Natural Gas Trucks as viable solution in fight against pollution
Heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses total 7 percent of all vehicles on America’s roadways but account for an outsized 50 percent of all smog-precursor emissions – including nitrogen oxides, or NOx, and diesel particulate matter – and 20 percent of all transportation-related greenhouse gases, or GHGs.
Local, state and federal regulators continue to target HDVs to address the air quality issue. And for good reason. Four in 10 people in the U.S. live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2018 “State of the Air” report. That raises the risk of premature death and increases the likelihood of developing lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and asthma. This increased risk is evidenced by the fact that 25 million Americans, or 8 percent of our total population, suffer from asthma.
By Chad Lindholm, VP Clean Energy