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May 25, 2016

DIESEL TRUCKS POLLUTION * USA: Debates about

* DC - Energy Advocacy Group seeks temporary restraining order to block EPA panel


--- As the Union of Concerned Scientists said: "Diesel trucks are one of the nation’s biggest sources of particulate matter pollution". The issue, the EPA committee is writing regulations on... An initial legal effort by an energy advocacy organization failed to block a meeting of an Environmental Protection Agency panel that is writing regulations to control particulate matter pollution... The Energy and Environment Legal Institute on Monday filed an application for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. seeking to stop the panel from meeting until an “impartial” panel can be formed... The legal institute claims that 22 of the 26 members on the panel received a combined $192 million in EPA grant money. The funding demonstrates that the panel members are dependent on the agency for research funds and are not independent, according to the institute... The Washington D.C.-based group that filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA committee appointments on May 13 arguing that “the law requires the panel to be impartial” ... Particulate matter is regulated because it “can cause premature death and harmful effects on the cardiovascular system” and other “significant health problems,” according to the EPA... 
(Photo by Raymond Clarke: A wstern Star truck on the road) -- Washington, DC, USA - Trucks.com, by CLARISSA HAWES - May 23, 2016

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Apr 1, 2016

SMOG ALERT * Mexico: Urged to standard emissions

* Mexico urged to pass strong emissions limits for heavy trucks; 20,000 deaths cited


-- Heavy-duty trucks represent a major part of the problem... That's led the U.S. and Canada to tighten emissions standards for large trucks in recent years. Now three environmental groups are urging Mexico to do the same. They claim these rules could cut emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides from trucks 90 percent... The debate comes in the wake of Mexico's first smog alert in 11 years... As part of a four-day alert earlier this month, the government banned more than one million vehicles from entering Mexico City, as ozone levels rose to twice the acceptable limits... Transportation emissions already cause 20,000 premature deaths in Mexico per year, said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute... Mexico has already pledged to cut emissions 22 percent from 1990 levels by 2030, as part of its commitment to the Paris climate-change agreement. It has also established a peak year for emissions, 2026... And the government wants a 50-percent cut in "black carbon" emissions—created by burning diesel and other fuels... But the groups claim that the new standard, called NOM-44, is in danger of being weakened by the government because of pressure from the industry. If passed, it would increase average new-truck costs by three percent, ICCT Senior Fellow Kate Blumberg said in a conference call Tuesday...
(Photo: Natural gas powered Kenworth truck) -- San Francisco, CAL, USA - Green Car Reports, by Stephen Edelstein - Mar 31, 2016

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Oct 14, 2015

AIR POLLUTION * USA: New York's one

* N.Y. - There are too many trucks coming into the City

(Video: Driving a Big Truck in The Bronx New York City - From Large Car Ace - May 24, 2013: Passing by Yankee Stadium in The Bronx New York City in a Kenworth Big Truck)

-- Here’s a statistic for you: Ninety percent of the 400 million tons of freight coming into New York City comes by truck, so America’s most dense major city is also its most truck-dependent. Call it a “clustertruck” ...  But one politician is trying to do something about that: To get trucks off the road, Rep. Jerry Nadler has been advocating the construction of a freight rail tunnel under the Hudson River for three decades. The New York Democrat says the tunnel, which would connect the rail network in New Jersey with existing tracks in New York, would take 2,500 trucks off Hudson River crossings every day, reducing pollution, decreasing the price of goods, and creating redundancy in case of an emergency"... The New York’s environmental commissioner told WNYC, “freight trucks are one of the worst air polluters in urban areas” ...  The effect is especially detrimental to those living in low-income communities, specifically the Bronx and Northern Manhattan, which has the most truck routes in the city. The result for area residents living with a higher load of diesel exhaust has been a higher prevalence of asthma. So it’s not surprising that representatives of Brooklyn and Queens have adamantly opposed rail unloading centers being located in their neighborhoods because of — you guessed it — increased truck traffic... It seems that low-income and marginalized communities always bear the brunt of environmental damage. Good policies, like implementing vehicle emissions standards, can help — although in the Bronx, some activists think the state’s standards should be stricter. Strict oversight may be more important now than ever. The growth of online shopping and delivery services means the amount of freight being shipped is expected to increase by 46 percent in the next 25 years...
NY, USA - WNYC reports/GRIST.org, by Raven Rakia - 12 Oct 2015

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Sep 24, 2015

TRUCKS POLLUTION * Europe: Limiting the C02 from trucks

* Belgium - Britain joins calls for limits on truck carbon dioxide emissions

-- Britain and three other countries have joined calls for mandatory European Union limits on the amount of CO2 pumped out by trucks, which account for 30 percent of road transport emissions but only a small fraction of vehicles on the road... The European Commission has introduced a limit of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/km) by 2021 for cars and vans, but emissions from heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) are unregulated. The United States by contrast in June proposed tighter standards on truck emissions... Britain, Belgium, Slovenia and the Netherlands are calling for the Commission to introduce CO2 limits for trucks, according to submissions to a Commission questionnaire, adding their weight to calls from Germany's Federal Environment Agency in August for CO2 targets for trucks... An EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Germany’s backing of standards for trucks was linked to efforts to protect its car industry: “There is an argument that if you bring in standards for trucks, you don’t have to do any more for cars” ... Earlier this month the European Parliament called for the development of a simulation tool measuring the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of HDVs, and, if needed, the imposition of mandatory emissions limits... 
(Photo: EU ozone pollution exceeded target levels in summer 2012)  --  Brussels, Belgium - Reuters, by JULIA FIORETTI - Sep 21, 2015

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Feb 3, 2012

* China - Quietly shelves new diesel emission standards

The government has quietly postponed plans to clean the fumes from truck and bus exhaust pipes

(Photograph: Alexander F. Yuan/AP - The Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway in China's Hebei province)
London,EN,UK -The Guardian, by Jonathan Watts -1 February 2012: -- It ought to have been a centrepiece of China's efforts to reduce smog, but the government has quietly postponed plans to clean the fumes from truck and bus exhaust pipes... The 18-month delay of new diesel emission standards, which was announced this month, runs contrary to the authorities' promises to tighten controls on air pollution... Environmental scientists say the move shows public health concerns remain far less of a priority for China's leaders than the economic interests of state-owned petrol companies, PetroChina and Sinopec... It was not supposed to be this way. China is trying to shake the notoriously filthy hazes that envelop many of its cities and result in hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year... This is crucial because traffic – particularly heavy trucks that burn diesel – is increasingly more significant than coal burning as a source of air pollution. Studies suggest vehicle exhaust pipes contribute more than 70% of the nitrogen oxides in downtown Beijing and are the dominant source of roadside PM2.5 levels – and the biggest threat to health...

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Nov 2, 2010

POLLUTION * Europe - ECG calling for scrappage schemes to be renewed

Replacing 50 million obsolete cars would lead to savings of 24.5 billion Euros a year in pollution, accident and congestion costs

Brussels,Belgium -Truck Europe, by Michel Buckinx -29 Oct 2010: -- ECG (the European vehicles logistics organisation), is calling for a new approach to scrappage schemes. This is in order to increase the profitability and sustainability of the vehicle transport system. Constantino Baldissara, president of the association: “There are still millions of cars on the road causing heavy pollution. They should be gradually taken off the roads”. According to the ECG, replacing 50 million obsolete cars would lead to savings of 24.5 billion Euros a year in pollution, accident and congestion costs...


* EU - New strategy to put price on pollution


Brussels,Belgium -EurActiv -2 November 2010: -- The European Commission wants to make transport users pay for emissions, noise and other harm they cause as part of proposals laid down in a draft White Paper on Transport, seen by EurActiv... In 2001, the European Commission presented a White Paper proposing 60 measures to overhaul the EU's transport policy by 2010 in order to make it more sustainable and avoid huge economic losses caused by congestion, pollution and accidents... The draft policy paper, which lays down the European Commission's plans for the next decade, envisages a radically different transport system by 2020, with a single European transport area, open markets, greener infrastructure and low-carbon technologies...   Transport emissions rose by 24% between 1990 and 2008, amounting to 19.5% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Commission's estimates...   As a result, the transport sector will have to reduce its emissions by at least 45-60% below 1990 levels if the EU is to keep up with its climate change objectives for 2050, the document argues...   In order to improve the situation, the Commission is floating the idea of introducing targets for earmarking transport revenues to pay for TEN-T infrastructure. The option currently exists but member states do not generally exploit it...   The Commission's economic and financial affairs department submitted a request to delete the latter point from the white paper, the draft shows, and it is likely to prove controversial in national capitals as well... (Photo from theecologist.org: Transport is by far and away the biggest contributor to air pollution levels in London)

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Oct 27, 2008

POLLUTION * VietNam - Trucks full of dust pollute Ha Noi

Lorries full of construction dust are harming public health

HA NOI,VietNam -VietNnam Nnews/VNAgency -27 Oct 2008: -- Capital city residents are being forced to suffer impacts from huge volumes of dust released by construction- site lorries that fall through regulatory cracks... An environmental officer in Ha Noi indicates there are two causes of air pollution at construction sites that are difficult to tackle. First, lorries and tipper trucks do not cover their loads before moving in or out of the construction sites. Second, construction sites themselves are not covered to prevent dust from flying into the air... Hoang Duc Dung, a health department official says that air pollution from city construction sites is a serious problem because hundreds of people are suffering from damaging consequences... (Photo by Thanh Phan - VNA/VNS - Dust from uncovered lorries carrying construction material cause heavy pollution in cities)

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Jan 2, 2008

Pollution * USA - California Sues EPA on Greenhouse Gas Regs

16 Other States May Join Suit

CAL,USA -The Associated Press/ Transport Topics (VA,USA) -2 Jan 2007: -- California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday for denying the state’s “greenhouse gas” limits on cars and trucks, reported... California had challenged the Bush administration’s conclusion that states may not set emission standards on their own... At least 16 other states may join the lawsuit, which was prompted by EPA’s denial last month of California’s request for a waiver as required under the federal Clean Air Act... EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson denied the waiver, saying it would result in a patchwork of state regulations...


* Bush Backs EPA on California Waiver Denial
Washington,Dc,USa -The Los Angeles Times/ Transport topics (VA,USA) -20 Dec 2007: -- President Bush defended the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to reject California’s plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, saying that a national strategy toward climate change is more effective than a state-by-state approach... The president signed energy legislation into law Wednesday that will boost automobile mileage standards to 35 mpg by 2020, and EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s request to implement its own standards...

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