Actually two CCs this week. One shows the triumph of the automobile in US life since 1970, in which the total miles traveled in cars and trucks soared almost 3-fold as Americans enjoyed great freedom of mobility (except during the conspicuous 2020 Covid lockdown). The other shows the total national emissions of that other carbon-oxygen pair, namely carbon monoxide or CO, which is spewed from automobile tailpipes and is a genuine pollutant which make us sick or even can kill humans at high enough concentrations, unlike its cousin carbon dioxide or CO2 which is harmless to humans and the elixir of life for plants. Here is the first graph, showing Vehicle Miles Traveled (with FRED being Federal Reserve Economic Data):

Does it imply a similar rise in CO emissions?

Nope. Over the same interval total national CO emissions plummeted according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data:

VMT traveled went up by 191% (2.91x) from 1970 to 2023 but CO emissions fell by 84%. And it all happened without a carbon tax. That shows the power of technology and innovation, in this case improved engine efficiency and the invention of catalytic converters, those little devices on your car’s exhaust pipe that reduce emissions of CO and other pollutants.

Can the same thing happen for CO2? Not at present. There is no technology that can sharply reduce CO2 emissions from tailpipes comparable to what catalytic converters do for CO. If such a thing does appear and is as affordable as catalytic converters then the climate issue will be over. In the meantime, we offer this week’s Cheerful Charts as a reminder that through innovation and ingenuity we can solve real environmental problems in ways that allow us to keep enjoying life including, in this case, the freedom to travel.