Remove Air Pollution Remove Nitrogen Oxides Remove Technology
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Ask a Scientist: What’s the Future for Trucks?

Union of Concerned Scientists

As crucial as these vehicles are, and as important as the goods and services they supply are, they also bring high levels of air pollution that endanger peoples health and contribute to climate change. However, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles like commercial trucks, vans , and buses, pollute at far greater rates than cars.

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Replacing California’s Oldest and Dirtiest Cars Will Save Money and Lives

Union of Concerned Scientists

As early as 1966 , the state began to take regulatory action to reduce pollution from passenger cars and trucks. As a result of continuing progress on regulations, the air-polluting emissions of new passenger vehicles currently for sale are thankfully much lower than those of older vehicles. Combining the PM 2.5

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Fossil Fuels Must Go: Re-inventing US Transportation

Union of Concerned Scientists

Contrary to claims made by some pundits, this transition away from fossil fuels can be done at moderate cost, primarily with technologies that are commercially available today. Electricity is undoubtedly the best choice of fuel in the transition, as it is a proven technology and a efficient way to propel vehicles of all types and sizes.

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A 100% Renewable Energy Future is Possible, and We Need It

Union of Concerned Scientists

And we’re still trying to recover from a pandemic that has made even more clear the disproportionate impacts of air pollution on overburdened communities, making them even more vulnerable to the negative impacts of COVID 19. A transition to 100 percent renewable energy is about more than just technology.

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Electric School Buses: The Best Choice for Our Kids and Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

Reductions in pollutants including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and others, help to clean the air – not just for children riding the bus, but everyone in the communities where these buses travel, as well as near the refineries where fuels are produced. The figure below shows the results.

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The State of the Air in 2024? Not Great

Union of Concerned Scientists

So of course the American Lung Association ’s yearly report, State of the Air (SOTA), published every year since 2000, is of professional and personal interest. The air quality for this report was calculated using data reviewed by EPA from 2020, 2021, and 2022. We cannot change the topography.

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EPA Grant Program Helps to Accelerate Transition to Cleaner Ports

Union of Concerned Scientists

Air pollution from ports comes from many sources: ships, trains, tugboats, cargo equipment, and – quite importantly – the trucks that move cargo containers to and from ports. The program is squarely focused on zero-emission equipment and projects – combustion technologies are explicitly ineligible.