Reducing traffic emissions won't get any easier with 400 million Americans

[rangerrebew]

Reducing traffic emissions won't get any easier with 400 million Americans
 

Published: 
Mon, Oct 21st 2019 @ 3:48 pm EDT  by  Jeremy Beck

The New York Times reports that CO2 emissions from traffic - the leading source of emissions in the United States - have remained "stubbornly high," and per capita increases are certainly part of the problem. "[E]ven as vehicles have become more efficient," Nadja Popovich and Denise Lu report, "Americans, buoyed by a strong economy and low gas prices, have been driving more miles and buying more S.U.V.s and pickup trucks, which have lower gas mileage. Freight trucking is also on the rise."

Anyone who cares about traffic emissions, however, must pay attention to individual consumption and to the number of individual consumers.

Two short excerpts from The Times illustrate. First:

https://www.numbersusa.com/blog/reducing-traffic-emissions-wont-get-any-easier-400-million-americans

[Smokin Joe]

FOr starters, CH4 + 3O2=CO2 +2 H2O.

Methane (CH4) is the shortest of the hydrocarbons, but this little bit of stoichiometry is provided to illustrate that the burning of hydrocarbons inevitably releases Carbon Dioxide and water. The more hydrocarbons burned, the more Carbon Dioxide and water released.
Since our most common motor fuel is a hydrocarbon blend, this is to be expected.

In general more vehicles, more Carbon Dioxide.

Or they could run electric vehicles, the vast majority of which will use electricity created by burning carbon based fuels ( liquid, gas, or solid), which will release CO2 also.

Or, we could just have people ride bicycles or walk, and exhale more CO2 from the exertion.

It seems no matter what is done, though, the more energy used, the more CO2 will be released.