Time to put things into perspective.
First, no one wants dirty smoggy air. That's something we can all agree upon.
So how far have we come, baby?
From the EPA: http://www3.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/milestones.htm
Originally Posted By: EPA
Air pollution and cars were first linked in the early 1950’s by a California researcher who determined that traffic was to blame for the smoggy skies over Los Angeles. At the time, typical new cars were emitting nearly 13 grams per mile hydrocarbons (HC), 3.6 grams per mile nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 87grams per mile carbon monoxide (CO). Since then, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set standards to bring down levels of these pollutants, and the auto industry has responded by developing new emission control technologies.
Today, NOx standards: http://www3.epa.gov/tier2/documents/f99051.pdf
Originally Posted By: EPA
The new tailpipe standards are set at an average standard of 0.07 grams per mile for nitrogen oxides for all classes of passenger vehicles beginning in 2004. This includes all light-duty trucks, as well as the largest SUVs. Vehicles weighing less than 6000 pounds will be phased-in to this standard between 2004 and 2007.
So even if they are at 40x the T2 standard, that's still below the typical vehicle of the 1950s. Keep in mind, they were not constantly running at 40x the standard either. They just went up to 40x that standard at certain points during the monitoring.
Not saying VW (or others TBD) should be cheating. Just saying we should put this in perspective.
Not to mention, diesels are a small fraction of the cars sold in the US and other pollutants are at far lower levels than the typical 1950's car.
The sky is not falling with respect to pollutants. We've done a remarkable job in cleaning up tail pipe emissions. Let's never forget how far we've come.
First, no one wants dirty smoggy air. That's something we can all agree upon.
So how far have we come, baby?
From the EPA: http://www3.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/milestones.htm
Originally Posted By: EPA
Air pollution and cars were first linked in the early 1950’s by a California researcher who determined that traffic was to blame for the smoggy skies over Los Angeles. At the time, typical new cars were emitting nearly 13 grams per mile hydrocarbons (HC), 3.6 grams per mile nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 87grams per mile carbon monoxide (CO). Since then, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set standards to bring down levels of these pollutants, and the auto industry has responded by developing new emission control technologies.
Today, NOx standards: http://www3.epa.gov/tier2/documents/f99051.pdf
Originally Posted By: EPA
The new tailpipe standards are set at an average standard of 0.07 grams per mile for nitrogen oxides for all classes of passenger vehicles beginning in 2004. This includes all light-duty trucks, as well as the largest SUVs. Vehicles weighing less than 6000 pounds will be phased-in to this standard between 2004 and 2007.
So even if they are at 40x the T2 standard, that's still below the typical vehicle of the 1950s. Keep in mind, they were not constantly running at 40x the standard either. They just went up to 40x that standard at certain points during the monitoring.
Not saying VW (or others TBD) should be cheating. Just saying we should put this in perspective.
Not to mention, diesels are a small fraction of the cars sold in the US and other pollutants are at far lower levels than the typical 1950's car.
The sky is not falling with respect to pollutants. We've done a remarkable job in cleaning up tail pipe emissions. Let's never forget how far we've come.
