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1
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 5:40:35am

Never. Diesel is carcinogenic. Benzene ring compounds are a very bad thing to breathe, and if you somehow think they pollute less then I hope that you get stranded behind black smoke pumping behemoths every long trip you take until you are convinced otherwise.

Laws that favor the use of diesel, rather than gasoline, engines in cars may actually encourage global warming, according to a new study. Although diesel cars obtain 25 to 35 percent better mileage and emit less carbon dioxide than similar gasoline cars, they can emit 25 to 400 times more mass of particulate black carbon and associated organic matter (“soot”) per kilometer [mile]. The warming due to soot may more than offset the cooling due to reduced carbon dioxide emissions over several decades, according to Mark Z. Jacobson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

news.stanford.edu

Let’s also not forget that diesels will cause more cancers.

Different types of soot contain different amounts of BC—generally the blacker the soot, the more of a warming agent it is. Fossil fuel and biofuel soot are blacker than soot from biomass burning[4] (e.g., forest fires and wood fuel), which is generally more of a brownish color. Thus, controlling emissions of soot from fuel sources is an effective way of reducing atmospheric temperatures in the short term. Based on current information, the United States is responsible for about 6 percent of global BC emissions; while it has a history of making reductions to improve air quality, further improvements can be made. The majority of BC emissions come from the developing world: China and India together account for some 25-35 percent of emissions.
Control technologies that reduce BC include retrofitting diesel vehicles with filters to capture BC, fuel switching (e.g., from diesel to natural gas in buses), and replacement of inefficient cook stoves with cleaner alternatives. Adopting these alternatives would have positive co-benefits for public health, especially in the developing world. For example, retrofitting or replacing diesel buses and trucks would greatly improve urban air quality in densely populated cities. Replacement of dirty cook stoves with cleaner alternatives, such as solar cookers or newer models that burn fuel more completely, would improve indoor air quality, which is a major health concern in both urban and rural areas of the developing world.
Reducing BC emissions[5] represents a win-win scenario: it would have an immediate cooling effect on the Earth’s climate, potentially delaying temperature increases in the short run and helping reduce the risk of irreversible tipping points in the climate system, and it would reduce air pollution, resulting in fewer premature deaths and fewer missed work and school days.

and let’s also not forget that diesel fuels cause cancer.

2
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 5:45:38am

The rest of this story involves the higher NOx and Sulphur dioxide output from Diesels, both also very harmful to mammal health. We spent decades cleaning gasoline car exhaust in the US, why would we want to go back to an engine type whose manufacturers have to cheat to pass emissions tests? VW I am looking at you.

3
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 5:54:01am

You should also see this study, note the chart around page 7 that compares CO2 to CO, to Black Carbon.

4
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 6:03:25am

yaleclimateconnections.org

For instance, in 2002, many European countries were meeting their Kyoto Protocol obligations by switching from gasoline to diesel vehicles, which can offer better mileage and lower carbon dioxide emissions. Jacobson’s models, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, concluded that, even with stringent U.S. and European standards, diesel vehicles could warm the climate more over 100 years than gasoline-powered cars as a result of the relatively higher black carbon content of diesel. “Almost all particles from diesel vehicles are types that warm climate rather than cool climate,” Jacobson later told Congress at a black carbon hearing in 2007.

The pending American Power Act introduced in the U.S. Senator by Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry and Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman calls for a “black carbon reduction retrofit program” which, if enacted, would authorize EPA to make grants of an unspecified amount for installing diesel filters on vehicles built before 2007.

It’s an approach unlikely to satisfy Jacobson, who expresses little tolerance for diesel, even with filters installed. “The addition of a particle trap to a diesel vehicle increases its fuel use by 3.5-8.5 percent. Assuming a 5 percent increase, diesels with a trap emit even more CO2 per unit distance than do the gasoline vehicles,” he has testified before a congressional committee. Jacobson strongly recommended switching from both diesel and gasoline powered vehicles to renewably-powered alternatives. He also emphasized the need to target other fossil-fuel sources of black carbon, such as aviation fuel and coking coal.

5
William_1222  Dec 7, 2016 • 6:32:44am

re: #4 Thanos

Had a look at the presentation.

Actually really good,

Thanks for sharing.

6
William_1222  Dec 7, 2016 • 6:33:47am

re: #2 Thanos

Very good point,

I do find it really interesting that diesels just don’t sell anywhere near as well in the USA as they do in Europe. Saying that loads of European cities are planning to ban them I think??

7
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 7:01:13am

re: #6 William_1222

Very good point,

I do find it really interesting that diesels just don’t sell anywhere near as well in the USA as they do in Europe. Saying that loads of European cities are planning to ban them I think??

I would wager that Europe has begun to conclude that Diesel is not the answer. One of the pressing issues of the coming decades will be finding clean replacements for shipping and aero fuels, both of of which depend on long complex carbon chain fuels that produce more black carbon.

8
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 7:02:38am

You might want to edit or replace your poll, it appears to be not working.

9
William_1222  Dec 7, 2016 • 7:45:45am

re: #8 Thanos

I thought that too.

Will try.

10
William_1222  Dec 7, 2016 • 7:47:37am

re: #7 Thanos

That is a good point. When all the media focus is on Tesla and changing cars to alternative fuels, aero and shipping use so much fuel which provides worse outcomes right?

11
Charles Johnson  Dec 7, 2016 • 8:24:15pm

I’m just wondering why you have the same IP address as VickiHaz, who has also posted links to autotrader​.co​.uk?

This isn’t obvious spam, but it sure does have a spammy odor to it.

12
Thanos  Dec 7, 2016 • 8:29:46pm

re: #11 Charles Johnson

I’m just wondering why you have the same IP address as VickiHaz, who has also posted links to autotrader​.co​.uk?

This isn’t obvious spam, but it sure does have a spammy odor to it.

I noticed that as well. perhaps just blocking that site might stop that behavior.


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