Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
(a)
(b)
20
15
10
5
1970
1980
1990
Years
2000
2010
Figure 8.6. Horizontal annual mean visibility from 1973 to 2008 for stations in coastal western Europe (green)
and the sulfur triangle (red, black, and blue). From Stjern et al. (2011).
glass, ceramic, and iron factories flourished in the sulfur
triangle following World War II. The pollution in the
sulfur triangle may have killed up to 7,000 people per
year in the mid-1970s (McNeill, 2000) and caused up to
50 percent forest dieback between 1972 and 1989 (Ardo
et al., 1997). After the reunification of Germany in 1990,
most lignite mines and associated power plants in for-
mer East Germany were shut down, and the remain-
ing power plants were retrofitted with pollution con-
trol equipment. Nevertheless, coal is still Germany's
only domestic source of nonrenewable energy, and
Germany burns oil and coal at one of the highest rates
in the EU.
Figure 8.6 shows visibility changes between 1983
and 2008 in coastal western Europe and in three regions
of the sulfur triangle. Pollution reduction during this
period increased horizontal visibility by about 15 km
in the sulfur triangle, compared with less than 2.5 km
in coastal western Europe (Stjern et al., 2011). Most
visibility improvements in the sulfur triangle occurred
following the 1990 reunification of Germany and
the resulting elimination of the lignite-burning power
plants.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Germany had a strong
environmental political party, the Greens. As a result,
Germany had tougher environmental legislation than
many other EU nations. To promote clean air, the fed-
eral government of Germany instituted eco taxes on
gasoline and electricity. The first tax went into effect on
April 1, 1999. Revenues from the tax were used to fund
renewable energy programs.
Germany's air pollution control strategy is designed
to meet EU ambient and emission standards. To meet
these standards, the federal government uses an air
pollution regulation tool referred to as the Technical
Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA Luft). The
TA Luft was first instituted in West Germany in 1964
and revised in 1974, 1983, 1988, and 2002. The TA Luft
regulates emissions of dust, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxides, fluorine, arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, mer-
cury, thallium, ammonia, and particulate matter, among
other chemicals. It also sets procedures for licensing
new industrial facilities and monitoring pollution. In
1974, West Germany enacted the Federal Air Pollu-
tion Control Act ,which was subsequently amended
several times, including in 1985 and 2002. This act
set broad goals for reducing air pollution in Germany
using specific regulations set under TA Luft. Another
air pollution control tool, the Federal Immission Con-
trol Act ,was passed in 1990 and amended in 2000.
The purpose of the act was to control emissions from
the installation and operation of facilities; the produc-
tion and testing of fuels, products, and vehicles; and the
construction of public roads and railways.
8.2.5. Russia
Russia had a population of 142 million people in
2011. Emissions from 30 million vehicles, old fac-
tories, and uncontrolled burning of waste and wood
have caused significant environmental degradation and
health impacts. Cherepovets (“city of skulls”), Norilisk,
and Karabash, Russia, for example, are among the most
polluted cities in the world. Moscow (Figure 8.7a)
and St. Petersburg (Figure 8.7b) similarly suffer from
power plant, industrial facility, and vehicular pollu-
tion. Air pollution particles from wildfires in Russia
during August 2010 increased the all-cause death rate
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search