Today’s focus is on a global mapping project begun at Yale 5 years ago to display 25 indicators of health and the environment for all the reporting countries of the world- the map below shows the relative CO2 emissions. Maps such as these can be very useful when developing national and international agreements and policies concerning future emissions or to achieve specific quality of life goals.

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The Global Impacts of Vehicle Emissions on Climate Change

Climate, health, agricultural and economic impacts of tighter vehicle-emission standards (8 page pdf, Drew Shindell, Greg Faluvegi, Michael Walsh, Susan C. Anenberg, Rita Van Dingenen, Nicholas Z. Muller, Jeff Austin, Dorothy Koch and George Milly, Nature Climate Change, Mar. 29, 2011)

 

Today’s review article looks at the link between vehicle emission and climate change and how that affects human health, agriculture and the economy around the world. What is most striking perhaps is the shift of the largest emissions from North America to India and China on the one hand and the overall increase in each of the major pollutants over the next 40 years- with consequences in terms of premature deaths and agricultural crop losses. The other interesting aspect is a comparison of more stringent vehicle emission restrictions in Europe to weaker ones elsewhere- and the impact of this difference in terms of climate change and impacts.

To see Key Quotes and Links to relevant reports about this post, go to the new internet platform for Pollution Free Cities by clicking HERE

A New Look at the Ecological Footprint

Development of Ecological Footprint to an Essential Economic and Political Tool (17 page pdf, Hans P. Aubauer, Sustainability, Apr. 12, 2011)

 

The concept of a single measure of sustainability, the basis for the Ecological Footprint, is analyzed in the article reviewed today.  The various deficiencies are addressed by combining the EF with three other indices with good results for planning the future.

To see Key Quotes and Links to relevant reports, visit the new internet platform for Pollution Free Cities by clicking  HERE

Global City Indicators

The Current Status of City Indicators – Discussion Paper (72 page pdf, World Bank, Dec. 8, 2006)

 

 

The World Bank discussion paper reviewed today describes the development of an indicator data base in 2008 for cities of the world which can be used to monitor progress on such as the Millennium Goals. The data base behind this program is contained at the Global City Indicators Program at the University of Toronto in Canada. The need for this is underscored by the lessons learned along the way- that “Cities are interested in learning from other cities”, “Ranking systems provide only limited and short-term value” and “A global program with standard indicators could help take the politics out of indicator selection”.

To read more of this post on Pollution Free Cities’ new internet platform, click  HERE

Slums and Urban Sprawl

Image via Wikipedia

State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011 – Bridging the Urban Divide (224 page pdf, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2010)

Also discussed here: Cities at Their Best and Worst (The Pump Handle- a water cooler for the public health crowd, Dec. 6, 2010)

Key Quotes:

“Over the past 10 years, the proportion of the urban population living in slums in the developing world has declined from 39 per cent in the year 2000 to an estimated 32 per cent in 2010. And yet the urban divide endures, because in absolute terms the numbers of slum dwellers have actually grown considerably, and will continue to rise in the near future”

“The poor are typically driven to the least developed areas of a city, often places that are poorly integrated to the urban fabric, where dilapidated environments lead to worse health outcomes and greater risks of premature deaths than in improved and well-maintained urban areas”

“one in three urban dwellers lived in slum conditions. Many slums are located on the outskirts of cities.. The population of slum dwellers around the world continues to grow at around 10 percent every year, intensifying the problem worldwide”

“Suburbanization and urban sprawl are happening in different places throughout the world, spreading low-density urban patterns and negative environmental, economic and social externalities.. features typically associated with sprawl include overdependence on motorized transport coupled with a lack of alternatives, a relative uniformity of housing options, and pedestrian-unfriendly spaces”

“Suburbanization in developing countries comes mainly as an escape from poor governance, lack of planning and poor access to amenities. Rich and poor escape to find refuge outside the city, which generates further partitioning of the physical and social space”

“child mortality rates remain highly associated with diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and acute respiratory infections related to overcrowding and air pollution; these in turn result from various environmental health hazards such as lack of sanitation and hygiene, lack of access to safe water, poor housing conditions, poor management of solid wastes, and many other hazardous conditions“

“Urban corridors, in contrast, present a type of spatial organization with specific economic and transportation objectives. In urban corridors, a number of city centres of various sizes are connected along transportation routes in linear development axes that are often linked to a number of megacities, encompassing their hinterlands”

“Indoor air pollution is a “quiet” and overlooked killer, and lack of global awareness is one of the primary obstacles to the widespread implementation of existing, proven responses.. indoor air pollution is responsible for some three million deaths every year. Women who cook in enclosed quarters using biomass fuels and coal are at risk of chronic bronchitis and acute respiratory infections, as are their children, who are often exposed to significant indoor air pollution alongside their mothers on a daily basis.”

Related articles

• Health and Urban Poverty (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• Urban migration drives surge in world’s slum dwellers (cnn.com)
• A Compendium on Health of Urban Poor in South East Asia (urbanhealthupdates.wordpress.com)
• Frost & Sullivan forecasts aggressive Megacities growth; need for right mobility solutions and Mobility Integrators (greencarcongress.com)
• Risk of Dying from Heat Waves in US Cities (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• Urban Challenges in the 21st Century (scienceblogs.com)
• In a sprawling urban environment, how does the use of underground sewers and water diversion pipes affect the trees and natural landscape above ground? (greenanswers.com)

Health Benefits of GHG Emission Reductions-C, O3, SO2

Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: health implications of short-lived greenhouse pollutants (The Lancet, 25 Nov 2009, 13 pages pdf)

Key Quotes:

“health effects of three short-lived greenhouse pollutants—black carbon, ozone, and sulphates”

“Meta-analyses of time-series studies of short-term exposure suggest larger mortality effects per unit mass of sulphate than of black smoke,”

“Our analysis of a 66-city, 18-year nationwide US cohort provides estimates of the mortality effects of long-term exposure to elemental carbon, the best available measure of black carbon. This analysis shows stronger effects for elemental carbon than for undifferentiated fine particles (PM2·5)

“Conversely, carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, and nitrous oxide and halocarbons, the other long-lived greenhouse gases, have little direct effect on health.”

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Lightning NOx Production in Thunderstorms

“Of all the sources of tropospheric NOx the one with the greatest uncertainty is that due to lightning”, a quote noted almost a decade ago in this paper: A cloud-scale model study of lightning-generated NOx in an individual thunderstorm during STERAO-A (16 page pdf).

New research this year, based on satellite (OMI) and actual measured data, reduced this uncertainty somewhat and points to reasons why NOx measurements are lower than expected in areas with thunderstorms and lightning, as well as being a positive feedback for climate change – impacts that are being incorporated into air quality models because they may affect local compliance to air quality standards.

Lightning\’s \’NOx-Ious\’ Impact On Pollution, Climate (Science Daily)

Key Quotes:

“In 1827, the German chemist Justin von Liebig first observed that lightning produced NOx — scientific shorthand for a gaseous mixture of nitrogen and oxygen that includes nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)”

“When the researchers multiplied the number of lightning strokes worldwide by 7 kilograms, they found that the total amount of NOx produced by lightning per year is 8.6 terragrams, or 8.6 million metric tons”

“since most lightning is intracloud, this suggests a great deal more NOx is produced and remains higher in the atmosphere. Compounding this effect, the research also shows that strong updrafts within thunderstorms help transfer lower level NOx to higher altitudes in the atmosphere.”

“lightning could produce a feedback cycle that accelerates global warming. “If a warming globe creates more thunderstorms,” Pickering noted, “that could lead to more NOx production, which leads to more ozone, more radiative forcing, and more warming,” “

“”Lightning is one of the smaller factors for surface ozone levels, but in some cases a surge of ozone formed from lightning NOx could be enough to put a community out of compliance with EPA air quality standards during certain times of the year,”

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Global Sources of Local Pollution

Global Sources of Local Pollution (4 page pdf)

Summary:

“Recent advances in air pollution monitoring and modeling provide ample evidence that many important air pollutants, including ozone, particulate matter, mercury, and persistent organic pollutants, can be transported long distances from where they were emitted, affecting the environment on international and intercontinental scales.

Characterizing the magnitude and impacts of transported pollution remains diffi cult, but some of these impacts could be considered ‘significant’ from a regulatory and public health perspective.

The report recommends that the United States, working with the international research community, develop an integrated observation and modeling system to determine the sources of pollution, enhance our ability to quantify its impacts, and design effective response strategies.”

This important report from the US National Academy of Sciences examines the role of emissions transported from remote locations to affect the local pollution- and as summarized above calls for improved observations worldwide to determine the sources of this pollution.