Notice how bad the pollution is around New York. There is a reason why the death toll there has been so appalling: air pollution dramatically increases the death rate from the coronavirus. As the Australian government says:
The main effect of breathing in raised levels of nitrogen dioxide is the increased likelihood of respiratory problems. Nitrogen dioxide inflames the lining of the lungs, and it can reduce immunity to lung infections. This can cause problems such as wheezing, coughing, colds, flu and bronchitis.And it can triple or quadruple the death rate from coronavirus.
We could significantly reduce NO2 air pollution (which comes mostly from cars, lorries and buses) just by mandating that all new cars sold must have an electric engine. They don't have to be full-on EVs. Even an "old-fashioned" hybrid (HEV) uses 40-50% less petrol (gasoline) than a conventional (ICE) car. A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is even more efficient. It depends on the car and the kind of driving you do, but the Chevrolet Volt can get more than 100 m.p.g. (2.4 litres/100 km), in some cases as high as 150 m.p.g. The average car in the US achieves 24.9 m.p.g. (9.4 litres/100 km) This suggests that PHEVs could cut emissions 75%, or more if their batteries allow for a 30 miles plus electric range.
We could ban the sales of ICEVs tomorrow, and sweeten the deal with a $1500 cashback if you buy any car with an electric engine. And within 5 years we would have cut lethal NO2 by 50%.
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