Remove 2021 Remove Carbon Dioxide Remove Nitrogen Oxides Remove Technology
article thumbnail

Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

Responsible for 12 percent of all US global warming emissions from human activities, methane traps significantly more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, making it 86 times more harmful for the first 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere. Its primary component is methane. First, there’s air pollution.

article thumbnail

Ask a Scientist: Two Dozen States Can Meet 100 Percent of Electricity Demand with Renewables by 2035

Union of Concerned Scientists

Emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants in alliance states drop 88 percent and 77 percent respectively by 2040. Under the no-new-policy scenario, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides decline only by 27 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Good News—and Bad—about Fossil Fuel Power Plants in 2023 

Union of Concerned Scientists

GW record from 2021. In 2021 alone, the plants slated for retirement emitted more than 28,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NO x ), 32,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and 51 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), according to EIA data.

article thumbnail

BreezoMeter's Guide to Indoor Air Quality & Smart Home IoT

Breezometer

The following common pollutants are often found indoors and outdoors, but originate from a range of different sources: VOCs (volatile organic carbon) - a group of gases that could come from either natural sources (e.g. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). Carbon Monoxide (CO). Sulfur dioxide (SO2).

article thumbnail

Stepping Up to the Challenge: US Can Meet Climate Goals if Policymakers Take Immediate, Concerted Action

Union of Concerned Scientists

Under the net zero scenario: Wind, solar, and other renewables nearly triple their share of US electricity generation from 22% in 2021 to 60% in 2030, 81% in 2035, and 92% in 2050. Overall economywide fossil fuel use falls 50% between 2021 and 2040 and 82% by 2050.  Coal is phased out of the power sector by 2030. The reductions in PM2.5

article thumbnail

DEP Invests Over $2.7 Million In Alternative Fuel Transportation Projects To Improve Air Quality & Public Health, Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

PA Environment Daily

The AFIG Program funds projects that replace older gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles with cleaner fuel vehicles that helps reduce emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide, a principal greenhouse gas.

article thumbnail

Ask a Scientist: Fighting Big Ag Pollution with Maps and Math

Union of Concerned Scientists

The court sided with the community and ordered the city to use an analytically sound model developed by Eric Schwartz of the University of Michigan and Jacob Abernethy of the Georgia Institute of Technology to efficiently locate and replace the pipes. But nitrous oxide is even more insidiously efficient at disrupting the climate.