The Road To Clean aiR - LA Differentiated

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Facts
Every commute counts
The time is now to rethink how we transport
ourselves. The highway networks in our major
cities are bursting at the seams, and millions
of dollars are wasted each year as commuters
sit in traffic. Gas prices hinder a national
economic recovery.
The average American contributes to the creation
of an estimated 10 tons of CO 2
per year. With
about 300 million people living in America today,
that adds up to more than 3 billion tons annually.
If every person could reduce their personal
CO 2
emissions by just half a ton per year, they
would prevent the creation of 150 million tons
of pollution. When combined, the changes each
individual traveler makes can help stop thousands
of tons of CO 2
from entering the atmosphere.
Impacts on our health
• A study by the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD) showed
that motor vehicles and other mobile sources
accounted for about 90% of the cancer risk
associated with air pollution.
• Children who live within 1,500 feet of
streets carrying 20,000 vehicles per day
have a six-fold increased risk for cancer,
including leukemia.
How we get around
Cars
• Passenger vehicles emit an estimated 25% of
the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the
United States.
• Every gallon of gas burned releases about 20
pounds of CO 2
into the atmosphere.
• The average fuel efficiency for a 2008
passenger car was 27 mpg/city, while a hybrid
car reached 45 mpg/city.
Airplanes
• Aircraft produce 13% of the world’s
transportation-related CO 2
pollution, as well
as additional air toxics that contribute to local
pollution problems.
• Aviation-related GHG levels are not currently
regulated under any mandatory framework,
and they are expected to increase.
Transit
• Mass transit is the most fuel-efficient form
of passenger travel, and our transit systems
increasingly employ cleaner fuels.
• A full airplane or single-occupancy car
traveling the same number of miles will emit
twice as much CO 2
per passenger as a city bus
and 3 times as much as a commuter train.
Sources of global warming
pollution in California
Misc. 4%
Passenger
vehicles
29%
Agriculture 6%
Industrial
12%
CO 2
emissions per passenger
grams per mile
Air 209.5
Passenger car 200.4
Two-wheelers 133.6
City bus 107.5
Rail 73.4
Maritime 69.4
Commercial/residential
fuel 6%
All other
transportation
21%
Electric
power
22%
Coalition for Clean Air
22
2009 Annual Report