...IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Team A SCI/362 June 29, 2011 Kenneth Rayford “EFFORTS TO REDUCE OZONE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA” The Los Angeles Basin is a plain that lies between the Pacific Ocean and mountains to the north and east. During the summer, the sunny climate produces a layer of warm, dry air at upper elevations. Southern California counties are where almost 15 million people reside. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is a governmental organization established in 1977 to deal with the historically poor air quality in the area surrounding Los Angeles. Air pollution injures organisms, reduces visibility, and attacks and corrodes materials such as metals, plastics, rubber, and fabrics. The respiratory tracts of animals, including humans, are particularly harmed by air pollutants, which worsen existing medical conditions such as chronic lung disease, pneumonia, and cardiovascular problems. Discussed in our paper will be several key points that will highlight very important details in regards to the efforts to reduce ozone in Southern California. Topics to be discussed are; described the historical development of the issue, the stakeholder’s involvement in the issue, and the long term effects of the problem, the responsibilities that arise from the ethical position and try to find a solution to this major problem. Air pollution in California began just after World War II. Southern California has been known to have the worst air pollution in our nation...
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...Every year, Southern Californians guzzle gallons of fossil fuel. As a result, air pollution is still extremely high. With little education about the issue, many citizens are unaware of the pollutants they are emitting. However, the population of Southern California could improve their actions against air pollution, and strengthen their current activities. Everyone can make a difference in this issue. Efforts should be strengthened to reduce Southern California’s excessive use of fossil fuels and increase environmental consciousness about the matter. Southern California has made some efforts to reduce air pollution, but many of these efforts will take a long time and are not doing enough to end the problem. Orange County and the surrounding regions have somewhat been improving the quality of our air through various advancements in the fields of technology and other methods (“Discover Magazine”)....
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...Environmental pollution, also known as air pollution, is the product of the substances and energy being added to the environment at a faster rate than the environment can utilize them, as a result contaminating the air. Additionally, any biological, chemical, or physical change to the atmospheric air is called a pollutant. Air pollution is caused by hazardous air pollutants. According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hazardous pollutants are chemicals that negatively affect the environment and our health. These hazardous air pollutants are released into the air by motor vehicles, chemical and printing plans, and dry cleaners. Air pollution has been an active, environmental problem throughout the state of California. The quality of air plays a detrimental effect on people’s health, materials, agriculture, visibility as well as climate change. Throughout the years, control laws, programs, interventions and regulations have been placed to manage air quality, which also aids the population’s overall health. Historically, some of the first programs in the U.S that attempted to...
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...Atmospheric Pollution As I had started my research on atmospheric pollution, I had come to find that it all coincides with global warming. Due to the gases that are being released in the air from vehicles, it starts to destroy the atmosphere. However, it is not just the gases from the vehicles, there are also gases from power plants and aerosol cans, for example, hairspray. Smokers also contribute to the pollution in the atmosphere. All of this will be discussed further into the paper. The one thing that was asked was to give a detailed description of the problem. Coming up with a detailed description was not a problem but difficult and time consuming. I have come up with a number of problems that atmospheric pollution, or global warming, has on people, animals and the world. Map Results I have found a map that shows the locations where there is air pollution. On this map, there are images of blue, purple and red dots. These dots represent the U.S. Industrial facilities that use toxic chemicals. The city and states with a high count of toxic usage had the blue and red dots next to them. These city and states are as follows: Phoenix, Arizona, Salt Lake City, Utah, San Diego, California, Los Angeles, California, Riverside, California, Bakersfield, California, San Francisco, California, Stockton, California, Sacramento, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle Washington. There are 34 city and states including Canada that are highlighted...
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...Air is the ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live. Air is 99.9% nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Human activities can release substances into the air, some of which can cause problems for humans, plants, and animals. There are several main types of pollution and well-known effects of pollution which are commonly discussed. These include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of these problems has serious implications for our health and well-being as well as for the whole environment. One type of air pollution is the release of particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a good example of this particulate matter. The particles are very small pieces of matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. This type of pollution is sometimes referred to as "black carbon" pollution. The exhaust from burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major source of pollution in the air. Some authorities believe that even the burning of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbeques can release significant quantities of soot into the air. Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain. Pollution also needs to be considered...
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...appealing in theory and may look like a perfect place to live from above, the Central Valley is also home to some of the worst air quality in the nation. LOCAL CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION The Central Valley contains many factors that play a role in its high levels of pollution. While this region is home to producing most of the fruits and vegetables...
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...century are quiet important for the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to another. There are many modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations. Besides, transport is important because it enables trade between persons, which is essential for the development of civilizations. Article. ABOUT THE ARTICLE. From the article, California create a regulation to decrease the air pollution cause from heavy trucks. The regulation start when a group of scientists measured a thousands of heavy-duty trucks over months at a time at two San Francisco Bay Area locations. The studies conclude that heavy-duty truck are major sources of nitrogen oxides which contributes to global warming and regional changes in climate, such as precipitation and snow melting. At the same time, air pollution is linked to 100,000 premature deaths per year in the United States, according to published studies. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set emissions standards for new engines, most trucks and buses run for several decades, so the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has sought to accelerate emissions reductions with aggressive new regulations in recent years. As a result growing numbers of heavy-duty diesel trucks in California are using two control technologies, a diesel particle filter, which removes most particulate matter, and selective catalytic reduction, which...
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...6, 2013 Advances in natural energy have provided ways to create the energy that we need with little to no pollution. The United States of America however, is very slow with getting on board with the rest of the countries across the world who has embraced the methods of using natural energy. China and Russia have begun to fuel most of their energy using solar power and water, yet the United States continues to stick to the older ways of coal, oil and nuclear plants to power our part of the world. There have been studies and research done on how the toxic pollution from these dirty forms of energy is causing major damage to the environment. There are even more problems with the people who have to live near these energy plants or breathe in the harmful air which can cause heart problems, cancer and sometimes even death. America has always been the master cranium when it came to making innovative ideas that the world would soon follow. Now, it may be time for America to learn a few facts from other countries on how to incorporate a better way to power up this nation. What are we waiting on, this is America. Natural Power is an independent renewable energy that uses the power from the sun, wind, water or anything in nature to produce power and energy. The research to begin using this natural form of energy was originally created over concerns of how years of pollution was leading to an environmental decline. In the 1800’s, Charles Fritz and Lester Pelton were the first scientists...
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...fishing industry due to pollution in Chesapeake Bay, and then in 1969 it was found that over 41 million fish had been killed due pollution (Moyers); shortly after in 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed as a response to unhealthy water due to pollution. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act has been debated for the past thirty years. The issue of clean, safe water has been plaguing our nation ever since the Clean Water Act’s passing and has been exacerbated by the surge of plastic in our consumer-driven society. There is no doubt that plastic pollution has become a huge nuisance namely in our waterways, but what has been done about it and moreover, what can be done about it? In 1983 the...
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...the author’s opinions, but in reality, it should focus more on real world problems, rather than opinions . The media always contains more than one side of the story. The informal style of writing describes the colloquialism and similarity of opinion from two different authors that focus on the same topic to reflect the solemnity and pessimism of this revolutionized era. The supporting texts are attestable, focused, and structured on the problem. Bob Weber’s “Air pollution northeast of Edmonton as bad as world’s largest cities: study ” and Andrew Nikiforuk’s “Alberta’s Oil Legacy: Bad Air and Rare Cancers” are examples of this devious colloquial style portrayed by the media. While Bob Weber and Andrew Nikiforuk share a humane attitude with respect to the study of Alberta’s air pollutants, Nikiforuk is more critical of the detail of exemplifying the seriousness of the problem. Through his description of subsidiary secondary characters , his affective writing style and his manipulative headlines/images , it is clear that Nikiforuk fully comprehends the importance of reducing the air pollutants in the province, while Weber plays around with the motive of the story and is not consistent in conveying his point for the whole province. The two articles focus around elaborating the main point of the study, by the “ Rowland-Blake Group, a University of California-Irvine laboratory that took a snapshot of air quality in Fort Saskatchewan just 30 kilometres northeast of Edmonton for...
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... Mr. Jorge Rifa’ City Council and Administration. 2535 Commerce Way Commerce, California 90040 Dear Mr. Rifa’ and Councilmember’s: I understand the concerns of the quality of air and environmental safety of your resident’s has been a priority on your list of concerns. I recognize and appreciate the efforts the City of Commerce has done by addressing the concerns of the added pollution caused by the trucking traffic and railroad yards. I understand there has been many letters written from the City of Commerce to the Los Angeles City Council regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was prepared for the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) project which addresses the potential growth of the railroad yards that is needed to accommodate the increased rail and container traffic. The increase in traffic will also increase the poor quality of air emitted in the City of Commerce. The lead agency is the public agency which has the principal responsibility for approving a proposed project such as the SCIG. The railroad yards and trucking transportation is the main industry of this city that increases the revenue, but the environment must be a safety priority to your residents. How can the city continue to increase their revenue without continually putting the residents at an increase in health risk due to the smog and carcinogen causing pollution from the trains and trucking industry? The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is...
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...Phone: (310) 914-7300 Fax: (310) 914-7318 Dear Senator Feinstein: More than four in 10 Americans nearly 138.5 million people live in counties where air pollution levels make the air unhealthy to inhale. As a California resident I am concern about the air quality in California particular in Los Angeles where I live. I appreciate everything California has to offer because of your contribution to the state. I was disturbed to know we are not doing enough to clean the air. Please support any bill that will help out with having healthy environment. You truly help us out by adopt a strong final Clean Power Plan, Protect the Clean Air Act, and Fund the work to provide healthy air. I am alarmed about how Los Angeles is one the top 10 cities with the worst air pollution. Everyone breathes this air which has negative impact in our and your health. Having great air quality in this city which you live in is beneficial for you and the rest of Californians. The president leadership believes strongly that we need to participate in a clean air act. Will you do everything in your power to help this massive problem we have. It is just effortless simple issue you can support by helping out in supporting bill that help protect our air quality. I understand your concern about how this proposal will end, but if you support clean air it will show your commitment to voters. Sincerely, Clay Carmine A concerned citizen...
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...situations. In many Third World nations, pollution is unrestricted. Countless other environmental problems are also not addressed by the government. Usually, creating and enforcing environmental regulations would be economically disastrous for a poor country. As a result, it is forced to choose between buying food and having a clean environment. Often, rich Western countries take advantage of the dilemma of Third World countries. They dump garbage and hazardous waste in developing countries. First World companies might also build plants, which emit considerable pollution, in Third World nations to avoid the regulations these companies would face at home. Some transnational corporations that produce chemicals deemed overly dangerous in the First World find a market in the Third World. There, governments cannot restrict usage of these chemicals because it would be too costly to citizens trying to make a living. Countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia are the greatest victims of this environmental inequality. In addition to problems created by development and industrialization, poorer nations also suffer environmental difficulties caused by poverty and war, among other causes. Many environmental problems arise in the Third World. Air pollution, water pollution , deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, and poisoning of the environment are among the largest of these. Third World nations are aware of these problems and are working to solve them. The United...
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...Air pollution is still a growing issue in Los Angeles. However, with new regulation, air pollution is becoming less of a problem. However, Los Angeles still ranks as one of the top polluters in California (Barbosa, 2014). California as a whole has implemented regulations that will lessen the effects of the major air polluters; however, there is more work to be done. What is air pollution? “Air pollution is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulates, and biological matter that cause harm to humans, other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment” (Coffey, 2010). Air pollution affects all living things. Plants, animals, and humans are all affected by air pollution. Air pollution is a threat to human health as well as the earth’s eco system. The earth is somewhat able to clean itself, however, the because of the number of pollutants, the earth struggles to clean itself. The result of the earth not being able to clean itself results in acid rain, smog, and the numerous of other safety and health problems. Air pollution may also be a cause for climate change and global warming. The cause of air pollution “Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline...
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...Pollution in Richmond, California. Pollution is the introduction of several chemical substances or energy to a natural environment witch exceeds the standard levels regulated by Countries. It can damage the ecosystem and living organisms. Some of the effects caused by pollution are respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, congestion and even death. (Anonymous, 2011) Chevron refinery in Richmond, California, opened its door on 1902. The plant has over 1,300 employees, cover 2,900 acres (12 km2), operate 30 plants and can move 340,000 barrels of raw material a day. The company has had many problems regarding the safety of their stakeholders since they opened their doors. Environmental issue is one of the biggest concerns the company has. In the early 1980s, the Chevron USA petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, was creating serious toxicity threats in San Francisco Bay. The largest of six major bay-side refineries, Chevron discharged 35 percent of the chromium and more than half the nickel from all major point sources into the northern reach of the bay in 1986. In laboratory tests, Chevron’s full-strength effluent killed at least 12 species of aquatic life exposed to it. (Karras, 1989) Because of this problem the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board demanded that the company search ways to reduce or eliminate the pollution its refinery was creating. After discussing the situation the CBE and Chevron came...
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