Summary of Recent Environmental Studies

Summary of Recent Environmental Studies

Energ Blog of Dennis Silverman at sites.uci.edu/energyobserver

Department of Physics and Astronomy, UC Irvine.

California with seven states ban assault weapons and magazines maxed at 10 rounds. Among lowest death rate states at 7.4 per 100,000 and only 20% gun possession. US tops industrial states at 9 per 100,000 and 33% gun possession among adults.

Inrix traffic analysis has Los Angeles as leading world city in hours lost in traffic at 102 hours, or two hours a week. This cost drivers $9.6 billion, or $2,400 per driver. The US average is 42 hours at a cost of $300 billion, or $1,400 per driver. 10 of the top 25 world congestion winners are in the US.

Science Survey on global warming. About 46% convinced global warming was happening. 24% understand global warming well. Only 7% sure that it is not happening. About 60% concerned about global warming, as of 2016, before last year’s floods and fires. Most hadn’t heard that 97% of climate scientists convinced of climate change. Nuclear energy only supported by 44%.

Covered No New Drilling Rally in Laguna Beach. Pictures on my Flickr account.

Worldwide smog maps. China has many very bad cities at four times PM2.5 as LA-OC worst days. Also India. Mild smog in Italy, Turkey, and Balkans. 4.1 million early deaths a year from outdoor smog, 2 million from indoor pollution. In US, 200,000 early deaths a year

Health effects of smog in Southern California from analysis by Jane Hall and Victor Brajer of Cal State Fullerton. From 2005-2007, 1.1 million school absence days costing $106 million, 825 hospital admissions costing $33 million. In last 5 years, smog still at 71% of those levels. Another study of San Joaquin Valley and South Coast Basin, 3,800 premature deaths a year. For south coast basin cost is $1,250 per person, or $22 billion a year. In Los Angeles, twice as many deaths a year from smog than from traffic accidents.

Solar Cell and Panel tariff is 30% of 50 Cents per Watt, or 15 cents per Watt. But installed systems average $3.17 per Watt. So about a 5% increase in cost. Estimated loss of 9% in installed systems, and 23,000 of 260,000 solar workers

New climate change data. Warming of land since 1880 is a full 2.0 degrees C, which is 3.8 degrees F. More important in many ways than world average.

LA-OC PM2.5 in last five years average 22.4 days in the 100-150 or Orange range of Unhealty for Sensitive Groups.  Down to a third of what it was around the year 2000.

Reported on Newport Beach Sea Level Rise meeting.  Cost for raised sea walls could be a billion dollars over next 50-100 years.

About Dennis SILVERMAN

I am a retired Professor of Physics and Astronomy at U C Irvine. For two decades I have been active in learning about energy and the environment, and in reporting on those topics for a decade. For the last four years I have added science policy. Lately, I have been reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of our times.
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