26. Many of those who possess more resources and economic or political power seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms, simply making efforts to reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change. However, many of these symptoms indicate that such effects will continue to worsen if we continue with current models of production and consumption. There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. Worldwide there is minimal access to clean and renewable energy. There is still a need to develop adequate storage technologies. Some countries have made considerable progress, although it is far from constituting a significant proportion. Investments have also been made in means of production and transportation which consume less energy and require fewer raw materials, as well as in methods of construction and renovating buildings which improve their energy efficiency. But these good practices are still far from widespread.
29. One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. Every day, unsafe water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases, including those caused by microorganisms and chemical substances. Dysentery and cholera, linked to inadequate hygiene and water supplies, are a significant cause of suffering and of infant mortality. Underground water sources in many places are threatened by the pollution produced in certain mining, farming and industrial activities, especially in countries lacking adequate regulation or controls. It is not only a question of industrial waste. Detergents and chemical products, commonly used in many places of the world, continue to pour into our rivers, lakes and seas.
sources and origins of common fuels pdf download
164. Beginning in the middle of the last century and overcoming many difficulties, there has been a growing conviction that our planet is a homeland and that humanity is one people living in a common home. An interdependent world not only makes us more conscious of the negative effects of certain lifestyles and models of production and consumption which affect us all; more importantly, it motivates us to ensure that solutions are proposed from a global perspective, and not simply to defend the interests of a few countries. Interdependence obliges us to think of one world with a common plan. Yet the same ingenuity which has brought about enormous technological progress has so far proved incapable of finding effective ways of dealing with grave environmental and social problems worldwide. A global consensus is essential for confronting the deeper problems, which cannot be resolved by unilateral actions on the part of individual countries. Such a consensus could lead, for example, to planning a sustainable and diversified agriculture, developing renewable and less polluting forms of energy, encouraging a more efficient use of energy, promoting a better management of marine and forest resources, and ensuring universal access to drinking water.
In this study, we integrate the emissions, modeling, PM2.5 exposure, and CRF components described above to provide a globally comprehensive and contemporary source categorization of PM2.5 mass and the attributable disease burden. In this work, we identify residential energy use, industrial processes, and energy generation as dominant sectors contributing to global PM2.5 exposure and its attributable mortality. We also find that eliminating fossil fuel combustion emissions would substantially reduce (>25%) the global disease burden attributable to annual PM2.5 exposure, with over half of this contribution from the combustion of coal. While the relative contributions from individual sectors and fuels vary across national and sub-national scales, the comprehensive nature of this work provides detailed source information relevant to developing PM2.5 mitigation strategies and predicts a large potential health benefit from replacing traditional energy sources.
The comprehensive nature of our analysis provides detailed source information to inform PM2.5 mitigation strategies and provides potential health benefit estimates to further motivate action. Results show that residential, energy, industry, and total dust sources are among the largest contributing sectors to the global PM2.5 disease burden, while the relative contributions from individual sources and fuels vary at the national and sub-national levels. Roughly 1 million deaths could be avoided by the global elimination of fossil-fuel combustion, with 20% of this burden associated with fossil-fuel use in China and India alone (Fig. 2). Despite recent global reductions in air pollutant emissions from coal, this fuel was still the dominant contributing combustible fuel type to the PM2.5 disease burden in 20 countries, including China and countries throughout Southern Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Europe (Fig. 4). The use of solid biofuel was a primary source of emissions from the residential sector and was the dominant contributing combustible fuel in 78 countries, especially throughout the tropics (Fig. 4). While natural sources of PM2.5 mass dominantly contributed in more arid regions (Fig. 3), countries with the greatest PM2.5 disease burden generally had the largest relative contributions from anthropogenic sources, demonstrating a clear path towards attaining global air quality improvements.
NEI onroad sources include emissions from onroad vehicles that use gasoline, diesel, and other fuels. These sources include light duty and heavy duty vehicle emissions from operation on roads, highway ramps, and during idling. Except for California, the US EPA uses the MOVES model to compute onroad source emissions based on model inputs provided by State, Local, and Tribal air agencies. California provides emissions to the US EPA based on a California-specific model. The MOVES model also computes refueling emissions, which are included in the EIS Nonpoint Data Category. All other onroad source emissions are included in the EIS Onroad Data Category.
NEI nonroad sources include off-road mobile sources that use gasoline, diesel, and other fuels. Source types include construction equipment, lawn and garden equipment, aircraft ground support equipment, locomotives, and commercial marine vessels. For many nonroad sources, the EPA uses the MOVES-NONROAD model and these sources are included in the EIS nonroad Data Category. Starting with the 2008 NEI, some nonpoint sources are included in other EIS Data Categories. Aircraft engine emissions (occurring during landing and takeoff operations) and the ground support and power unit equipment are included in the EIS Point Data Category at airport locations. Locomotive emissions at rail yards are also included in the EIS Point Data Category. Emissions of other locomotive emissions and of commercial marine vessel emissions (both underway and port emissions) are included in the EIS Nonpoint Data Category.
2ff7e9595c