 Environment - January 19, 2008 |
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| Emissions down, but nobody’s carpooling |
By Kevin Ma
Staff Writer
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Albertans have cut pollution from their cars over the last decade, according to a local air quality group, but have stalled when it comes to carpooling.
The Clean Air Strategic Alliance, or CASA, released its on-road vehicle emission survey earlier this month. The study found that while pollution from Alberta cars has fallen since 1996, most of the people driving them were driving alone — about 84 per cent, in Edmonton’s case.
"There are more drivers driving by themselves," said Miles Kitagawa of the Toxics Watch Society and member of CASA. "We’re chauffeuring more empty seats in the province than people."
CASA is a multi-stakeholder group that monitors air quality in Alberta. In 2006, it used two vans equipped with infrared sensors to scan what was coming out of the tailpipes of some 66,000 cars in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and Canmore.
The study found the amount of pollutants in car exhaust had dropped substantially since the study was last done in 1998. Carbon monoxide levels dropped to 0.18 per cent from 0.69, for example, and similar drops were detected in nitrogen oxides and particulate matter — all chemicals that contribute to smog and respiratory illness. It attributed this to changes in car technology and standards.
About 80 per cent of this pollution came from 20 per cent of the cars, Kitagawa noted. Those cars tended to be more than 10 years old, heavier and propane-fuelled. "They are polluting in excess of five times what their design specification was."
What hasn’t changed is the number of people driving alone: the report found that about 84 per cent of Edmonton cars contained just one person, the highest in the study and up from 82 per cent in 1998. Calgary and Red Deer’s rate stayed approximately the same, while Canmore’s dropped to about half from close to three-quarters.
Kitagawa blamed Edmonton’s trend on the fact that more teens drive their own cars instead of travelling with their parents. This is unfortunate, he said, since this means more cars on the road and more pollution. "We are not making progress." He called for a policy such as a carbon tax to penalize inefficient driving and encourage more people to car-pool or take a bus.
The study also suggests a need to get drivers to take better care of their cars, he said. About 30 per cent of the cars built before 1986 were heavy polluters, suggesting their engines weren’t properly tuned, compared to just two per cent of cars built after 1998. He suggested a system similar to photo radar where sensors monitor cars and send reminders to owners if their cars are heavy polluters.
The study is available at www.casahome.org. |
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