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Temporal and spatial variations of

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 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

www.elsevier.com/locate/jes

Temporal and spatial variations of air pollution

across China from 2015 to 2018

Xiaoteng Zhou 1,2,∗, Vladimir Strezov 1,2, Yijiao Jiang 1,3, Tao Kan 2,
Tim Evans 1,2
1 ARC Research Hub for Computational Particle Technology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109,
Australia
2 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University,

Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia

3 School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109,

Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study investigated concentrations of PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , NO2 , CO and O3 , and air quality
Received 27 June 2020 index (AQI) values across 368 cities in mainland China during 2015–2018. The study further
Revised 21 April 2021 examined relationships of air pollution status with local industrial capacities and vehicle
Accepted 23 April 2021 possessions. Strong correlations were found between industrial capacities (coal, pig iron,
crude steel and rolled steel) and air pollution levels. Although statistical and significant
reductions of PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , NO2 , CO and AQI values were observed in response to var-
Keywords: ious laws and regulations in industrial sectors, both particle and gaseous pollutants still
PM2.5 had annual average concentrations above recommended limits. In order to further reduce
PM10 air pollution, more efforts can be done to control traffic emissions caused by minicars and
SO2 heavy trucks, which was revealed after investigating 16 vehicle types. This was also consis-
NO2 tent with the apparent air quality improvement during the COVID-19 lockdown period in
Industrial products China in 2020, despite industrial operations being still active at full capacities.
Vehicle numbers © 2021 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of
Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

cially with regards to the problem of air pollution. In 2014,

Introduction it was estimated that 142 million people from 155 Chinese
cities were exposed to air pollutants exceeding the acceptable
China, as the largest developing country, has been amongst
amount outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO)
the world’s fastest growing economies, with a gross national
standards (Han et al., 2018).
income per capita increasing from US$940 in 2000 to US$8690
In order to better monitor air pollution across China, the
in 2017 (Morrison, 2019). However, its rapid economic growth
Chinese National Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP)
has come at the expense of its environmental sustainability
established a monitoring network to provide real-time air pol-
(Kan, 2009). Dealing with the current environmental pollution
lution data since 2000. In 2000, there were initially only 47
poses one of the most pressing challenges for China, espe-
cities covered in the monitoring system, which expanded to
include 120 cities in 2011. However, PM2.5 pollution was not in-
cluded in the monitoring system until 2012. The MEP started
∗
Corresponding author. to report and release hourly and daily air quality data, includ-
E-mail: [email protected] (X. Zhou).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2021.04.025
1001-0742/© 2021 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.
162 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169

ing PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , NO2 , CO, O3 and air quality index (AQI) and minicar) and private trucks (heavy, medium, light and
across 120 cities in 2012 and has since expanded this network mini).
to 368 cities from 2015 until now (Hu et al., 2014). The air quality data was analyzed and calculated using
In addition to increasing and expanding its monitoring net- Python 3.7.5. The correlations of industrial activities or vehicle
work, a range of laws and regulations have been issued by possession with air quality during 2015–2018 were analyzed by
the Chinese government (Zhang et al., 2019). Previous studies IBS SPSS Statistics 25. The software of ArcGIS 10.6 was used for
demonstrated that industrial and vehicle emissions were the mapping and the OriginLab 2018 was employed for diagram
major human activities contributing to air pollution in China representation in this study.
(Tian et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2019, 2020), as substantial evi-
dence showed that multiple air pollutant levels were higher at
industrial areas or near highway and busy roads compared to 2. Results
background locations. Strengthened emission standards were
enacted to control industrial and vehicle emissions across This study summarised the spatial and temporal changes of
China. For example, the vehicle emission standards were im- the six criteria air pollutants (PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , NO2 , O3 and
proved from China 1, 2 and 3, to China 4 and 5 standards (fuel CO) and AQI across 368 cities in mainland China during 2015 to
quality levels), and emission-intensive industrial sectors, such 2018 (Fig. S1). The temporal data are compiled and displayed
as iron and steel, were required to install cleaning systems in Figs. 1 and 2, and the spatial variations are described in
(Zhang et al., 2019). Figs. S2 and S3. In addition, this study investigated two ma-
Furthermore, a long-term objective for environmental pro- jor contributors of industrial activities and vehicle popula-
tection was specified in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2015– tion to air pollution across mainland China. Their associations
2020), highlighting the key air pollutants, SO2 and NOx, would with concentrations of PM2.5 during 2015–2018 were plotted in
be reduced by 15% by 2020, while the particulate matter would Figs. 3 and 4, and the associations with other air pollutants are
be reduced by at least 25%. A recent study (Shen et al., 2020) detailed in Tables S1 and S2.
showed the decline of particle and gaseous pollutants be-
tween 2015 and 2018, however this study was only focused on 2.1. Temporal variations
five key regions in China. Hence, a large-scale study covering
the major cities in China is required to show the changes of 2.1.1. Yearly changes
air pollution and assess if the current measures acted are ef- The average concentrations of PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , CO and AQI in
fective to help achieve the environmental aims specified in mainland China showed a dramatic decline from 2015 to 2018
China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. (Fig. 1a–g). For example, compared to the annual concentra-
Therefore, this study investigated the spatial and temporal tions of PM2.5 (49.7 μg/m3 ) and PM10 (87.0 μg/m3 ) in 2015, their
variations of six air pollutant concentrations and AQI values to concentrations declined to 38.9 μg/m3 and 75.5 μg/m3 , respec-
demonstrate their hourly, daily and yearly distributions across tively, in 2018 at a significance level of p = 0.0001 (Fig. 1a, b).
368 cities in mainland China during 2015–2018. This study fur- The annual average SO2 concentration in 2018 was only half
ther examined correlations between air pollution and indus- of its concentration in 2015 (13.4 μg/m3 vs 24.8 μg/m3 ) (Fig. 1c).
trial capacities/vehicle possession across locations to explore The annual values of CO and AQI also decreased significantly
other potential measures to control air pollution in China. (p < 0.0001) during the four years (Fig. 1f, g).
However, the annual concentration of O3 showed an op-
posite temporal trend, which increased from 56.1 μg/m3 in
1. Materials and methods 2015, 58.6 μg/m3 in 2016, 63.3 μg/m3 in 2017 to 64.8 μg/m3
in 2018 (Fig. 1e). Furthermore, the annual NO2 concentration
In this study, six common air pollutants and AQI were inves- slightly increased in the first three years (from 29.0 μg/m3 to
tigated to evaluate the spatial and temporal changes of air 30.1 μg/m3 ), but declined to 27.5 μg/m3 in 2018 with a p value
quality across mainland China during 2015 to 2018. The six of 0.001 (Fig. 1d).
air pollutants included hourly concentrations of PM2.5 (μg/m3 ),
PM10 (μg/m3 ), SO2 (μg/m3 ), NO2 (μg/m3 ), CO (mg/m3 ), and 8 hr 2.1.2. Daily changes
average concentrations of O3 (μg/m3 ). The ambient air qual- The daily variations in average concentrations of PM2.5 , PM10 ,
ity data was obtained from online database (http://beijingair. SO2 , NO2 and CO showed U-shape patterns (Fig. 1h–k, m). This
sinaapp.com/), which was derived from the China National was consistent with previous studies (Fang et al., 2016), which
Environmental Monitoring Centre, covering 368 cities across indicated that the concentrations of air pollutants were higher
22 provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipali- in wintertime than other months. However, the monthly dis-
ties in mainland China (Fig. S1). tribution of O3 concentrations showed a different pattern with
National productions of coke, cement, pig iron, crude steel the maximum values during summertime due to the strong
and rolled steel during 2015 to 2018 were obtained from the association of O3 concentrations with the intensity of solar
National Bureau of Statistics of China. This study also in- radiation (Wang et al., 2014). The increase in sunlight and tem-
cluded local vehicle numbers in passenger vehicles (large, perature have been evidenced to favour O3 formation in sum-
medium, small and minicar) and trucks (heavy, medium, light mer months (Wang et al., 2017).
and mini). Due to the increasing number of private vehicles, The daily changes of AQI concentrations during 2015–2018
this study further investigated the private portion of vehicles, also showed a U-shape pattern (Fig. 1n). The statistical analy-
including private passenger vehicles (large, medium, small sis demonstrated that the AQI concentrations were positively
 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169 163

Fig. 1 – Yearly and daily variations of PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , NO2 ,

O3 , CO and AQI during 2015–2018. Significant differences
were determined using a One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s
multiple comparison at ∗∗∗ p = 0.001, ∗∗ p = 0.01, and
∗ p = 0.05 levels.

and significantly (p < 0.01) associated with concentrations of

PM2.5 , PM10 , SO2 , NO2 and CO, but negatively associated with
O3 concentrations with r values ranging from -0.497 to -0.190
at p < 0.01 level (Table S3). Fig. 2 – Frequencies of maximum hourly data for PM2.5 ,
PM10 , SO2 , NO2 , O3 , CO and AQI during 2015–2018.
164 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169

2.1.3. Hourly changes tions (code 4, 7, 17 and 18) as well as Xinjiang province (code
Fig. 2 summarizes the frequencies of daily highest pollutant 14) had annual AQI values higher than 100, which were clas-
concentrations which occurred at a given hour in each year sified as unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups. The AQI
from 2015 to 2018. For example, in 2015, there were 37 days values range from 51 to 100 are considered as moderate air
with the maximum PM2.5 concentrations at 00:00 am (Fig. 2a). quality in respect of public health concern, and AQI < 50 indi-
The hourly frequencies for the maximum concentrations of cates the air quality is good and satisfactory. Results from this
PM2.5 , PM10 and NO2 showed W-shape patterns, which indi- study showed that only three locations (code 24, 2, 20), shaded
cated the peaks of their frequencies occurred at 00:00–02:00, in light green in Fig. S2g, had annual AQI values below 50, in-
10:00–12:00 and 20:00–23:00, respectively (Fig. 2a, b, d). The dicating that air quality at these three provinces posed little
highest frequency of maximum SO2 concentrations was found or no health risk.
at 01:00–02:00 in 2015 and 2016, but it shifted to 10:00–11:00 in In addition to the average data (Fig. S2), this study also em-
2017 and 2018 (Fig. 2c). It was clear that most frequencies of ployed frequency histograms of daily maximum concentra-
the highest concentrations of O3 , CO and AQI were at 16:00, tions for seven air quality indices to capture the overview of
08:00–10:00 and 00:00, respectively (Fig. 2e, f, g). air quality in mainland China (Fig. S3). For example, in 2015,
there were 150 maximum daily PM2.5 values found in Xin-
2.2. Spatial variations jiang province (code 14), and this number increased to 156 in
2016, 171 in 2017 and 192 in 2018 (Fig. S3a). Although Hebei
The yearly average concentrations for the criteria air pollu- (code 17) had not experienced the largest number of maxi-
tants and the air quality indices were plotted according to mum daily PM2.5 cases in an individual year, the summary
the locations (bar charts in Fig. S2). The WHO standard and over the four years was more than 100 cases. Hence, this lo-
China’s air quality standards at Grade 1 and Grade 2 were dis- cation (Hebei) and Xinjiang were both classified into the high
played with solid lines in bar charts in Fig. S2. In order to frequency group which indicated locations with the most fre-
match the pollution levels and their geographic locations, Fig. quent maximum PM2.5 concentrations from 2015 to 2018 (Fig.
S2 also included visual maps with colours to show locations S3a). Both locations of Hebei (code 17) and Xinjiang (code 14)
with air quality below or above different standards. also experienced high frequencies of the maximum daily con-
Results of the spatial PM2.5 concentrations showed that 22 centrations for NO2 (Fig. S3d), CO (Fig. S3f) and AQI (Fig. S3g).
(shaded with light red in Fig. S2a) out of 31 locations had four-
year’s average PM2.5 concentrations above the Grade 2 stan- 2.3. Industrial and vehicle emissions
dard of 35 μg/m3 . Only nine of the 31 locations had average
PM2.5 concentrations over the four years which met the Grade Industrial emissions are considered as a major contributor
2 criteria but remained above Grade 1 levels at 15 μg/m3 . Fur- to air pollution in China and internationally (Li et al., 2017a;
thermore, there was no location with an annual average PM2.5 Leoni et al., 2018; Zhou et al., 2018). Hence, this study inves-
concentration within the WHO guideline of 10 μg/m3 (Fig. tigated five essential industrial products, including coke, ce-
S2a). This paralleled the PM10 data which was all above the ment, pig iron, crude steel and rolled steel across 31 locations
WHO standard of 20 μg/m3 for an annual average, although in mainland China. Statistical analysis was used to identify if
the annual average data at Hainan with the location code of there were correlations between capacities of industrial pro-
20 were below the Grade 1 standard (Fig. S2b). duction in each location and the local air pollution.
There is no WHO standard for the annual SO2 concen- Results showed that strong and positive correlations were
tration, however China has annual limitation at two levels found between industrial production of coke, pig iron, crude
at 60 μg/m3 and 20 μg/m3 for Grade 2 and Grade 1, respec- steel and rolled steel and multiple air pollutants (Table S1).
tively. According to the spatial variations of SO2 concentra- For example, the annual amount of coke produced in 31 loca-
tions, there was only one annual value above the Grade 2, tions was significantly associated with the annual PM2.5 con-
which was located at Shanxi province with code 11 in 2016. By centrations with p values ranging from 0.002 to 0.028 during
contract, there were 20 locations (shaded with light blue) with 2015–2018 (Fig. 3a). The industrial production of pig iron, crude
the annual average concentrations of SO2 meeting the Grade 1 steel and rolled steel were also positively correlated with PM2.5
standard (Fig. S2c). Although there is no recommended WHO concentrations at levels of 0.01 and 0.05 (Fig. 3b–d).
standard for annual CO concentrations, China established the In addition to PM2.5 , annual data of PM10 and gaseous air
maximum 24 h average concentration recommendations at pollutants were also found to be related to different indus-
4 mg/m3 for Grade 1 and 2 air quality standards. Results of trial productions among locations (Table S1). However, there
the CO data showed that the annual concentrations at 31 loca- was no significant correlation found between the production
tions ranged from 0.6 mg/m3 to 1.8 mg/m3 , which were below of cement and air pollution across 31 locations in mainland
the recommended limit (Fig. S2f). This was also found for O3 China (Table S1).
which ranged from 35.5 μg/m3 to 78 μg/m3 below the Grade 1 Vehicle emissions are considered another large contribu-
and WHO standards of 100 μg/m3 (Fig. S2e). tor to air pollution (Tian et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2020). This
The maximum annual level for NO2 , according to both study investigated 16 types of vehicle categories in total and
WHO and China’s air quality standards, is 40 μg/m3 . Results private sections. Each section included four types of passenger
of this study showed that only Beijing (code 4), Tianjin (code vehicles (large, medium, small and minicar) and four types of
7), Hebei (code 17) and Henan (code 18) had average concen- trucks (heavy, medium, light and mini) to determine the cor-
trations of the four years’ data exceeding this limitation (Fig. relations between vehicle possession and air pollution. This
S2d). The overall air quality index AQI showed these four loca- study found that only two types of vehicles, minicars and
 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169 165

Fig. 3 – Linear correlations between PM2.5 concentrations and industrial productions according to 31 locations in China
during 2015–2018. Significant differences were displayed at ∗∗ p = 0.01 and ∗ p = 0.05 levels.

heavy trucks in both total and private sections, were signif-

icantly associated with air pollution among different loca-
3. Discussion
tions (Table S2). For example, the total minicar population and
Industrial activities have been considered as one of the
heavy trucks were correlated to PM2.5 concentrations with p
main contributors to air pollution in China (Li et al., 2017a;
values ranging from 0.002 to 0.021 during 2015–2018 (Fig. 4a,
Zhou et al., 2020). Results presented in this study revealed
b). Also, the number of private minicars were associated with
the positive and significant correlations between air pollution
PM2.5 concentrations with r values from 0.417 to 0.448 at a sig-
concentrations and multiple industrial capacities across dif-
nificance level of p = 0.05 (Fig. 4c). In contrast, the other 14
ferent locations in China (Fig. 3, Table S1). In order to mit-
vehicle categories were not strongly associated with particle
igate air pollution in industrial areas, China has issued a
and gaseous air pollution with r values ranging from -0.29 to
range of environmental regulations and standards, includ-
0.353 and p values from 0.008 to 0.998 (Table S2).
ing reinforcing industrial emission standards, upgrading cur-
166 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169

rent facilities and phasing out heavily polluting industries its height, increasing the surface air pollution concentrations
(Zhang et al., 2019). For example, 80% of iron and steel facil- (Wang et al., 2018), which leads to relatively high daily pollu-
ities were equipped with pollution control systems and 200 tant concentrations during nights (Fig. 2).
million tonnes of outdated iron and steel products were elim- Conversely, the O3 pollution was positively related to the
inated during 2013–2017 (Zhang et al., 2019). The data of this temperature (Figs. 1l and 2e) because high temperature and
study suggests that these measures have been successful in intensity of solar radiation supported the formation of O3
reduction of air pollution, especially for PM2.5 and PM10 , which (Borge et al., 2019). O3 can be produced from the photoly-
have been shown a dramatic decline during 2015–2018 (Fig. 1a, sis of NO2 , which is oxidated from NO by hyroperoxy (HO2 )
b). and organic peroxy radicals (RO2 ) (Tan et al., 2020). Both com-
In addition to particulate matter, gaseous pollution of pounds were considered as important precursors when pro-
SO2 also decreased significantly (p < 0.0001) from 2015 to ducing O3 (Li et al., 2019). Recent studies also showed that O3
2018 (Fig. 1c). Previous studies showed that coal-fired power pollution posed a significantly negative risk to human health
plants were the largest contributors to SO2 emission in China and caused significant economic loss in China (Xie et al., 2019;
(Zheng et al., 2009; Chai et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2017). For Zhong et al., 2019).
example, power plants were estimated to be responsible for The detailed control measures and regulations in remote
50.7% and 85% of SO2 emission in Pearl River Delta area (nine areas may be required to improve air quality in China. Current
cities located in Guangzhou province with code 12 in Figs. S2 regulations and research studies mainly focused on industrial
and S3) and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei areas (location codes of 4, 7 areas, such as Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (Ji et al., 2019; Liu et al.,
and 17 in Figs. S2 and S3) (Zheng et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2019). 2019; Zhao et al., 2020). However, this study showed that the
In order to reduce SO2 emissions, a stricter regulation was en- extremely high pollution cases, in particular, PM2.5 and PM10 ,
acted across China in 2015 restricting the use of coal with ash frequently occurred in remote areas, such as Xinjiang (loca-
> 16% and sulphur > 1%. In respect to the industrial sectors, tion code 14) and Gansu (location code 23) (Fig. S3). The parti-
95% of coal-fired power plants installed flue gas desulfuriza- cle pollution in both areas was considered to be largely caused
tion (FGD) systems and more than 200,000 industrial coal boil- by dust storms (Querol et al., 2019; Zhao et al., 2019; Zou et al.,
ers were closed by 2017 (Zhang et al., 2019). At the residential 2019). Although China has implemented multiple afforesta-
level, clean fuel was introduced since 2013, and this measure tion programs to reduce frequencies of dust storms to miti-
was estimated to be contributing to 6% of the total abatement gate air pollution (Zhang et al., 2016), the industrial sector in
of SO2 emissions across China (Zhang et al., 2019). remote areas has been increasingly developed due to the eco-
Another gaseous pollutant, CO, was also observed to de- nomic growth (Yin et al., 2019). Hence, more specific and cus-
cline during 2015–2018 at a significant rate (Fig. 1f). CO pol- tom control measures across remote areas should be taken
lution in China has been evidenced to be highly related to into consideration in the near future to balance economic ben-
biomass burning (Zhang et al., 2011; Chai et al., 2014). It was es- efits and environmental sustainability.
timated that approximately 4 teragrams of CO were produced Further efforts to reduce vehicle emissions can also be
every year due to biomass burning (Huang et al., 2012). In order made to improve air quality in China. A clear evidence can
to control CO emissions caused by biomass burning, the Chi- be seen during the recent COVID-19 lockdwon period, when
nese government issued a range of regulations in 1999 to ban the intensive and heavy-polluting industries in China still re-
crop and straw burning during harvest seasons (Zhou et al., mained at high levels of operation (e.g. the total crude steel
2017). At the same time, recycling of biomass was encouraged, produced in January and February was 159 million tonnes
such as returning it to field as fertilizers or feeding livestock in 2020 vs 146 million tonnes in 2019) (Worldsteel Associ-
(Zhou et al., 2017). The changes in energy consumption struc- ation, 2019b, 2019a, 2020b, 2020a). However, the volume of
ture achieved a satisfactory result to reduce CO emissions lo- transportation was significantly decreased in response to the
cally (e.g. Inner Mongolia) (Köbbing et al., 2014) and nationally fully restricted movement in China. For example, the numbers
(Fig. S2f). of passenger vehicles and trucks were substantially dropped
Although China has made great effort to improve air qual- by 39% and 77%, respectively, in Beijing, Tianjing and their sur-
ity, its annual average pollution levels at certain locations re- rounded areas (Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the
mained substantially higher than the national and WHO stan- People’s Republic of China, 2020). As a result, a clear signifi-
dards (Fig. S2). In particular, the annual PM2.5 and PM10 data cant decrease of NO2 pollution in the atmoshphere in China
across mainland China remained far above their correspond- was observed in satellite images provided by the National
ing WHO standards (Fig. S2a, b). The particular meteorolog- Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Earth Observa-
ical conditions were considered to play a significant role in tory, 2020). The reduction of NO2 pollution during this period
such pollution situation in China. For example, compared to was estimated to equal to removing 192,000 cars off the road
Europe and US, China has more frequent air stagnation events, (Monks, 2020).
especially during winter and autumn, which restricts the dis- NOx emissions from vehicles are considered as a precursor
persion of air pollutants (Wang et al., 2018). In China, particle for the secondary PM2.5 formation (Hodan and Barnard, 2004).
(Fig. 1h, i) and gaseous pollution (Fig. 1j, k, m) were also found Results from this study (Table S3) and the previous work
to be at the highest levels in winter, because the weather (Chu et al., 2021) confirmed the correlations between NO2 and
in winter is typically dominated by lower temperature, less PM2.5 , which suggests the control of NOx can further reduce
rainfall and more calm wind conditions (Wang et al., 2014; PM2.5 pollution in China (Chu et al., 2021). In addition to NO2 ,
Li et al., 2017b; Ye et al., 2018). The low temperature would sup- other gaseous emissions, such as SO2 and VOCs, also play
press the development of planetary boundary layer and lower a significant role in PM2.5 formation as important precursor
 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169 167

Fig. 4 – Linear correlations between PM2.5 concentrations and vehicle numbers according to 31 locations in China during
2015–2018. Significant differences were displayed at ∗∗ p = 0.01 and ∗ p = 0.05 levels.

compounds (Hodan and Barnard, 2004). As a result, during duce traffic emissions caused by the vehicle population, China
the lockdown period in China, both particulate (PM2.5 ) and has strengthened the vehicle emission standards in the trans-
gaseous pollutants (NO2 , SO2 and VOCs) were observed to de- portation sector and 20 million outdated vehicles have since
cline by 20–30% in Beijing, Tianjin and their surrounded 26 been eliminated (Zhang et al., 2019). However, according to this
cities in Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan (location codes study which investigated 16 vehicle types across total and pri-
4, 7, 10, 11, 17 and 18 in this study) (Ministry of Ecology and En- vate sectors, only minicars and heavy trucks were evidenced
vironment of the People’s Republic of China, 2020). The signifi- to be positively associated with different air pollution (Fig. 4).
cant reduction of air pollution between pre and post COVID-19 Hence, efforts of reducing vehicle emissions can be shifted to
era suggested that traffic emissions caused by the high trans- the two specific vehicle types to further reduce air pollution
portation operation in China played the most significant role in China.
in deteriorating the air quality.
China had overtaken the United States to become the
largest fleet of motor vehicles in the world since 2009
CRediT authorship contribution statement
(Liu, 2009). The new car registrations in China were up to 21
Xiaoteng Zhou: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal
million units in 2019, followed by US with 17 million units and
analysis, Writing- original draft. Vladimir Strezov: Concep-
Europe with 15 million units (Wagner, 2020). In order to re-
tualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Supervision.
168 journal of environmental sciences 112 (2022) 161–169

Yijiao Jiang: Funding acquisition, Writing- review & editing. Li, M., Liu, H., Geng, G., Hong, C., Liu, F., Song, Y., et al., 2017a.
Tao Kan: Writing- review & editing. Tim Evans: Conceptual- Anthropogenic emission inventories in China: a review. Natl.
ization, Funding acquisition, Supervision. Sci. Rev. 4 (6), 834–866.
Li, R., Cui, L., Li, J., Zhao, A., Fu, H., Wu, Y., et al., 2017b. Spatial and
temporal variation of particulate matter and gaseous
pollutants in China during 2014–2016. Atmos. Environ. 161,
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 Long before the end of the war the Red Cross began to turn its
attention to the great problem of the reëducation of blind and
maimed soldiers. It gave them training in the use of artificial limbs so
that they could use these substitutes deftly and offered vocational
training that would fit them to support themselves and their families
in new occupations in which their mutilations would not be a
handicap. In France it worked in coöperation with the French
Government, carrying on by means of moving pictures and lectures
an extensive educational propaganda among the wounded in the
hospitals to enlist their interest, stimulate their courage and persuade
them to undertake the training, giving assistance to existing schools,
establishing an electrical training work shop and a large and well
equipped farm for agricultural training in modern scientific methods.
In the United States it turned the activities of the Red Cross Institute
for Crippled and Disabled Men to war service and carried on schools
for the training of those who wished to aid in the treatment by
vocational therapy of wounded convalescents.
 CHAPTER XXVII
FEEDING THE NATIONS

In April, 1917, the long and bitter struggle had so drained the food
supply of the Western Allies that they were dependent upon North
America for the food that would enable their armies to continue the
battle for civilization, prevent the starvation of their civilians and the
wholesale death of their children. To this country the neutrals of
Europe had also to look for sufficient food to save their people from
suffering. There was much grain in Argentina and Australia, but
ships could not be spared for the long and dangerous journeys to
and from those countries. Submarine warfare had destroyed so
much of the shipping, not only of the Allies but of the European
neutrals as well, that every available ship was needed for use on the
Northern Atlantic. Therefore, North America was the last reservoir of
food, the last producer of food, to which the hungry populations of
Western Europe could turn for the sustenance of their armies and
civilians or the neutral nations and such of the subjugated peoples
under the German yoke as could be reached look with hope for any
help. All Europe was on the verge of starvation and only North
America, which meant chiefly the United States, could give
assistance. For this country to produce and conserve vast quantities
of food and send them to Europe had become one of the
fundamental necessities for the winning of the war.
The United States Food Administration was created, under the
Food Control Act passed by Congress in August, 1917, for the
purpose of handling this situation in such a way as would give the
nations with which we were associated the food they needed and
would at the same time protect our own people against food scarcity
and excessive prices. A Food Administrator, acting under the
informal request of the President, had already been at work for three
months, securing data and working out tentative plans, and had
opened the way and accomplished much by appealing to the people
for voluntary coöperation. The work of the Food Administration
throughout the war was another example of the splendid team-work
of the whole nation and of the highly efficient coöperation of all the
agencies of the Government. In coöperation with it the Department
of Agriculture bent its energies to the stimulation of food production,
the War Trade Board controlled food movements between this and
other countries, the War Industries Board saw to it that such
manufacturers as produced goods needed in the production,
storage, conservation and movement of food supplies received the
necessary raw material. Leaders in the grain trade, familiar with all
its phases, gave up their connection with enterprises of profit and at
great personal sacrifice volunteered their services to act as
managers of the corporation through which the Food Administration
purchased its immense grain supplies and controlled the grain
situation. Dealers in food stuffs of every sort, both wholesale and
retail, willingly deprived themselves of large possible profits and
obeyed the requests of the Food Administration. And the people all
over the country voluntarily pledged themselves to the necessary
program of food conservation. The task of feeding the nations of
Europe and the armies of America, England, France and Italy
became the task of the whole nation, and the whole nation, guided
by and functioning through the Food Administration, took up the task
with eager hands.
We entered the war with our national stocks of cereals at a lower
level than they had been for many years, due to the heavy demand
made upon them by the Allied nations during the previous year.
There had been also, for the same reason, a considerable lessening
in the number of food animals.
Beginning in the spring of 1917 and continuing through that and
the following year the stimulation of production was carried on by
setting before the farmers of the country and, indeed, before all the
population, the urgent need for more food than the nation had ever
before produced. The appeals to grow food went to the owners of
back-yard gardens in cities and towns and villages, to all who had or
could obtain the use of a few square feet or a few acres of soil, to
farmers all over the land. The Agricultural Department used all its
avenues of reaching the farming population, agricultural colleges
aided the movement, newspapers and magazines published
discussions of the subject and advice for the amateur. It has been
estimated that during the first year of the war at least 2,000,000 “war
gardens” were planted, over and above the usual garden planting,
and that number was considerably increased during the second
season. Most of them bore good results and their products added
immensely to local food supplies and so lessened the drain upon
exportable foods. The “war garden army” included men, women and
children. Business men spent leisure hours hoeing and planting,
thousands of women, in addition to those who worked in home
gardens, turned their attention to agricultural labor and did what they
could in the lessening of the serious problem of help on the farms.
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts did efficient work, school boys who were
old enough and strong enough to make their labor right and worth
while went by the thousands from cities and towns to country
districts to work upon farms.
Guaranteed prices for wheat, established in accordance with the
conclusions of the Food Administration and its committee of expert
advisers, prevented the sky-rocketing of prices and assured the
farmer a staple return for his labor. This, in addition to what the
farmers already knew of the need for food, resulted in the planting of
immense acreages. In 1917 there were planted 35,000,000 acres of
leading crops beyond the average of the five-year period
immediately preceding the war, and 22,000,000 acres in excess of
the previous year. But 1918 exceeded even this vast acreage with a
planting of 289,000,000 acres, an increase over the preceding
record of 5,600,000 acres. The bitter winter of 1917-1918 killed
much wheat and the next summer drouth withered much corn.
Nevertheless, the aggregate yield of the leading cereals in each of
these years exceeded that of any preceding year in the nation’s
history except that of 1915, when unusually favorable weather
produced a more bountiful harvest from a smaller acreage. With the
expectation that the war would continue until at least well into the
next summer, the Government appealed in 1918 for a still greater
production of wheat for the following year. The farmers responded
with a planting of winter wheat amounting to over 49,000,000 acres,
which, it was calculated, with average winter weather and an
average crop of spring wheat, would insure for 1919 a wheat
production of over a billion bushels, an excess over that of 1918 of
probably 200,000,000 bushels.
All the principal kinds of live stock—horses and mules, in spite of
the big exportation to Europe for army needs; milk cows, other cattle,
hogs, and even sheep for the first time in many years—were
increased in number by from one to twelve millions. Meat, milk and
wool production showed signal increase, that of beef of a million
pounds and of pork twice that amount.
The zeal of the whole country for increased food production
appeared not only in the multiplied thousands of war gardens, the
desire of every one who had access even to a few feet of soil to
make something eatable grow upon it, and the immensely increased
acreage devoted to the sorely needed cereal crops, but also in a
striking growth of interest in agricultural matters of all sorts, whether
of farm or garden. To all such subjects newspapers and magazines
began devoting much more than usual attention, while for books
dealing with them publishers noted a sharply increased demand.
The Food Administration was so organized as to decentralize its
operations as much as possible and bring them into direct touch with
the people. Under the United States Food Administrator, and also
appointed by the President, was a food administrator for each state
who selected one for each county in his state. These county
administrators in turn appointed special committees or committee
chairmen to keep track of and solve local food problems and to keep
each locality in touch with the aims and operations of the national
organization. Upon these local committees were representatives of
local grain and food trades, of hotels and restaurants, of clubs and
associations of various kinds and directors of educational work.
Through these assistants educational campaigns were aided and
directed, close watch was kept to prevent both hoarding and
profiteering and a nation-wide survey of the food situation was in
constant progress. It was all voluntary service, from that of the
United States Food Administrator down to the county chairmen and
the local committees, given with enthusiasm and the best ability
each could bring to the service, with the single-hearted hope of
helping the nation to win the war.
 The primary purpose of the Food Administration was to make sure
that there should be sufficient food to meet the needs of our fighting
men on land and sea both at home and abroad, to provide such a
supply for our people at home as would maintain them in health and
comfort, and to furnish to the nations associated with us for their
armies and civilians as much of our surplus as they might need. To
make that surplus as large as possible called forth its most
strenuous endeavor. In addition, it aimed to maintain an even supply
of the essential foods and to stabilize prices by preventing, as far as
possible, hoarding, speculation and profiteering.
The problem of food for the Entente warring nations was reduced
in the spring of 1917 to the determination of the amount of food that
could be drawn from North America, of which, of course, the chief
portion would come from the United States. The surplus over our
normal consumption, in all classes of food, which we usually
exported, had always been small and would have to be multiplied
many times over in order to meet pressing needs, in order, even, to
win the war. Moreover, we had diverted from eight to ten million men
from their usual productive activities and set them to the making of
war and supplies for war.
The situation could be met only by a nation-wide program of
conservation which would save vast quantities of the sorely needed
food out of the usual prodigal consumption and waste of our own
people. With complete confidence that the American people would
respond of their own good will the conservation measures were all
made voluntary. People were asked to eat more carefully, to waste
nothing, to use less wheat, meats, fats and sugar, to combine flour
from other grains with wheat flour and especially to use more corn.
Grocers were directed to see that their customers purchased pound
for pound of these other materials and wheat flour. The nation was
requested to reduce its sugar consumption by fifteen per cent and
housewives and other buyers of food were told that it was necessary
to limit their purchases of sugar to three pounds per month for each
individual. Homes and hotels and restaurants were counseled to
institute wheatless and meatless days. Appeal was made to all who
had charge of the providing of food for others and to every individual
consumer to waste no food of any sort.
Pledges sent out by the Food Administration which bound every
signer to observe its requests and rules were distributed by many
thousands of volunteer workers, men, women and children, who saw
in the work of securing signatures opportunity for patriotic service.
Pamphlets and leaflets setting forth the reasons for what was asked,
giving expert advice on the use of foods, analyzing the food
situation, and urging compliance with the requests of the Food
Administration were sent all over the country. Posters contributed by
well known artists were hung on hoardings, in windows, and on
home and office walls in cities, towns, villages. There was hardly a
newspaper or a magazine of any sort in the whole United States but
freely gave space to the always cogent and interesting articles
furnished in great quantity by the Food Administration in support of
the purposes it had set itself to achieve. Speakers who could present
in living words the urgent need of food and the crucial test laid upon
the country of producing and saving immense quantities of meat,
fats, wheat and sugar addressed general and special audiences in
many cities. Experts in home economics gave lectures and
demonstrations and conducted classes that were attended by
thousands of women, rich and poor alike. Especial effort was made
to furnish this sort of education to the women of poor and ignorant
families in order that they might learn how to provide food that would
give equal nourishment at less expense.
Colleges and schools aligned their vast educational equipment
with the food production and conservation movement and gave
important service. When the colleges and universities for women or
admitting women were asked, at the end of 1917, if they would
undertake to give special instruction looking toward the aiding of the
Food Administration’s purposes seven hundred of them, practically
every such institution in the country, replied within a week asking to
be supplied at once with the necessary material. Courses were
outlined and supplied, prepared by experts upon the subjects, which
dealt with the world food situation and the part the United States
should take in it, with food values and the principles of nutrition.
During the winter and spring of 1918 40,000 young women took
these courses, which were repeated at summer schools in nearly all
the colleges of the nation and were offered again in the autumn.
They were also opened to men students, who saw in them a means
of patriotic service. Under a secretary for each state appointed by
the Food Administration, the graduates of these classes were
organized and their services directed by the State Food
Administrator. They gave to local administrators and committees
efficient service of varied sort, depending upon the locality and the
need of the moment.
So successful was the initial work of the collegiate section of the
Food Administration that its activities were soon enlarged to include
the schools also and several text-books were prepared for use in
both high and lower grades that would show to the pupils the relation
of food to the war and the part they might play in the winning of the
conflict and would inculcate the ideal of service. The National
Educational Association asked especially for such a text-book to be
used by children below the high school grade and by means of an
advisory committee coöperated with the Food Administration in its
educational program in the schools. So important and enthusiastic
was the work of the schools and colleges that a state director of their
activities was appointed in each state to correlate their efforts with
the other undertakings of the state food administrator and so make
team-work for the production and conservation of food more
thorough and efficient.
The central offices of the Food Administration in Washington
expanded amazingly as the country leaped to its support and asked
for instruction, advice and guidance. It began, a month or more after
our entrance into the war, in two rooms, with a Food Administrator,
whose office was informal and tentative until Congress in August
authorized the program of food control, and two or three assistants.
By the first of January it filled a huge structure holding over a
thousand employees and in the following summer it crowded both
this and another building of equal size. It finally had in its service
nearly 8,000 employees and under its coördinating hand were the
purchase and control of food-stuffs whose value amounted to
$300,000,000 per month. To its staff came men and women of expert
knowledge from all over the country, many of them giving voluntary
service,—university professors who were specialists in food and
other economic subjects, journalists, magazine editors, office
experts, scientists whose specialties would throw light upon one or
another phase of the food problem.
The Food Administration dealt with prices in the food trades, which
were prevented from sky-rocketing above the levels caused by war
conditions, and with speculation and profiteering by means of a
system of licenses applying to all persons engaged in the
importation, manufacture, storage and distribution of certain staple
foods and including retailers doing more than $100,000 yearly
business. The purpose of the system was to stabilize prices by
limiting those charged to a reasonable amount over expense, by
preventing the storing of food in large quantities in the hope of
speculative profits on a rising market, by keeping all food
commodities moving from producer to consumer with as little delay
from unnecessary business transactions as possible and by limiting
as far as practicable dealings in contracts for future delivery. Every
licensee was required to make reports of his dealings once a month
and none was allowed to keep on hand or under control food-
commodity supplies for more than a certain term in advance, set,
with some exceptions, at sixty days. Retailers doing less than
$100,000 business annually were exempt from the licensing system
but were forbidden by the Food Control Act to hoard or waste food or
to charge excessive prices. In the neighborhood of 100,000 licenses
were taken out and of all these only an insignificant percentage were
ever found guilty of breaking the provisions of the law. Equally rare
were attempts to break or evade the law by retail dealers. Nearly all
of even these small numbers were brought back to right feeling and
right action merely by confronting the violater with proof of his wrong
doing. As punishment, if punishment was necessary, his license was
revoked or suspended, or there was forced sale of his hoardings, or
his place of business was closed for a period, or he was required to
refund excess profits or to make a contribution to some patriotic
organization. But the whole hearted desire to aid and coöperate with
the Food Administration in its efforts to solve the food problem and
meet the food necessities of the time was so nearly universal that
the few exceptions were noteworthy chiefly because they were so
few.
Under war conditions it was inevitable that prices for all food
commodities should rise far above their level in pre-war years. But
the control of the situation which was kept by the Food
Administration and the carefully organized and consolidated buying
of our own and other governments, enormous beyond comparison
with any market situation in all the history of the world, reduced
prices below what they were when we entered the war and kept
them down to a level much lower than they would otherwise have
reached. When we had been in the war for a year the Food
Administration estimated that during that time the price of food
commodities had decreased twelve per cent to the consumer and
increased eighteen per cent to the producer. For instance, the price
of flour, which reached a maximum in 1917 of $16.50 per barrel at
the mill-door, at the end of April, 1918, stood at $10.50. Without the
stabilizing influence of the Food Administration it would have
mounted in that time, in the opinion of experts, to $40 or $50 per
barrel.
The plea to conserve food met with enthusiastic response. In the
spring of 1918, when there was dire need of more wheat for export,
whole towns and counties, in some of the states, pledged
themselves to use no wheat until the new crop should be available. A
conference of 500 managers of first-class hotels and restaurants
voluntarily gave their pledge to one another and to the Food
Administration to use no wheat flour in their kitchens until the next
harvest was ready. Households innumerable throughout the land did
the same thing.
We entered the war with only 20,000,000 bushels of wheat
available for export. The need grew sharp in England and France
and Italy and we sent them 141,000,000 bushels, having saved
121,000,000 bushels out of what we would ordinarily have eaten
ourselves. Because the armies and the peoples across the ocean
needed sugar, the request was sent forth that individual consumption
of sugar should be limited to three and later to two pounds of sugar
per month. Its consumption was voluntarily reduced by about one-
third. In four months in the summer of 1918 we saved and sent
abroad, out of our usual consumption, 500,000 tons of sugar.
Increased production and conservation were responsible for
1,600,000,000 more pounds of pork products ready for export in the
fall of 1918 than were available the previous year, while for the three
summer months of 1918 the records showed an increase of
190,000,000 pounds of dressed beef.
An illuminating instance of the temper of the people in general
toward conservation is afforded by the reports of railway dining cars
for two months in the autumn of 1917, in which they saved out of
their ordinary consumption 468,000 pounds of meat, 238,000
pounds of wheat flour and 35,000 pounds of sugar. During that time
hotels and restaurants reported savings of 17,700,000 pounds of
meat, 8,000,000 pounds of flour and 2,000,000 pounds of sugar.
That there was a very general attempt to lessen waste of food in
cooking and eating was shown by the fact that nearly all cities
reported a considerable decrease, amounting in most of them to
from ten to thirteen per cent, in the amount of garbage collected.

Unloading Wheat Upon a Lighter at a French Port

 Because at the very beginning of our participation in the war we
recognized the value of food, mobilized our food forces, enlisting the
whole nation in voluntary service, and kept their operation under
control for efficient war use, we were able to pour into Europe the
food without which the Allied armies could not have continued their
necessary effort and the populations behind them retained their
health and morale. In the years before the war the United States
sent an average of between 5,000,000 and 6,000,000 tons of food to
Europe each year. In the crop year of 1918 we doubled that amount,
sending 11,820,000 tons, and were prepared in the following year to
send between 15,000,000 and 20,000,000 tons. In the midst of these
bountiful harvests there were no food cards and the only rationing
that was necessary was that prescribed by the individual conscience.
But that conscience, with the universal enthusiasm for increasing
production, enabled us to send to Europe in 1918 an increase over
1917 of $504,000,000 in the value of meat and dairy products and of
$170,000,000 in breadstuffs. Our total contribution in 1918 to the
food needs of Europe amounted approximately to a value of
$2,000,000,000.
 CHAPTER XXVIII
THE MANAGEMENT OF FUEL

In the world war fuel fought, and food, and steel, as well as men.
Fuel quickly became as much of a fighting necessity as were the
munitions which could not be made without it and the food for whose
transportation it was necessary. It was a war of manufactures, of
applied science, and the foundations of both are laid in fuel. And
therefore fuel, which means chiefly coal, had to be mobilized for war
and its production and distribution so managed that its potency could
be applied where needed and when needed without unnecessary
detriment to civilian welfare. During the first months of our
participation in the war and for nearly a year previous there had been
a menacing coal situation in which the increasing demand for coal,
inadequate transportation and storage facilities and other causes
had combined to send prices to four and even five times their former
level and to cause uneasiness and dissatisfaction among consumers
and in the ranks of both labor and capital. As soon as Congress gave
the necessary authority, in August, 1917, the President fixed
schedules of provisional prices and appointed a Fuel Administrator
for the United States.
Before the Fuel Administration was created there had
unfortunately been published unauthorized and unwarranted
assurance of prospective better conditions in the coal situation which
had led many to postpone their usual summer and autumn
purchases. When the winter set in, at an unusually early date, with
its unprecedentedly long continued and bitter cold and frequent
storms, this delay on the part of so many buyers added much to the
universal difficulties and discomforts. To all the usual demand for
coal and the extraordinary demand due to the unwonted weather,
there were added the large and increasing fuel needs for war
manufacture, for the bunkering of ships, for the heating of the many
cantonments and camps, each a goodly sized city in itself, and other
war activities. And with all this increased demand, there were fewer
workers in the mines, for many had joined the fighting forces or gone
to work in munition factories, and transportation facilities were
disorganized by the strain upon them and disabled by storms and
zero weather. This was the situation with which the Fuel
Administration was contending three months after it began its work.
The total coal production of the country during 1917 amounted to
651,402,000 net tons, of which approximately 100,000,000 tons
were anthracite and the rest bituminous. This was an increase over
all previous production records of more than 60,000,000 tons, but it
did not meet the ever increasing demands of the war machine,
whose requirements for bituminous coal for 1918 went above this
amount by nearly 100,000,000 tons. It was necessary to stir
production in the mines to utmost endeavor, to facilitate that
production by prompt and adequate distribution and to induce such
fuel saving among consumers as would supplement production
sufficiently to meet war needs.
Not only was there a decrease of many thousands in the number
of men employed in the production of coal, but also in many mines
efficiency was lessened by the hatreds and suspicions of the
different racial representatives—Magyar, Pole, Italian, Slovak, Jugo-
Slav, with their animosities bred in the bone, brought with them from
Europe and fanned into fresh activity by the war. Each furbished up
anew his old grudge and carried it on his shoulder, where it quickly
received the knocking it challenged, and old racial battles were
fought over again while the mining of coal was laid aside.
To better conditions and stimulate effort a Production Bureau was
formed in the Fuel Administration whose representatives were sent
to every mine. There they worked with and through a committee
composed of mine operators and mine workers. The Bureau bent its
energies incessantly to the influencing of mine operators and
managers to establish such conditions and methods as would keep
the miners satisfied and busy and of the miners to put forth their
utmost efforts. Its representatives dealt tactfully with the racial
hatreds, using the foreign language newspapers read by each group
and also dealing with individual men in person, allaying suspicions,
and showing each group what the success of the Allied and
American armies would mean for its people in Europe. Officials of
the United Mine Workers toured the mining regions, addressing the
workers, informing the men on the questions involved in the war and
urging them to do their best. Other speakers, including men returned
from army service in France, went up and down through the mining
regions, holding meetings, talking to the workers. The President’s
proclamation addressed to all engaged in coal mining and appeals
from other men of influence among them were distributed
everywhere.
The result was a hearty response from the mining men. They dealt
amicably with the production committees, they kept the peace with
their racial enemies, they agreed to forego holidays and the usual
laying off for funeral days, they worked even on Labor Day, they
plunged into the increased production program with enthusiasm,
they worked more efficiently and many old men who had quit active
work on account of age voluntarily took up again the pick and shovel.
The average number of days worked by each miner in the
bituminous fields was increased over that of the previous year by
twelve and by twenty-five over that of 1916. From week to week
during the summer and fall of 1918, until November, the weekly
production of coal showed an increase in the neighborhood of a
million tons over the same week in the previous year. During the
half-year period from the first of April to the end of September more
coal was mined than ever before in any half year in the history of the
American coal industry. In that time the bituminous production was
twelve per cent greater than in the corresponding period in 1917,
which had itself established a record.
As important as increased production in the mines was the rapid
distribution of coal as soon as it was brought to the surface. Coal is
not commercially produced until it is distributed, for coal dumped at
the mine mouth or lying in cars on railroad switches is of no more
use to the consumer than that still underground. It was mainly the
efficient work of the Railroad Administration that brought order and
successful achievement into this phase of the war coal situation. The
manner in which it relieved the freight congestion which had
paralyzed traffic during the last months of 1917 is described in the
chapter on “Running the Railroads.” By the prompt actions it took it
released the tied-up trains of coal, sent them to their destination and
made possible the swift, economical and steady service of all cars
available for the carrying of coal from mines to consumers’ bins.
But so much in excess of possible production was the amount of
coal that was urgently necessary for war making purposes that only
a great and general program of coal saving would prevent the
slacking of our war effort. The Fuel Administrator turned at once to
the American people, confident that, if they understood the need,
they would voluntarily endeavor to meet it. Articles explaining the
situation and showing why it was necessary for consumers to save in
the neighborhood of fifty million tons of coal during the next few
months in newspapers and magazines, all of which throughout the
country cordially coöperated with the Fuel Administration, brought
the responsibility of the continuing of the nation’s prosecution of the
war straight to the feet of every individual user of coal, gas and
electricity. Widely circulated leaflets urged conservation of coal and
posters that met the eye at every turn emphasized their message.
Instructions were published in periodicals of every sort for the
economical but equally efficient use of coal in manufacturing and
domestic furnaces, in kitchen ranges and household stoves. To save
each day at least one shovelful of coal was laid upon the conscience
of every consumer.
So-called “lightless nights” were established on which was
forbidden the use of electricity, gas, oil, or coal for the illumination or
display of windows, advertisements or signs and street lighting was
reduced to the minimum necessary for safety. In order to aid in the
conserving of coal by reducing the amount of artificial light
necessary, the daylight saving measure was passed by Congress
and the clocks moved ahead for an hour from the end of March to
the end of October. Non-war industries had their consumption of coal
curtailed.
In January, 1918, the public east of the Mississippi River was
asked to observe a series of so-called “heatless days” in which there
should be no consumption of fuel except for absolutely necessary
uses. The purpose was to make possible the bunkering of two
hundred and fifty ships at eastern ports laden with food and war
materials for Europe, but unable to move for lack of coal. There was
dire need of their cargoes in France. The United States Government
had been told that the Western Allies could not continue their war
effort unless these cargoes were delivered on the other side of the
Atlantic in the quickest possible time. For a five-day period in
January and for each following Monday for several weeks the Fuel
Administration asked commerce and industry to forego as far as
possible the burning of coal in order that it might give priority for
deliveries of coal to the waiting ships and to the newly established
Railroad Administration, struggling with ice-covered tracks, frozen
engines and storm-tied trains, a little time in which to relieve the
congestion of cars and set in motion long lines of stalled coal trains.
The “heatless day” period was loyally observed and by the day after
it ended every one of the two hundred and fifty ships had bunkered
and was speeding across the ocean to deliver its sorely needed
cargo. There had also been accumulated a stock of coal for the
equally necessary bunkering of the other ships that came and went
in a steady stream to supply the demands of war.
For all these measures the response of the public was immediate
and willing. Manufacturers of nonessentials voluntarily offered to
curtail operation if by so doing they could aid the nation’s war effort.
Domestic consumers reduced their lights and watched their furnaces
and stoves as they had never done before, and everywhere any
attempt on the part of merchants, corporations or private individuals
to use light or fuel in excess of the Fuel Administration’s requests
and rules was frowned down by the public.
The Oil Division of the Fuel Administration played so important a
part in the final success of the Allied and Associated nations that if it
was true, as a British authority declared, that “we floated to victory
on a sea of oil,” the credit belongs largely to the men who directed
the American oil supply, for the Western front was dependent almost
wholly upon oil from America. There was a constantly increasing
production of crude oil, which was speeded by all possible methods,
and the proportion of gasoline extracted was continually being
increased. Oil-burning vessels in the British, French, Italian and
American navies needed the oil and the Motor Transport Services of
all the armies needed immense and rapidly increasing quantities of
gasoline. Oil production was increased in 1918 to 344,000,000
barrels, which was 50,000,000 barrels more than it had been in
1914. To provide transportation a fleet of oil tankers was built and
when the war closed over half the gross tonnage of tankers in
service was American.
Gasoline this country sent across the ocean in an ever increasing
flood which grew in 1917 by a million and a half of barrels over the
previous year and in 1918 amounted to 13,312,000 barrels, an
increase of more than 9,000 barrels per day over that sent in the
previous year. But so sharp grew the need for it at the front in the
summer of 1918 that restriction had to be put upon its use at home.
The Allied forces warned by cable that without increased and early
deliveries of gasoline their plans were likely to collapse. Marshal
Foch’s cablegram said bluntly, “If you don’t keep up your petroleum
supply we shall lose the war.” Immediate saving of gasoline was the
only answer to the necessity and the Fuel Administration asked the
people living east of the Mississippi River to forego the use of motor-
propelled vehicles, except for specified necessary purposes, on
Sundays. Compliance was voluntary and for military reasons the
public could not be told how dire was the necessity.
But so immediate and universal was the response that from every
section reports showed that Sunday motoring was almost wholly
abandoned, the reduction being from 75 to 99 per cent. During the
nearly two months that the restriction continued it was estimated that
a saving had been made of approximately 1,000,000 barrels of
gasoline, of which more than 500,000 barrels, ten shiploads, had
been sent overseas.
A comprehensive plan was worked out by the Fuel Administration
for the saving of fuel by conservation of light and power which
enlisted the aid of a force of engineers and of other departments of
the Government. A study was made by inspectors and engineers of
conditions in large manufacturing concerns and in public utilities
plants all over the country which brought about, by the willing
coöperation of their managers, such rearrangements of machinery
and appliances, elimination of duplicating plants and of unnecessary
expenses as resulted in important savings, ranging from ten to thirty
per cent in the amount of coal consumed, without interfering with the
output. The Fuel Administration urged the generation of electric
energy from water power instead of steam wherever possible, and
enough plants made the change to effect a considerable saving in
coal consumption.
A zone system for the distribution of bituminous coal providing for
the supply of each section of the country from the nearest mines, put
into operation by the Fuel and Railroad Administrations together,
eliminated approximately 160,000,000 car miles and affected more
than half of the total distribution of bituminous coal. The overcoming
of this waste in transportation made possible the swifter and steadier
use of rolling stock, thus speeding deliveries and more quickly
returning cars and engines to the mines for new loads, and made
more effective the railroad consumption of coal, which amounts to
about twenty-five per cent of the coal production of the country.
The organization of the Fuel Administration stretched out in a
network that touched every community. The fuel administrator of
each state, working under the national organization, had under him
administrators and local committees for cities and counties whose
duty it was to keep in constant touch with the supplies and the needs
of their own localities. Upon their reports the state administrator
apportioned the supply to be allowed each locality and upon their
investigations into business costs were based the maximum local
retail prices of coal to be charged. The fixing of local retail prices was
in addition to the regulation of prices at the mines and violators of
either, whether mine operators, jobbers or retailers, were made to
refund their excess profits and were then turned over to the
Department of Justice for prosecution. Each of the several divisions
of the work of the Fuel Administration, in addition to that of fuel
distribution, such as conservation, production and oil, was organized
by districts or specialized bureaus for intensive and effective work.
Economies urged by the Fuel Administration resulted in the saving
during the first half of 1918 of 12,700,000 tons of coal. Although the
coal mining industry lost 100,000 or more workers to other war
industries and to the fighting forces, the speeding program of the
Fuel Administration resulted in a production of bituminous coal
during 1918 of 585,883,000 tons, setting a new high record and
exceeding the production of the previous year by 34,000,000 tons.
Notwithstanding the enormous and constantly growing increase
there had been throughout the preceding eighteen months in the
consumption of coal for war purposes, at the end of hostilities the
country faced the approaching winter with stocks of coal on hand
greatly in excess of previous years.