The tools, policies and strategies used to address air quality, climate, and energy have often been developed without consideration of interdependencies, thus limiting opportunities to assess multiple objectives. In this dissertation, interdisciplinary methods and tools from energy science, atmospheric science, and public health are utilized to answer cross-cutting questions regarding the co-management of air and climate through energy decision-making. The first section of this dissertation examines the link between rising temperatures and power-sector emissions. Electricity demand rises with temperature, driven by increased cooling demand. We quantify the historical relationship between ambient temperature and power sector emissions in the Eastern U.S., finding approximately 3.5%/°C increases in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Then we perform an interdisciplinary modeling assessment of the impact of rising temperatures on mid-century air conditioning, electricity demand, air pollution, and associated health impacts. We find nearly 1,000 deaths annually in the Eastern U.S. by mid-century associated with pollution driven by increased air conditioning. The second section of this dissertation examines clean energy solutions to both the air and climate. Solar energy and energy efficiency are considered as potential strategies for the U.S. An integrated assessment of energy policy options is analyzed for the Republic of South Africa. In these studies, we find 17% solar energy in the Eastern U.S. can reduce fine particulate (PM2.5) concentrations by nearly 5%. We find 15% energy efficiency can reduce ozone (O3) and PM2.5 concentrations by approximately 1% nationwide while significantly improving efforts to meet ambient air standards in many U.S. counties. In a comparative analysis for South Africa, we find end-of-pipe controls are cost-effective at limiting pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and some renewable energy subsidies are also cost-effective. This work highlights the importance of considering air quality and climate co-benefits in solutions-oriented energy research.
Atmospheric emissions from the energy sector contribute to air pollution and climate change. Harmful gases in ambient air degrade air quality; exposure to those gases can lead to health impacts locally and regionally. Greenhouse gases perturb the energy balance of the atmosphere, leading to higher temperatures (global warming) and thus impacting climate at a global scale. Air pollution is linked to exposure disparities among demographic groups (race, income). This dissertation explores air quality, health and climate impacts, and environmental injustice from emissions originating from energy systems. The overarching goals of this research work are to (i) quantify and compare metrics for greenhouse and noxious pollutants to evaluate environmental consequences from interventions, (ii) develop metrics and tools to quantify air quality and human health impacts from point and line sources, (iii) explore distributions of health impacts from air pollution by race, income, and geography, and (iv) demonstrate the use a reduced-complexity air quality model to quantify impacts from multiple energy systems. In this research, I focus on the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. PM2.5 is the air pollutant that produces the largest monetized human health impacts in the United States (U.S.) and worldwide. PM2.5 can be directly emitted from combustion or other activities (primary PM2.5) or formed from precursors such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and ammonia (NH3) (secondary PM2.5). Concentrations of PM2.5 species in the atmosphere are controlled by emissions, transport, chemistry, and deposition processes. The health impacts are a function of concentrations and the exposed population. Previous research has demonstrated the importance of fine spatial resolution for identifying and quantifying exposure disparities (environmental justice). I used a novel spatial air quality model called "Intervention Model for Air Pollution (InMAP)," combined with epidemiological research concerning air pollution and human health, to estimate health impacts of PM2.5 at a fine resolution. To understand climate impacts, I focus on carbon dioxide (CO2) which is a major greenhouse gas (81% of the total greenhouse gas emissions) emitted from complete combustion of carbon-containing fuels. This dissertation consists of three original studies focused on two energy sectors in the United States (U.S.): electricity generation and freight transportation. The methods employed in this work are based on two approaches: data-driven regression analysis and mechanistic air quality modeling using InMAP. Chapter 2 presents the data-driven empirical approach. Using linear regression between hourly changes in generation and emissions data, I investigate differences between average emission factors (AEFs) and average marginal emission factors (AMEFs) for CO2, SO2, and NOx at different spatial and temporal scales for a Midwest U.S. power market called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). AEFs and AMEFs are two commonly used metrics for estimating emission benefits from energy-efficiency strategies. This is the first study that estimates AEFs and AMEFs for a U.S. Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). I find, for example, that marginal emission factors are generally higher during late night and early morning compared to afternoons. In general, AEFs tend to be larger than AMEFs (typical difference: ~20%), and thus may overestimate emission impacts from interventions in the power sector, relative to using AMEFs. Chapters 3 and 4 present a mechanistic modeling approach for investigating air quality and human health impacts from PM2.5 emissions. Chapter 3 presents a study that estimates exposure to and health impacts of PM2.5 from electricity generation in the U.S., for each of the seven Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), for each US state, by income, and by race. This research is the first national-scale investigation of environmental justice aspects of total PM2.5 from electricity generation. I find that average exposures are the highest for blacks, followed by non-Latino whites. Exposures for remaining groups (e.g., Asians, Native Americans, Latinos) are somewhat lower. Levels of disparity differ by state and RTO. Exposures are higher for lower-income than for higher-income, but disparities are larger by race than by income. Geographically, I observe large differences between where electricity is generated and where people experience the resulting PM2.5 health consequences; some states are net exporters of health impacts, other are net importers. Chapter 4 presents a study that investigates environmental health and climate impacts from inter-state road, rail, water, and air freight transportation in the U.S. This is the first detailed study to compare health, environmental justice, and climate impacts of four freight modes, studying each route separately. Average impacts per unit mass shipped are as follows. For all three impacts studied (PM2.5 health effects, racial-ethnic disparities in PM2.5 exposure, CO2 emissions), impacts are greatest for aircraft. Among non-aircraft modes: PM2.5 health effects are largest for rail, intermediate for barge, and lowest for truck; PM2.5 exposure disparities are largest for rail and are lower for truck and barge; climate impacts are largest for truck, intermediate for barge, and lowest for rail. Inter-state freight movement in the U.S. disproportionately impacts white non-Latinos relative to other racial-ethnic groups. This dissertation presents work to investigate air quality, health and climate impacts, and environmental justice-related issues from electricity generation and freight transportation. This work can be extended to other specific sectors of the economy and can be useful to scientists, planners, and policymakers to estimate environmental benefits of energy conservation programs and create policies that address environmental injustice. The metrics developed in this work can be applied by researchers to new electricity and transportation scenarios to understand their impacts and benefits.
Managing the nation's air quality is a complex undertaking, involving tens of thousands of people in regulating thousands of pollution sources. The authors identify what has worked and what has not, and they offer wide-ranging recommendations for setting future priorities, making difficult choices, and increasing innovation. This new book explores how to better integrate scientific advances and new technologies into the air quality management system. The volume reviews the three-decade history of governmental efforts toward cleaner air, discussing how air quality standards are set and results measured, the design and implementation of control strategies, regulatory processes and procedures, special issues with mobile pollution sources, and more. The book looks at efforts to spur social and behavioral changes that affect air quality, the effectiveness of market-based instruments for air quality regulation, and many other aspects of the issue. Rich in technical detail, this book will be of interest to all those engaged in air quality management: scientists, engineers, industrial managers, law makers, regulators, health officials, clean-air advocates, and concerned citizens.
This report assesses what evidence exists for the ways in which local air quality could influence local economic growth and how those effects might be relevant to the Pittsburgh region.
The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
The book is one of the outcomes of the SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration) project titled "Fine particulates matters in the air environment and their cancer risks in human beings," sponsored by MHRD (now MoE), Govt. of India. The editors of the book are PIs and Co-PIs of the said project. The text deliberates on air pollution's health risks with contributions from well-known experts from diverse research fields (environmental science, toxicology, geology, public health science, biology, physics, chemistry, and geospatial technology). It explores it its control and mitigation strategies. The book provides an up-to-date overview of the modern methods and tools used in air quality monitoring and human health risk assessment. Case studies from different global settings offer invaluable insights into air pollution-related regional health issues. It addresses all aspects of air quality, covering indoor-outdoor air pollution, gaseous and particulate pollutants; characterization of source and pathways of air pollutants; and the modeling and assessing of health risks (respiratory, epidemiological, and toxicological) with regional and global perspectives. It also addresses air quality management issues. The lucid explanation of the role of oxidative stress mechanisms and molecular biomarkers (genomics, proteomics) may be considered as inputs into the development of cancer therapeutics. Along with providing a scientific basis for air pollution, this book will help readers appreciate the environmental determinants of public health and apply research evidence to improve the quality of life. It also delineates future research initiatives and policy actions needed to protect human health from air pollution, locally and globally. The book will be of great educational value and help for consultation and teaching.
Policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions can also reduce outdoor levels of air pollutants that harm human health by targeting the same emissions sources. However, the design and scale of these policies can affect the distribution and size of air quality impacts, i.e. who gains from pollution reductions and by how much. Traditional air quality impact analysis seeks to address these questions by estimating pollution changes with regional chemical transport models, then applying economic valuations directly to estimates of reduced health risks. In this dissertation, I incorporate and build on this approach by representing the effect of pollution reductions across regions and income groups within a model of the energy system and economy. This new modeling framework represents how climate change and clean energy policy affect pollutant emissions throughout the economy, and how these emissions then affect human health and economic welfare. This methodology allows this thesis to explore the effect of policy design on the distribution of air quality impacts across regions and income groups in three studies. The first study compares air pollutant emissions under state-level carbon emission limits with regional or national implementation, as proposed in the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan. It finds that the flexible regional and national implementations lower the costs of compliance more than they adversely affect pollutant emissions. The second study compares the costs and air quality co-benefits of two types of national carbon policy: an energy sector policy, and an economy-wide cap-and-trade program. It finds that air quality impacts can completely offset the costs of a cost-effective carbon policy, primarily through gains in the eastern United States. The final study extends the modeling framework to be able to examine the impacts of ozone policy with household income. It finds that inequality in exposure makes ozone reductions relatively more valuable for low income households. As a whole, this work contributes to literature connecting actions to impacts, and identifies an ongoing need to improve our understanding of the connection between economic activity, policy actions, and pollutant emissions.
Air Pollution, Climate and Health integrates the current understanding of the issues of air pollution, climate change and human health. The book provides a comprehensive overview of these issues to help readers gain a better understanding of how they interact and impact air quality and public health. Regional examples from across the globe include issues related to PM 2.5, haze, winter pollution, heat related mortality and aerosols. These issues are addressed utilizing current research and laboratory-based, observation-based, and modeling-based analysis. This is an essential resource for all professionals investigating the impacts of climate change or air pollution on human health. Provides a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between climate change, air quality and human health Includes evidence-based findings to help clarify the mechanisms on how air pollution impacts climate and how a changing climate is impacting those pollutants Covers a number of pollution sources and products impacting climate change, including energy, haze, particulate matter, aerosols, PM 2.5 and transport
