BILLBOARDS, AIR POLLUTION & SPEED, OH MY!

Akron City Council voted to raise the speed limit from 55 to 65 miles per hour on 77 between Vernon Odom and Cleveland-Massillon Road. Quick history lesson. Congress previously used a national speed limit as an approach to conserve fuel when, in 1974, it provided a national 55 speed limit to reduce gasoline consumption in response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

Fuel savings resulting from the 55 mph national speed limit ranged from 0.2 to 3 percent of annual gasoline consumption. According to DOE’s 2008 estimate, a national speed limit of 55 mph could yield possible savings of 175,000 to

275,000 barrels of oil per day.

So using the traffic count from ODOT, not only will the raised limit cost drivers over $140.00 a year in lost fuel economy, but will increase air pollution, including Co2. In 2006, transportation sources emitted approximately 40% of all GHG emissions in the United States.

This 5.7 mile stretch of fast moving traffic is also the location of one of the digital billboard in Akron. Even though these digital billboards reduce energy with the LED lights, when used on a small scale can save substantial amounts of energy, but any savings are lost by the very existence of the billboard. They require LEDs on a large, scale. One electronic or digital billboard can use 390,000 kWh a year, an equivalent to the use of 49 conventionally lighted billboards. Or the amount of electricity to run about 52 homes.

Such large electrical use has a much greater carbon footprint, and the other pollution caused by coal power plants. 1 billboard would generate 534,300 lbs of carbon. If the 13 new billboards go electronic- a staggering 6,945,900 lbs will be emitted into the atmosphere.

BILLBOARDS IN AKRON, OHIO: A CONCERNED INVESTIGATION

By

Ben Stabler and Dana Williams

One of the top five billboard advertising companies is the Phoenix based Eller

Media, which was acquired in 1997 by Clear Channel Communications (CCC). Eller

Media owns over half a million outdoor displays around the world. They have the ability

to reach over half the entire U.S. population, and over 75 percent of the U.S. Hispanic

population. According to Eller Media (2001): “Outdoor [advertising] is great because

you can’t turn it off, throw it away, or click on the next page.” Clear Channel

Communications, a publicly traded San Antonio based corporation on the New York

Stock Exchange, is one of the world’s largest media companies. As of December 1999,

CCC owns 509 radio stations, 24 television stations, 555,157 display faces, and 120 live

entertainment venues. It also owns 400,000 display faces in 36 countries around the

world. From September 1999 to September 2000, CCC’s sales were $4.2 billion, with a

net income of $431 million (Yahoo!, 2001).