Polution - Causes and Solutions?

[UCFCSGuy]

I am finally to the point where my civilization is experiencing massive amounts of polution. I think that this is due -- so far anyway -- to the factories that I have begun to build. Here are my questions:

1. What improvements or events cause polution for the most part?

2. What can I do to eliminate or lower the occurance rate of polution?

I know that my settlers and engineers can clean up individual polution tiles, that's as far as I have gotten though. Also, global warming has started affecting me in a big way. What is the best way to deal with all of the deserts that are starting to pop up around me?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Sodak]

Once your cities get very large, they produce population pollution. This can be eliminated (or is it reduced?) by building Mass Transit.

Cities that produce a large number of shields will also produce pollution. Several improvements reduce or eliminate this kind of pollution: hydro plant (or Hoover Dam), recycling center, solar plant.

Once global warming occurs, you need to work the terrain anew. Not much you can do about that...

 

[Duke of Marlbrough]

Mass Transit eliminates population pollution, solar plant eliminates production pollution.

Hydro plants and recycling centers only reduce production pollution.

 

[UCFCSGuy]

So, it's not the factory that is causing the polution per se, but the increased production from it?

If that's the case, why did I not see polution until I started building factories?

 

[EdwardTking]

There are other factors:


(1) Time: Pollution gets worse each turn
as end of game approaches.

(2) Tech: Automoble, Mass Production & Plastics make it worse.
Sanitation is supposed to reduce it.

 

[Duke of Marlbrough]

When you've got some time try reading this thread.

 

[duke o' york]

You only get Population pollution after you've invented Automobile, but you can have Production pollution at any time (theoretically). If you build King Richard's Crusade in one of your cities then the huge amount of extra shields it gives you (equivalent to a factory in that city) will often cause pollution. I'm not entirely sure of the number of shields past which pollution will occur. Would anyone like to check this? I know that pollution is random though, so even if you have that number of shields, you aren't guaranteed pollution straightaway. You may have to wait until the right random number is generated. Obviously, the more pollution signs your city has, the higher the chance of pollution each turn (the yellow triangles on the city screen).

 

[Lucky]

Production pollution starts with the 20th shield. Less than that and you just need a mass transit in such a city.

Every shield above 20 gives you one pollution icon, factory production included.
After building a hydro-plant/nuclear plant, the amount of "free" shields increases to 40.
A recycling center increases it to 62.
With both a recycling center and a hydro plant it still is 62.
With a solar plant you have NO production pollution. Note that you can sell your recycling center then, but NOT your mass transit.


Population pollution is also coupled with shield production, but is eliminated once a mass transit is built.
So a mass transit + solar plant in a city eliminated all pollution regardless of shield production. With other improvements the numbers above (20, 40, 62) apply to that city.