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Diesel is the Reason for the Sneezin’: Cleaner Holiday Deliveries are on the Horizon

Union of Concerned Scientists

How would that change if I hopped on the electric bus route at the end of my block? But while greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced, a delivery fulfilled by a diesel-burning truck may lead to increases in emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and lung-damaging particulate matter.

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Ask a Scientist: UCS Transportation Program Adds Equitable Mobility to its Portfolio

Union of Concerned Scientists

In 1963, a typical car—which ran on leaded gasoline without pollution control devices— emitted 520 pounds of hydrocarbons, 1,700 pounds of carbon monoxide, and 90 pounds of nitrogen oxide every 10,000 miles traveled. Soon thereafter, it began extolling the virtues of battery electric vehicles , which it continues to do today.

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Reliance on Gas Power Plants Fuels Inequity

Union of Concerned Scientists

California recently extended , for the second time, the operations of three gas plants to 2026. Most notable of these polluting emissions are nitrogen oxides (NOx). Higher and more volatile energy bills An electric system that is over-reliant on gas can contribute to higher and more volatile electricity bills.

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Too Many Gas Power Plants are the Problem Not the Solution

Union of Concerned Scientists

Yet, in 2022, almost 40% of electricity in the US was generated by power plants fueled by natural gas. We need more electricity to transition our homes and cars off fossil fuels, but we can’t afford to let that electricity come from more gas power plants. States remain widely varied on their reliance on gas for electricity.

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Truck Loopholes 101 – When Emissions Regulations Don’t Match the Real World

Union of Concerned Scientists

The EPA is getting ready to finalize a critical regulation limiting emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NO X ) and soot (or particulate matter, PM 2.5 ) from new heavy-duty trucks. This is the first time EPA has sought to limit emissions in over two decades, and it is long overdue.

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Can California Stop Selling Polluting Cars by 2035? Yes It Can.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Switching from gasoline and diesel engines to electric motors is one of the most effective ways to reduce global warming emissions and air pollution. In California, driving on electricity using the average plug-in vehicle can lower emissions to that of a hypothetical gasoline car that achieves 116 miles per gallon fuel economy.

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Everything You Need to Know about EPA’s New Clean Car Emissions Standards

Union of Concerned Scientists

By 2032, new light-duty vehicle climate emissions would decrease by nearly 50 percent (to 85 grams/mile) compared to existing standards that go through 2026. The overall combination of reductions in particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants are expected to deliver $13 billion in annual health benefits.

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