EVcast #322: Economics of Alternative Fuels

Joe,
    Thanks for the podcast.  I always learn something.  Regarding Cancer Corridors in Massachusetts, do you happen to have any links on that?  It is interesting that diesel fuel from trucks would create such local pollution near the roadways given that we burn diesel to heat our homes up here.
John

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John, Unfortunately I haven't been able to find that study again in several attempts at doing Google search for it. It was probably out of a study I read off of EBSCO Host while in graduate school many years ago. However, there have been several studies since then about the dangers of diesel, many coming in the last few years. Here is one study that doesn't talk about the particular contribution of diesel cars, however, mixed into the study there is a study of the health problems associated with living near diesel train yards. That should give you an idea of what people are facing who live near heavy transportation corridors. 

http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/committee/zamorepm.doc

Google "diesel cancer corridors" and you will find a wealth of information. 

One particular visual that I found useful in telling the story of how cancer has moved from the old industrial centers to the transportation corridors is at the link below. Read the article but look at the map showing the cancer rates in Seattle, Washington. Notice the intense read areas where cancer rates are highest and notice that the these dark red cancer zones occur right along major roadways. 

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/374066_badair08.html

Studies done in Germany have found the same was true around their major cities. The particulate matter found when burning diesel is particularly active in forming all sorts of illnesses at a much greater rate than gasoline. Gasoline burns relatively clean in comparison. America's resistance to diesel is that it quickly and identifiably causes a palpable drop in the air's breathable quality. Attempts to reduce the clearly identifiable smell and cinder problem of diesel has lead to laws requiring the removal of most of the sulfur in diesel. However, low sulfur diesel still maintains a battery of pollution problems unrelated to its sulfur content. Diesel is still a very dirty fuel regardless of how bad it smells or how much it stings your eyes. However, calling something low sulfur diesel lacked that certain marketing panache needed to make it acceptable to the purchasing public. The stuff still makes you feel ill when you are near its fumes. During the last administration low sulfur diesel was rebadged as "clean diesel," however, the fuel in essence was not changed. With its new name and with a greater marketing presence such as the running of commercials with 18 wheeler diesel trucks driving around with a clearer, cleaner, more colorful world appearing in a V shape out of the trucks smokestack and expounding on the virtues of clean diesel, have worked to confuse people enough to think that purchasing a diesel vehicle would be some kind of environmentalist act. Since I know better, I see those ads for what they are, they are at best false advertising, if not out and out lying. 

John, I hope the links above and the Google search help you see the light. You may think that diesel produces less CO2 than gasoline because of its high efficiency, but in reality diesel is a more carbon intense fuel so you don't get the CO2 advantage and you get a bucket load of other nastiness for your efforts. It is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. 

If you are using diesel to heat your home, really look into switching to natural gas. It typically isn't that hard to do and the pollution benefits are significant, even if it still produces some CO2. 

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