THE AIR WE BREATHE

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THE AIR WE BREATHE

• Dahe JIANG
• UNEP-Tongji Institute of
• Environment for Sustainable Development
• September 2005

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1 From London Smog to Global Climate Change
1.1 Basics and Data 1.2 Effects of Air
Pollution 1.3 Air Pollution From Local to
Global 1.4 More Than Global
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Basics and Data
Minor components of clean air
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Effects of Air Pollution

• Effects on human health
• Acute effects
• Chronic effects
• Effects on natural environment
• Acid rain
• Ozone layer depletion
• Global warming
• Global climate change

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Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health
Respiratory, digestion, mucus, skin, and neural
systems
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Air Pollution From Local to Global
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Air Pollution From Local to Global
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More Than Global
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2 Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific
2.1 Urban Air Quality 2.2 Acid Rain 2.3
Sandstorms 2.4 Atmospheric Brown Cloud
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Urban Air Quality

• The air in Asias cities is amongst the most
  polluted in the world Calcutta, Jakarta, New
  Delhi, Shanghai and Tehran etc.
• Particulate matter pollution
• Air pollution caused by automobile emission.

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Poor air quality in urban areas
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Vehicular emission related air pollution is
getting severer
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Acid Rain
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Sand Storms
July 12, 2004
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Atmospheric Brown Cloud
The 1997 forest fire
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Asia Brown Cloud
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Atmospheric Brown Cloud
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3 Air Pollution and Control in China
3.1 Air pollution situation 3.2 Ambient air
quality standards and API 3.3 Two control zones
and mass loading control 3.4 Energy use and
industrial restructuring 3.5 Vehicular emission
control
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Air Pollution Situation

• Urban air quality
• Acid rain
• Sand storms
• Vehicular emission related air pollution

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1985
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Industrial air pollutant emissions in China
(based on State of Environment Reports of SEPA)
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Air quality changes in Shanghai. Before 2000, the
data for particulates were for TSP, and after
2001, the data are for PM10
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Coal consumption and SO2 emission in Shanghai
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With the replacement of natural gas for coal, SO2
concentration decreases in Beijing
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Ambient Air Quality Standards
and Air Pollution Index

• Three classes of ambient air quality standards
• (1) reserved areas
• (2) residential areas
• (3) industrial areas and the areas near major
• roads of transportation
• Air pollution index (API)

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Daily API report distribution
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Two-Control Zone and Mass Loading
Control

• Two-Control Zone means the areas where SO2 and
  acid rain must be controlled
• Mass loading control
• Targets
• (1) To 2000, SO2 emitting industrial sources
  should attain emission requirements mass-loading
  control should be put in practice the SO2
  concentrations of large cities should attain
  NAASQ standards acid rain pollution worsening
  tendency should be mitigated.
• (2) To 2010, the total amount of SO2 emission
  should keep the level of the year 2000 SO2
  concentration for all urban areas should attain
  the requirement of NAASQ and the acid rain area
  with rain pH values smaller than 4.5 should be
  significantly reduced in comparison with that in
  2000.

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Energy Use and Industrial Restructuring

• Coal, low sulfur content, formed
• Gasification
• Centralized heating
• Natural gas
• Close, stop, change, move out heavily polluting
  factories

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Vehicular Emission Control

• Unleaded gasoline
• Emission standards (Euro II, July 1, 2004)
• Black effluent reporting
• Old vehicle phase out
• Transportation planning
• non-vehicle transportation

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The increase in the number of private cars in
China
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4 Challenges and Opportunities
4.1 Growing economy and air pollution 4.2 Urban
transportation 4.3 Renewable and alternative
energy 4.4 Management and enforcement 4.5
International cooperation 4.6 Change to a new
consumption mode
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Growing Economy and Air
Pollution

• Energy and material consumption urbanization
  transportation
• More investment better technologies self
  consciousness

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Urban Transportation

• Urban planning
• Urban density control
• Avoid over-suburbanization
• Public transportation
• Non-vehicle transportation

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Renewable and Alternative Energy

• Renewable energy, solar, hydraulic, wind
• Nuclear energy? Fuel cell ?
• Energy efficiency

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Implementation and Enforcement
During the dark midnight.

• International Cooperation

Change to a new consumption mode
Town gas, larger apartment, air conditioning, car
driving
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5 Imagining the Unthinkable

• Abrupt Climate Change
• Schwartz and Randall, 2003
• Global Business Network

When most people think about climate change,
they imagine gradual increases in temperature and
only marginal changes in other climatic
conditions, continuing indefinitely or even
leveling off at some time in the future.

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The research suggests that once temperature
rises above some threshold, adverse weather
conditions could develop relatively abruptly,
with persistent changes in the atmospheric
circulation causing drops in some regions of 5-10
degrees Fahrenheit in a single decade.
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Falling of human carrying capacity
The graphic shows how abrupt climate change may
cause human carrying capacity to fall below usage
of the eco-system, suggesting insufficient
resources leading to a contraction of the
population through war, disease, and famine.
(Schwartz and Randall, 2003)
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THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER - An
Interdisciplinary Study MIT Study

July 23, 2003

• In our view, it would be a mistake at this time
  to exclude any of these four options from an
  overall carbon emissions management strategy.
• We believe the nuclear option should be retained,
  precisely because it is an important carbon-free
  source of power.
• The U.S. public is unlikely to support nuclear
  power expansion without substantial improvements
  in costs and technology.

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• These actions will be effective in stimulating
  additional investment in nuclear generating
  capacity if, and only if, the industry can live
  up to its own expectations of being able to
  reduce considerably overnight capital costs for
  new plants. 
• We do not believe a convincing case can be made,
  on the basis of waste management considerations
  alone, that the benefits of advanced, closed fuel
  cycles will outweigh the attendant safety,
  environmental, and security risks and economic
  costs. 
• Nuclear power should not expand unless the risk
  of proliferation from operation of the commercial
  nuclear fuel cycle is made acceptably small.

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Retaining nuclear power stations- Stewart Brand
- MIT Technological Review, May 2005

• Over the next ten years, I predict, the
  mainstream of the environmental movement will
  reverse its opinion and activism in four major
  areas population growth, urbanization,
  genetically engineered organisms, and nuclear
  power.

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6. Conclusion

• Air pollution is a comprehensive global issue
• Particulate matter, acid rain, vehicular
  emission, etc., are the main issues in this
  region
• China is making efforts to combat air pollution,
  but coal as the main fuel and increasing use of
  vehicles continue to threaten the air quality
• Management and enforcement are important
• International cooperation is needed to control
• Population, urbanization, development lack of
  energy --- new consumption mode is needed.