![](images/titlefacts.gif)
![](images/subtitleairquality.gif)
![](images/arrow1.gif) Breathing
air in polluted metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles or
Riverside can reduce your life expectancy by 2 to 3 years.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Motor
vehicles and other air pollution sources that move, such as
ships, trucks, trains, buses and even lawnmowers, account
for about 90% of the cancer risk in the greater-Los Angeles
region with stationary sources such as power plants
and factories accounting for only about 10%.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Diesel
exhaust from trucks, ships, trains and buses has been declared
to contain over 40 substances listed as hazardous air pollutants
by the U.S. EPA.
![](images/arrow1.gif) When
you drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic, pollutants outside
can seep into your car, making the air you breathe inside
your car up to 10 times more polluted than typical city air.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Every
day that a ship sits at dock unloading its cargo, it releases
an entire ton of smog-forming and toxic pollutants.
![](images/arrow1.gif) If
you live, work or go to school near freeways, high-traffic
roads, seaports, and rail yards, you are generally at greater
risk for cancer and decreased lung function, studies show,
because these places contain more concentrated levels of air
pollution.
![](images/arrow1.gif) For
your child, toxic air pollution is an even bigger problem,
in part because children breathe much more quickly than adults.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Asthma
is a leading cause of school absenteeism, according to the
California Department of Education.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Even
if you dont smoke cigarettes at all, your lungs or heart
may be similarly damaged simply from exposure to ozone and
particulate matter. The American Heart Association recently
declared, [Air pollutions] impact on cardiovascular
disease
represents a serious public health problem.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Health
impacts from diesel pollution exposure, such as premature
death, heart disease, asthma and bronchitis, cost some $22
billion statewide in 2004, not including impacts such as lost
work and school days.
Credit:
Coalition
for Clean Air
![](images/arrow1.gif) Half
of all personal autos on the road in the U.S. on a typical
day travel less than 20 miles. These vehicles represent less
than 20% of the total miles driven, but, due to cold engines
and cold catalytic converters, these short trips produce more
than 40% of all emissions.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Adjusting
thermostats 2 degrees can save 2,000 pounds of carbon.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Cleaning
refrigerator coils twice a year can save 650 pounds of carbon.
Credit:
Energy
Independence Now
![](images/subtitlealternativefuels.gif)
![](images/arrow1.gif) Electric
vehicles (EVs) are the only true zero-emissions vehicles
on the road.
![](images/arrow1.gif) The
only emissions from electric vehicles are from upstream power
plants providing electricity.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Upstream
emissions for gasoline vehicles are more than 14 times higher
than for electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles run on electricity provided by on-board
batteries, and can be recharged at any of the many recharging
stations around the state.
![](images/arrow1.gif) As
of March 2002, there were more than 4,000 electric vehicles
on the road in the U.S., most of them in California.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Hybrid
vehicles offer 2-3 times the energy efficiency of a comparable
gasoline-only car, and have ranges of about 600 miles on a
tank of gas.
![](images/arrow1.gif) The
most widely available hybrid vehicles are the Honda Insight
and the Toyota Prius, which have retail prices of about $20,000.
The Ford Escape Hybrid will be launched late summer 2004,
at a retail price of around $27,000.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Comprehensive
data of vehicles fuel economy and emissions is provided
by the Environmental Protection Agencys Green
Vehicle Guide: www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.
Credit:
Coalition
for Clean Air
![](images/subtitleendangeredspecies.gif)
![](images/arrow1.gif) Various
plant and animal species are becoming extinct literally every
single day!
![](images/arrow1.gif) Big
cats, including tigers and jaguars, are an extremely endangered
species. Poached and hunted for sport, these magestic creatures
are diminishing every year. Currently, there are less than
250 Siberian Tigers left in the wild. The Sumatran Tiger has
less than 450 in its ranks. The poor Chinese Tiger has only
47 of its kind left in the wild.
![](images/subtitleglobalwarming.gif)
![](images/arrow1.gif) The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts
a warming in the range of 2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by
the year 2100.
![](images/arrow1.gif) According
to the IPCC about three-quarters of the human-caused emissions
of CO2 is due to the combustion (or burning) of fossil fuels.
The rest is primarily due to deforestation and other land
use changes.
![](images/arrow1.gif) According
the IPCC's third assessment, the atmospheric concentration
of carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased by 31% since 1750. The
current CO2 concentration has not been exceeded during the
past 420,000 years, and most likely was not exceeded during
the last 20 million years. The atmospheric concentration of
methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, has increased by 151%
since 1750, and continues to increase.
![](images/arrow1.gif) The
United States is the world leader in Greenhouse Gas emissions,
producing almost 25% of the total CO2 emissions worldwide.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Substituting
10 incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs
in a household can save 1,780 pounds of carbon.
Credit:
Coalition
for Clean Air
![](images/subtitlewaterquality.gif)
![](images/arrow1.gif) With
70 percent of the earth's surface covered with water, it makes
water the most common substance on earth. Yet, industries
released 197 million pounds of toxic chemicals into waterways
in 1990. That was nearly two decades ago. Imagine how much
that has increased since.
![](images/arrow1.gif) Reducing
time in the shower by 2 minutes saves 350 pounds of carbon.
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