“Climate change is here - we all need to do our part.”

Monday 23rd September 2019.
Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre

Climate change is happening.

CEAC – compendium facts tribute to ‘Climate Change Week’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/115098866/exceptionally-rare-warming-above-antarctica-may-be-affecting-nzs-weather
• So how do we get more out of life by using less energy and lower the air pollution/emissions that is increasing global warming?
ANSWER; Use public transport and rail freight rather than the National Party policy to commit 90% of all NZ’s freight task to road freight but this Government (EY) 2016 transport study shows we need far more rail use.
https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/assets/Uploads/documents/70bd71037f/The-Value-of-the-Rail-in-New-Zealand.pdf

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1908/S00391/ceac-supports-tribunal-criticism-of-crown-freshwater-failure.htm
On August 29th 2019 CEAC wrote an article showing how our rural area was exposed from overuse of truck freight that will cause road runoff pollutants into our waterways now since (quote) ‘our environment is now increasing with more trucks carrying all stock, aggregate, fertilser, supplies for farming, eg; fencing, draining pipes, earthmoving equipment, aggregate, stock feed, and many other supplies, so history now tells us that these trucks are also causing more carbon/emissions and pollutants from ‘road runoff of effluent, and vehicle contaminants’ EG; tyre dust, brake/clutch oil/exhaust pollutants as discussed in our press release.’ (unquote)

• How can we reduce (micro-plastics) along with other pollutant impacts to our steams/rivers/lakes/aquifers/drinking water/coastal regions?

IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER;

We must also stop the discharge of those tyre dust micro-plastics ‘road runoff’ into our coastal estuaries as this allows the microplastics to be carried by tidal/current flows to our polar ice shelves and snowfields which will increase snow and ice melting as a team of German scientists two weeks ago discovered tyre particulates have been discovered ice the polar snow and icecaps. https://phys.org/news/2017-02-tiny-plastic-particles-tyres-clogging.html

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/app.45701
While NZ could become a world leader by finally producing the first ‘new commercially available ‘eco-friendly vehicle tyre composition’ since it has been science tested but yet to go into production,

‘Eco-friendly vehicle tyre composition’ has been on the scientific horizon and has been known since 2001, - so why is it not in widespread use by now?
Perhaps ‘Big Oil’ felt it would damage their financial status after an oil free component vehicle tyre may be popular as they can be made of grass, trees, corn, and perhaps no petrochemicals may be needed to build the first “Eco-tyre?

(QUOTE) “According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, each tire produced takes 7 gallons of oil”

These two documents provide the evidence to show about “road dust from tyres is an overlooked pollutant of our waterways.
Tyre dust is micro-plastics.
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/277na4_en.pdf
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es400871j

• If the world is to limit the effects of global warming, drastic changes must be made and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ Executive Summary.

• All must be taken seriously now along with; “Comparison of Tire and Road Wear Particle Concentrations in Sediment for Watersheds in France, Japan, and the United States by Quantitative Pyrolysis GC/MS Analysis” report on sediments for watersheds.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es400871j
QUOTE: “Comparison of Tire and Road Wear Particle Concentrations in Sediment for Watersheds in France, Japan, and the United States by Quantitative Pyrolysis GC/MS Analysis

Abstract
Impacts of surface runoff to aquatic species are an ongoing area of concern. Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are a constituent of runoff, and determining accurate TRWP concentrations in sediment is necessary in order to evaluate the likelihood that these particles present a risk to the aquatic environment. TRWP consist of approximately equal mass fractions of tire tread rubber and road surface mineral encrustations. Sampling was completed in the Seine (France), Chesapeake (U.S.), and Yodo-Lake Biwa (Japan) watersheds to quantify TRWP in the surficial sediment of watersheds characterized by a wide diversity of population densities and land uses. By using a novel quantitative pyrolysis-GC/MS analysis for rubber polymer, we detected TRWP in 97% of the 149 sediment samples collected. The mean concentrations of TRWP were 4500 (n = 49; range = 62-11 600), 910 (n = 50; range = 50-4400) and 770 (n = 50; range = 26-4600) g/g d.w. for the characterized portions of the Seine, Chesapeake and Yodo-Lake Biwa watersheds, respectively. A subset of samples from the watersheds (n = 45) was pooled to evaluate TRWP metals, grain size and organic carbon correlations by principal components analysis (PCA), which indicated that four components explain 90% of the variance. The PCA components appeared to correspond to (1) metal alloys possibly from brake wear (primarily Cu, Pb, Zn), (2) crustal minerals (primarily Al, V, Fe), (3) metals mediated by microbial immobilization (primarily Co, Mn, Fe with TOC), and (4) TRWP and other particulate deposition (primarily TRWP with grain size and TOC). This study should provide useful information for assessing potential aquatic effects related to tire service life.
‘Impacts of surface runoff to aquatic species are an ongoing area of concern. Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are a constituent of runoff, and determining accurate TRWP concentrations in sediment is necessary in order to evaluate the likelihood that these particles present a risk to the aquatic environment.” UNQUOTE

This is very definitive study results using GCMS technology and we are at serious risk of extreme watershed pollution from road runoff using all road freight and public transport, and this is why CEAC is advocating use of rail.

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/277na4_en.pdf

According to the European Commission Environmental Integration Research the road dust (tyre dust) evidence is confirmed under the heading “Road dust; an overlooked pollutant.”

Many scientific studies have linked particulate air pollution to daily death rates in cities. However, most have focused either on fine particles (less than 2.5 micrometres (µm) diameter), which originate from vehicle exhausts, or on the combined effect of all particles under 10µm diameter, collectively termed PM10.

The total amount of PM10 is regulated under EU law, but the effects of coarse particles (2.5-10µm) are less well known, although laboratory studies suggest that short-term exposure may have serious health effects. In Stockholm, measures to reduce non tail-pipe emissions have included banning the use of private cars with studded tires in some streets to reduce road wear.

The road material is also important - as the harder it is, the lower the emissions (but this results in more noise than soft asphalt). In the new study, Swedish researchers calculated the concentration of coarse particles at a roof-top monitoring station in central Stockholm, using the difference between measurements of PM10 and PM2.5. They compared the daily averages of coarse particles for 2000-2008 with the number of daily deaths (excluding deaths due to external causes), using information from the Swedish Cause of Death Register.

There were 93,398 deaths during the study period, or, on average, 28.4 per day, and on average coarse particles made up 42% of total PM10 concentration. The researchers found that an increase in the coarse particle concentration of 10µg/m3 , resulted in a 1.7% increase in the daily death rate.

This relationship was associated with average levels on the day before death and the actual day, indicating a short-time lag. When these results were corrected for the presence of fine particles and other pollutants (ozone and carbon monoxide), the estimated effect of coarse particles decreased a little, but was still higher than the estimated effect of fine particles.

The increase in daily death rate was higher in late winter and spring (November-May) than in summer and autumn (Jun-Oct): 1.69% compared to 1.31%. This corresponded to higher coarse particle levels during this period; concentrations of over 20µg/m3 were found on 148 days during November-May compared to just four days at other times of year.

Although this study does not examine causes of death, experimental studies have linked exposure to coarse particles with pulmonary inflammation, impairment of the nervous system and development of cardiac arrhythmias. Having already accounted the effect of factors such as weather (temperature and humidity) on daily mortality, the researchers attribute the higher concentrations of coarse particles during November-May to a greater amount of suspended road sediment caused by the use of studded winter tyres, road salt and traction sand in winter.

Previous studies have found that road dust accounts for up to 90% of PM10 during winter in Stockholm. These results suggest that, alongside vehicle exhausts, exposure to coarse particles via road traffic is an important public health concern. The researchers recommend that the coarse particle fraction of PM10 is controlled separately under EU legislation to prevent exceeding maximum PM10 limits, particularly in cities where studded tyres are used.

Reducing the use of studded tires by imposing fines in cities has been a successful way to reduce coarse particles in countries such as Norway, but in other countries where the sources are much more diverse and less obvious, there is a lack of efficient abatement strategies. Sources of coarse particles that are difficult to control include wear of brake linings, wear of tires and desert dust transported to cities (such as in Spain) from nearby arid (desert) areas. Source: Meister, K. Johansson, C. & Forsberg, B. (2011) Estimated short-term effects of coarse particles on daily mortality in Stockholm, Sweden. Environmental Health Perspectives. DOI 10.1289/ehp.1103995.

This study is free to view at: http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1103995 Contact: kadri.meister@envmed.umu.se Theme(s): Air pollution, Environment and health, Urban environments Road dust: an overlooked urban pollutant

a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says.
. QUOTE;
https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Executive Summary
This chapter frames the context, knowledge-base and assessment approaches used to understand the impacts of 1.5°C global warming above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, building on the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.
Human-induced warming reached approximately 1°C (likely between 0.8°C and 1.2°C) above pre-industrial levels in 2017, increasing at 0.2°C (likely between 0.1°C and 0.3°C) per decade (high confidence). Global warming is defined in this report as an increase in combined surface air and sea surface temperatures averaged over the globe and over a 30-year period. Unless otherwise specified, warming is expressed relative to the period 1850–1900, used as an approximation of pre-industrial temperatures in AR5. For periods shorter than 30 years, warming refers to the estimated average temperature over the 30 years centred on that shorter period, accounting for the impact of any temperature fluctuations or trend within those 30 years. Accordingly, warming from pre- industrial levels to the decade 2006–2015 is assessed to be 0.87°C (likely between 0.75°C and 0.99°C). Since 2000, the estimated level of human-induced warming has been equal to the level of observed warming with a likely range of ±20% accounting for uncertainty due to contributions from solar and volcanic activity over the historical period (high confidence). {1.2.1}
Warming greater than the global average has already been experienced in many regions and seasons, with higher average warming over land than over the ocean (high confidence). Most land regions are experiencing greater warming than the global average, while most ocean regions are warming at a slower rate. Depending on the temperature dataset considered, 20–40% of the global human population live in regions that, by the decade 2006–2015, had already experienced warming of more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial in at least one season (medium confidence). {1.2.1, 1.2.2}
Past emissions alone are unlikely to raise global-mean temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (medium confidence), but past emissions do commit to other changes, such as further sea level rise (high confidence). If all anthropogenic emissions (including aerosol-related) were reduced to zero immediately, any further warming beyond the 1°C already experienced would likely be less than 0.5°C over the next two to three decades (high confidence), and likely less than 0.5°C on a century time scale (medium confidence), due to the opposing effects of different climate processes and drivers. A warming greater than 1.5°C is therefore not geophysically unavoidable: whether it will occur depends on future rates of emission reductions. {1.2.3, 1.2.4}
1.5°C emission pathways are defined as those that, given current knowledge of the climate response, provide a one- in-two to two-in-three chance of warming either remaining below 1.5°C or returning to 1.5°C by around 2100 following an overshoot. Overshoot pathways are characterized by the peak magnitude of the overshoot, which may have implications for impacts. All 1.5°C pathways involve limiting cumulative emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, and substantial reductions in other climate forcers (high confidence). Limiting cumulative emissions requires either reducing net global emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases to zero before the cumulative limit is reached, or net negative global emissions (anthropogenic removals) after the limit is exceeded. {1.2.3, 1.2.4, Cross-Chapter Boxes 1 and 2}
This report assesses projected impacts at a global average warming of 1.5°C and higher levels of warming. Global warming of 1.5°C is associated with global average surface temperatures fluctuating naturally on either side of 1.5°C, together with warming substantially greater than 1.5°C in many regions and seasons (high confidence), all of which must be considered in the assessment of impacts. Impacts at 1.5°C of warming also depend on the emission pathway to 1.5°C. Very different impacts result from pathways that remain below 1.5°C versus pathways that return to 1.5°C after a substantial overshoot, and when temperatures stabilize at 1.5°C versus a transient warming past 1.5°C (medium confidence). {1.2.3, 1.3}
Ethical considerations, and the principle of equity in particular, are central to this report, recognizing that many of the impacts of warming up to and beyond 1.5°C, and some potential impacts of mitigation actions required to limit warming to 1.5°C, fall disproportionately on the poor and vulnerable (high confidence). Equity has procedural and distributive dimensions and requires fairness in burden sharing both between generations and between and within nations. In framing the objective of holding the increase in the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, the Paris Agreement associates the principle of equity with the broader goals of poverty eradication and sustainable development, recognising that effective responses to climate change require a global collective effort that may be guided by the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. {1.1.1}
Climate adaptation refers to the actions taken to manage impacts of climate change by reducing vulnerability and exposure to its harmful effects and exploiting any potential benefits. Adaptation takes place at international, national and local levels. Subnational jurisdictions and entities, including urban and rural municipalities, are key to developing and reinforcing measures for reducing weather- and climate-related risks. Adaptation implementation faces several barriers including lack of up-to-date and locally relevant information, lack of finance and technology, social values and attitudes, and institutional constraints (high confidence). Adaptation is more likely to contribute to sustainable development when policies align with mitigation and poverty eradication goals (medium confidence). {1.1, 1.4}
Ambitious mitigation actions are indispensable to limit warming to 1.5°C while achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication (high confidence). Ill-designed responses, however, could pose challenges especially – but not exclusively – for countries and regions contending with poverty and those requiring significant transformation of their energy systems. This report focuses on ‘climate-resilient development pathways’, which aim to meet the goals of sustainable development, including climate adaptation and mitigation, poverty eradication and reducing inequalities. But any feasible pathway that remains within 1.5°C involves synergies and trade-offs (high confidence). Significant uncertainty remains as to which pathways are more consistent with the principle of equity.
{1.1.1, 1.4}
Multiple forms of knowledge, including scientific evidence, narrative scenarios and prospective pathways, inform the understanding of 1.5°C. This report is informed by traditional evidence of the physical climate system and associated impacts and vulnerabilities of climate change, together with knowledge drawn from the perceptions of risk and the experiences of climate impacts and governance systems. Scenarios and pathways are used to explore conditions enabling goal-oriented futures while recognizing the significance of ethical considerations, the principle of equity, and the societal transformation needed. {1.2.3, 1.5.2}
There is no single answer to the question of whether it is feasible to limit warming to 1.5°C and adapt to the consequences. Feasibility is considered in this report as the capacity of a system as a whole to achieve a specific outcome. The global transformation that would be needed to limit warming to 1.5°C requires enabling conditions that reflect the links, synergies and trade-offs between mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development. These enabling conditions are assessed across many dimensions of feasibility – geophysical, environmental-ecological, technological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional – that may be considered through the unifying lens of the Anthropocene, acknowledging profound, differential but increasingly geologically significant human influences on the Earth system as a whole. This framing also emphasises the global interconnectivity of past, present and future human–environment relations, highlighting the need and opportunities for integrated responses to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. {1.1, Cross-Chapter Box 1}

Clearly climate change is here. - We all collectively need to do our part.

CEAC.

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