Promoting climate literacy by facilitating knowledge sharing, experiential learning, and community building

With the continual and steep climb towards 2℃ warming despite having completed our 30th multibillion-dollar Conference of the Parties (COP30), it’s time we address the flaws in our reliance on international climate governance. If we are unable to depend on parties to agree, much less follow through with their commitments, it’s imperative that we explore how other stakeholders should collaborate and fulfill their necessary roles to progress despite shortfalls at the negotiating table.

Think about what pollutes the air. Do cars come to mind? Maybe factories, power plants, or cigarette smoke? But here is something most people rarely think about: the road itself. Yes, the actual road we travel on. Right now, there are over 4 million miles of roads in America (ASCE, 2021). More than 94% of the paved ones are made of asphalt, a thick dark material made from crude oil (National Asphalt Pavement Association). Studies have found that asphalt releases chemicals called Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, into the surrounding air, and understanding this is an important piece of the larger air quality puzzle.