Fuel Freedom Staff

Welcome to the season of the ‘Airpocalypse’

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All around the globe, air pollution impacts people’s lives — keeping people indoors, leading to conditions like asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, and even brain disease, and leading to millions of deaths each year. And no, this isn’t just a problem abroad: More than half of Americans live in areas that have unsafe levels of air pollution. Most of that air pollution comes from the toxic emissions spewing out of  the tailpipes of our cars and trucks.

We’ve compiled some examples of how air pollution is affecting the lives of people from London, to Shanghai, to Los Angeles, to Delhi, to Salt Lake City and even more places in a Twitter Moment. Below is a sample of what we’ve pulled together:

Smog can sweep in like a wave. Or a faceless villain in a John Carpenter movie. As it did in Beijing on Jan. 2.

In late January, London’s air surpassed Beijing’s in awfulness. Particulate matter, which can lodge in lungs, hit 197 micrograms per cubic meter; the recommended limit is 25.

Mexico City tried banning cars on Saturdays, expecting particulates and nitrogen oxides would fall 16 percent. But the gains never materialized.

The Wasatch front near Salt Lake City has its own air problems in wintertime, when pollution collects in the valley below the mountains.

The agency in charge improving SoCal air quality is focused primarily on stationary sources of pollution, like factories. Millions of cars are tougher to control.

Everyone deserves clean air to breathe, and that’s why we believe it’s so important that America and the world transition to cleaner fuels. This is one of the many reasons we’re fighting to ensure Americans have a choice of cleaner burning fuels at the pump. We hope you’ll join us in this fight by making a donation today.

Fuel Freedom Staff

Plastic-powered cars are on their way

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Picture this: It’s a regular day at the grocery store. You choose some products, go to the register, and accept some plastic bags from the cashier to carry your groceries home. When you get home, a bag wriggles out of your grasp and floats through the air. Your simple plastic bag has now joined the legion of un-recycled plastic that contributes to some frightening statistics. Read more →