I read http://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/pubs/aqtrends.pdf and http://www.epa.gov/air/aqtrends and http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/trends/trends98/ looking for detailed info, which isn't easily obtained in up-to-date form. I look to those things regulated by the Clear Air Act. If you think that CO2 is a pollutant, I gues that you don't breath or eat vegetables or anything that grows by eating vegetables. I won't get into arguing about that. I can provide pointers off-line to information about that.
In the Minnesota data, the trends are 10 or 20 years, ending in 1994, the last year in the on-line report. Looking at on-road vehicles, since that's what cars and trucks mostly are, CO down 26%, SO2 down 45%, NOx down 6%, O3 down 32%, particulates down 13%. In the second EPA report, take a look at the graphs on pages 3-22 through 3-28. As far as ozone is concerned, there are multiple things goinig on. One is a new EPA standard that is far more strict, the second is that in many cities the ozone level is higher on the weekends when emissions of the precurson chemicals is down. See http://www.aei.org/include/pub_print.asp?pubID=19746 and pay attention to the footnotes rather than being knee-jerk about the site on which it is found. Looking at the EIS data, Hiawatha lrt, proposed University lrt, and northstar rail each would reduce emissions by 1/1000th, while they increase congestion along their routes. The continuing reduction in emissions required by EPA will far outpace that as the fleet turns over. One of the reasons that the instpection program did so little was that the worst polluters weren't required to do anything because of the cost exemptions built in as well as the fact that cars older than the earliest emissions standards were never tested. That's why California has a hard time, they have a lot of old cars running. Have a Saab 95 or 96 or 99? An old Volvo? An old Chevy? An old Mercedes? And they don't even have to that old to have a major impact. Compare the numbers in the table I referenced between current cars and, say, ten year olds. The idea that a doubling in vehicle miles travelled will somehow offset a cut by 80% of a pollutant is quite obviously unsupported by mathematics. Visit www.EffectiveTransit.org The Independent Unsubsidized Voice of Citizens for Effective Transit in the Twin Cities (no lrt) * lrt isn't a potato chip, you can stop at just one * Bruce Gaarder Highland Park Saint Paul MN [EMAIL PROTECTED] REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
