.SystemDynamics.WorldDynamics.World3.Pollution_Dynamics .SystemDynamics.WorldDynamics.World3.Pollution_DynamicsWhereas the earlier WORLD2 model listed only the appearance and assimilation of pollution itself, the newer WORLD3 model accounts for the possibility of reducing the release of pollutants into the air by improved technology using a second state variable. For example, it may be possible to burn coal in a power plant that captures the released CO2 rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. In this way, the greenhouse gas emissions could be significantly reduced, and thereby, the effects of global warming could be mitigated.
Pollutants can take many forms. For this reason, the WORLD3 model normalizes the pollutants and expresses them in "units of pollution." In accordance with engineering practice, normalized quantities are assumed to be dimensionless (the dimensions are filtered out in the process of normalization), and consequently, pollution in this model is assumed dimensionless. The technology change factor is also dimensionless.