Fleet managers, policy-makers, and citizens across the country are becoming aware of the benefits of cleaning up our diesel fleets. Diesel cleanup strategies have great potential to improve our economy, energy security, and environment. The benefits are real, whether we feel them directly at the pump, or indirectly through the health and environmental advantages from cleaning up diesel pollution.
Economic and Energy Security Benefits
The economic case for curbing diesel fuel consumption is solid. We all felt the pain when tight oil markets pushed diesel fuel prices to record-high levels in 2008. According to industry experts, we should expect steadily rising prices and periodic price spikes for traditional diesel fuel as supply streams struggle to keep pace with increasing global demand. Even with aggressive exploration and development of domestic oil supplies, an increasing percentage of our oil will have to come from unstable regimes in the Middle East and Africa.10 The bottom line is that we should plan on oil prices staying high and rising. Currently, the International Energy Agency predicts oil prices rising to $122-$195 per barrel by 2020 ($3.76- $5.62 per gallon).
Health and Environmental Benefits
Emissions from diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions, such as asthma and allergies, and can also worsen heart and lung disease, especially for vulnerable populations such as children and older individuals. Across the nation, diesel exhaust emissions are estimated to cause over $139 billion in non-climate-related health costs every year, including 21,000 premature deaths, 2.4 million work loss days and 14 million restricted activity days.
In just the state of Ohio, diesel cleanup has the potential to save billions of dollars in annual health costs. Ohio consumed about 5.2 million gallons of diesel fuel per day in 2008.14 The Ohio transportation sector emits 32,060 tons of particulate matter, 10,654,693 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), 3,017,049 tons of carbon monoxide, and 6,955,360 tons of volatile organic compounds each year.15 These emissions cost Ohio an estimated $5.1 billion in health costs annually.16 Diesel pollution also disrupts ecosystems in ways that damage crop yields, imposing significant additional costs on Ohio’s important agriculture industry.
Another important environmental benefit of diesel cleanup is the mitigation of C02 and other Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The use of diesel fuel accounts for 445.7 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide emissions each year, or about 23% of all transportation sector C02 emissions.17 Reduction of GHG emissions strengthens an already strong business case for investing in diesel cleanup strategies.
Beyond these benefits, Ohio has an additional set of incentives to address diesel cleanup. The U.S. EPA, under the Clean Air Act, monitors several air pollutants to protect public health. Ohio has a number of counties designated in non-attainment status for at least one of the criteria pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act. States with counties that fail to attain federal standards are subject to enhanced regulatory oversight by the EPA. States in non-attainment status also face more restrictive industrial permitting, costly mandatory emissions offsets, and the potential of losing federal transportation funding. All these consequences hinder economic development opportunities.
