Critics of fossil fuels
claim that CO2
released by
burning fossil fuels
is "pollution".
That's complete nonsense.
Anti-science !
Adding CO2 to the air
greens our planet --
which is beneficial
... if the fossil fuels are
are burned cleanly
with modern pollution
controls.
That too often does not happen
in and around polluted Asian
cities, mainly in India and China.
But "environmentalists"
don't seem to care
about that real pollution.
It is puzzling that the most
polluting fossil fuel, coal,
had not been replaced by
much cleaner and safer
nuclear power,
many decades ago,
as in France.
Blame the so-called
"environmentalists".
There are no inexpensive
substitutes for fossil fuels
that can provide a consistent
levels of electric power.
Nuclear power
can provide
a consisent level
of electric power,
but the very high
initial investment
is a problem.
Combustion of fossil fuels,
without air pollution abatement
technology, releases chemicals
harmful to humans,
other animal life,
and plants.
When burned,
fossil fuels
release
carbon dioxide (CO2),
water (H2O),
carbon monoxide (CO),
sulfur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), and
particulate matter (PM).
Another pollutant,
ozone (O3),
is created through a
photochemical reaction
with the other pollutants.
Carbon dioxide and water
are the two most essential
foods for life, so they
are not pollution and
can't be health concerns.
Carbon monoxide (CO)
is a colorless, odorless gas
from incomplete combustion.
Approximately 80% or more of
human outdoor CO emissions
in the U.S. comes from motor
vehicle exhaust while the rest
comes from industrial processes
and residential wood burning
... and smoking too !
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is formed
when fossil fuels containing sulfur,
such as coal and oil, are burned,
when gasoline is extracted
from crude oil, and when
metals are extracted from ore.
Sulfur dioxide dissolves in water,
creating what is popularly
and inaccurately called “acid rain.”
Actually, all rain is acidic,
even without sulfur dioxide
( rain is naturally a weak carbonic acid ).
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
are a group of gases
containing nitrogen
and oxygen,
most of which
are colorless
and odorless.
Nitrogen oxides form
when fuel is burned
at high temperatures,
as in a combustion
process.
Half of NOx emissions
in the U.S. come from
motor vehicle exhaust ,
and most of the rest
from stationery
generators.
Particulate matter (PM)
is a mixture of
solid particles
and liquid droplets
found in the air.
Some PM particles
are visible
as dust or dirt.
PM2 5 refers to particles
less than or equal to 2.5 μm
(micrometer) in diameter.
PM10 is less than or equal to
10 μm in diameter
( 1/7th the width of a human hair )
Examples are dust from roads
and black carbon (soot) from
burning wood or fossil fuels.
“Secondary” particles
are formed
in the atmosphere
from gaseous emissions,
include sulfates
(formed from SO2),
nitrates
(formed from NOx),
and carbon
(formed from CO2).
Fossil fuels create soot
when the supply of oxygen
during combustion
is insufficient to
completely convert
carbon to carbon oxides.
This typically occurs
during the combustion
of coal and oil,
but not natural gas.
PM also is produced by
plowing, planting,
and harvesting activities,
forest fires, wind erosion,
desert dust, volcanoes,
sea salt aerosols
and biological aerosols
(e.g., spores and pollen).
The EPA estimates
16% of U.S.
PM10 emissions
and 40%
of PM2 5 emissions
are man made,
the rest is
“fugitive dust”
( dust from open fields,
roadways, storage piles, etc. )
Ozone (O3) is a triatomic
oxygen molecule gas
that occurs in Earth’s
upper atmosphere,
and at ground level.
Fossil fuel use produces
precursors to the
photochemical reaction
that creates ozone
at ground level.
The precursors are
carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, and
particulate matter.
Trees and other plants
also produce
ozone precursors,
primarily in rural areas.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
are often attributable
to the use of fossil fuels.
Carbon monoxide, gasoline fumes,
and benzene are three examples.
But nature, primarily plants,
produces about ten times
as much VOCs, by weight,
as all human activities.
A lead (Pb)
containing compound
called tetraethyl lead,
that used to be added
to petroleum to improve
engine performance,
used to be responsible
for lead emissions
from motor vehicles.
The phase-out
of leaded gasoline
in the United States
and other nations,
means lead in the air
is no longer a public
health hazard in the U.S.
and other developed
countries.
The main sources of human
lead emissions today
are waste incinerators and
lead-acid battery
manufacturers.
Other pollutants:
Gasoline spilled underground
from a leaking gas station tanks
can be a threat to drinking water.
Carbon monoxide and
particulate matter from
incomplete fuel combustion
by automobile engines
and NOx can react
with sunshine
to create
a visible haze
called “smog”
( and ozone too ).