ABSTRACT
Emissions from one automobile are generally low, relative to an industrial (e.g., coal power plant) smokestack. However, aggregating emissions from millions of vehicles results in the automobile being the largest air polluter. Driving an automobile is probably a household’smost polluting activity. Efforts since 1970 have greatly reduced typical vehicle emissions. However, by 2007, the number of miles driven had increased by 150 percent, which offset the benefits of controlling emissions. Since 2007, themiles driven has started to decline due to the rising cost of fuel and the Great Recession. This decline in vehicle emissions coupled with reduced miles driven results in major reductions in on-road automobile pollutants; yielding significant improvements in air quality.
