The Netherlands, a slow-mover in most environmental aspects, has a pact to try to meet the former guidelines in 2030. Compliance with the new WHO guidelines will outlive me, at least if no technical magic bullit outside of governements hands shows up. I’m quite positive on liquid H + electrify everything but the rate of change is far, far to slow.
Luckily we have our "greenest cabinet ever" in power at the moment, headed by the self proclaimed "vroom vroom party". I'm sure everything will turn out fine.... /s
Most countries in Europe have banned burning coal at home for decades. For heating burning wood is a major source of pollution. Other reasons are cars and the relatively high population density.
The particulate output of these pales in comparison to the coal plants though. Reminds me of when China clamped down on street vendors who used open fires while ignoring the steel plants down the road.
Tonnes of release doesnt tell the whole story though. Domestic burners are closer to the ground and other humans. Coal power stations have stacks to shoot the emissions higher in the atmosphere.
In developed countries it just seems like a backward step when people can afford something better than fashion driven legacy technology.
Exactly, and even in china I imagine the coal plants have at least a basic filtration system, not to mention European coal plants. Which of course no home fireplace has.
There’s an old dude upwind from our house who still heats his home with coal.. probably the last in our village of 4000 people which has had mains gas since the 1990s.
It’s choking outside in the winter, just from this one fire. I’m thinking about offering to put in a heat pump for him and pick up his electricity bill, it’s that bad.
Imagine what it was like when everyone used to heat with it !
Keep in mind that both of these are in the valley surrounded by hills and mountains, forcing the smog to stay for days during colder weather with no rain or snow to disperse it.
Hey, at least you have only one such neighbor. Imagine how bad it is with a few thousand of them, burning sulfur-rich coal 10-11 months a year with a few plastic bottles and car tires thrown in for good measure. Wait, I don't have to imagine it, just take a look outside.
The Australian Wildfires of 2020 were a wakeup call to me for both how important this is to happy living and how shared our atmosphere is.
I spent that entire period watching windy.com particulate maps and forcasts trying to time when I rode into work, for weeks on end it wasn't smart to do so, and those fires were in another state to me entirely, thousands of KM away.
I feek for those who live in countries where polution is nearly as bad year round as those fires were during their peak.