Air pollution in California began just after World War II. Southern California has been known to have the worst air pollution in our nation. The worst ozone pollution in Southern California was in 2006’ in the Perris and Crestline areas, then the ozone levels exceeded the federal health standard for more than 50 days. Smoke pollution is one relevant pollutant in Southern California it is occasionally called industrial smog. The major pollutants in industrial smog are sulphur oxides, nitrates, metals, organic chemicals, soil and dust particles also known as particulate matter. The unhealthiest episodes of pollution usually happen during winter months when the burning of household fuels like oil or coal is…
|air pollution effects. |pollution’s ill effects, the lifestyle changes that will be required, | |…
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. Stratospheric ozone depletion (contributed to air pollution) has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth’s ecosystems. The Earth is capable of cleaning itself of a certain level of pollution, but man-made pollutant have become too numerous for the Earth’s natural mechanisms to remove. We are seeing the results of this overload in the form of acid rain, smog, and the variety of health problems that can be contributed to our environment. (Godish)…
Air pollutants can cause a number of health concerns both short-term and long-term issues. These health problems can be caused by both indoor and outdoor pollutants in an urban setting. Such as, secondhand smoke, mold, and nitrogen dioxide to name a few indoor pollutants and ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and lead as outdoor pollutants. All these can cause a number of significant issues. Some short term effects are irritation to eyes, nose and throat, upper respiratory infections (bronchitis and pneumonia), headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Extended exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. Another health risk caused by air pollution is the effects these pollutants make to our ozone layer. This causes the ozone layer to thin out and allow more harmful radiation from the sun effect our skin causing increases in skin cancer and cataracts. Pollution can also affect the environment around us; ultimately…
The significant air pollution problem in the Los Angeles Basin has been one of the most severe environmental issues that concerned the society. Due to the American tradition, public transportations are not so commonly used; therefore, a majority of the individuals owned a car. The most commonly used transportation is the convenient motor vehicles that are driven everywhere. With the high volume of traffic daily, the tremendous amount of air pollution that is produced by highly-polluted vehicles are growing at an exponential rate…
Being one of the biggest social issues in Los Angeles, Air pollution has two main reasons: vehicle traffic and population growth. Actually, it is in a such crucial level that scientists indicate that air pollution in Los Angeles may endanger peoples lives. Scientific researches show that the air pollution causes cancer and have an impact on pregnant woman. Advertisements shows us some solutions like making public transportation common and sustainable housing. With the growing population of Los Angeles, something has to be done . Otherwise it is going to be impossible to deal with the air pollution. Population growth in Los Angeles are not likely to slow down. There is a constant mexican immigration because of its geographical location and the better living standards. As well as the mexican immigration, Los Angeles is also attracting lots of people because of being the world center of entertainment, business, media, fashion, science and education. Needless to say, as the population of Los Angeles gets more crowded, the number of cars being used is also increases. Therefore, with this rate of population growth, it is essential to find and efficient solutions. For the overcrowded roads, the fastest solution is improving public transportation. Apart from that, it might be the fastest solution but it certainly will not be enough for the future. This should be the first step of "building a green Los Angeles".On the other hand, public transportation and sustainable housing are not the only solutions for air pollution. There are bunch of steps that have to be taken in order to deal with this issue.…
In the 1940's California was supporting a population of seven million people and contained 2.8 million registered vehicles. Within the next twenty years the population more than doubled to reach 16 million while the number of registered vehicles all but tripled increasing to eight million. This has been a common trend in California's documented history from the early twentieth century to today. There have been many historical and environmental factors that have assisted in contributing to increases such as these in California. One such factor was World War II, from the late 1930's to 1945, which triggered a boom in the population of California and the beginning of the urban sprawl. Increases in population such as this resulted in a massive increase in pollution but more specifically air pollution. To counteract the drastic increase of air pollution in California, then Governor Earl Warren signed the Air Pollution Control Act authorizing each county in the state to create its own air pollution control (California Air Resources Board). Since the inception of this "clean air" act many private and governmental organizations were created setting rules, regulations, and standards against pollution and writing them into law. While the average individual is able to make decisions which ultimately affect the quality of our air by making it less polluted organizations hold a far greater power in controlling the quality California's air. Combining the organizational factors with the efforts of the individual has drastically decreased the rate at which we pollute our environment and increased the quality of the air here in California.…
When it comes to human health related to air pollution there are increasing mortality rates within large cities across the United States. One notice cause within the increase of air pollution is asthma. Asthma is an ongoing problem within the United States directly affecting children. Many epidemiological studies have been conducted in an attempt to pinpoint the cause of asthma. Asthma is considered a long term effect of air pollution as it can deal with either indoor or outside pollution. Another health effect of air pollution is coronary heart disease. Those who have a preexisting heart condition such as coronary heart disease are more susceptible to different forms of air pollution. Different forms of air pollution could cause those with…
Air pollution can harm animals, plants and bodies of water. There is a substantial amount of pollution that comes from man-made sources such as from factories, cars, planes and trains that have an effect on the quality of air we breathe. These conditions can reduce life spans and cause chronic respiratory issues in animals and humans. Some of the chemicals that are associated with air pollution have been known to contribute to birth defects, cancer and other damages to the human body. According to Ferrell, Fraedrich and…
Lets start with “Air Pollution” which is created by both human and natural resources including but not limited to CO, SO2, most hydrocarbons, most particulates, CO2, NO, NO2, HNO2, HNO3, H2O2, SO3, H2SO4. Air pollution is a big atmospheric issue that continues to become a greater concern, especially when it comes to the health of living things including humans, animals and plants on our earth.…
Did you know that nearly 5.5 million people, over 1 million seabirds, and 100,000 sea mammals die each year due to pollution? California itself has 21,000 annual deaths caused by air pollution. Pollution makes up 40% of all the deaths caused worldwide. This is why I believe that we should keep our environment clean. Reducing pollution can lower death rates and reduce our risks of global warming.…
When people think about air pollution, the things that come to their mind are smog, acid rain, and other forms of outdoor air pollution. Air Pollution is not a new topic. It is a problem that we have noticed since the industrial revolution, when trees, houses and cars were covered in soot from the factories. Every year, chemical substances present in the air within buildings affect the healths of thousands of people. The definition of air pollution is "The presence in the atmosphere of one or more contaminants as is injurious, or tends to be injurious, to human health or welfare, animal or plantlife."Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it's also called smog. Air pollution are the leading cause of death in China. Acid rain falls on 30% of the country. The World Health Organization has found that about 750,000 people die prematurely each year from respiratory problems in China.…
Bibliography: "Air Pollution." GEG Project RSS2. GEG Project, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. This informative web article details the process of air pollution. In defining air pollution—when specific compounds in the atmosphere reach a point to which they cause change in the environment—it is observed that large quantities of these pollutants can be harmful. Natural processes such as volcanic eruptions decay of organic matter, and wildfires generate small amounts of air pollution. Humans, however, create far more substantial quantities that have greatly impacted the environment. An increase in outputs of pollution is the cause of acid rain, global warming, and even health risks such as heart disease and stroke.…
In our state we have a growing problem of air pollution. It might not be as clearly visible in some areas as others but the fact is that air pollution is still there affecting us in some way, shape, or form. Air pollution has been known to cause illness and/or death, which many people may not be aware of. There are two main causes of pollution in our state. One main cause of air pollution is natural. Natural pollution is windblown dust, pollen, fog, etc. The other main cause of air pollution is humans. Air pollution caused by humans is the chief concern and the most serious form. Most of the human pollution created is from industrial work, cars, trucks and airplanes. The causes of pollution can go on and on, and scientists constantly are discovering new elements that add to air pollution. The most harmful cause of air pollution is from automobile emissions. People drive automobiles everyday to get from "Point A to Point B". If automobiles did not exist, the air would most likely be cleaner, but we would not be able to travel long distances in short periods.…
According to the Oxford Dictionary, air pollution is defined as, “the presence in, or introduction into, the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.” When an individual thinks of air pollution, chances are they typically imagine a dark smog hanging over an urban area, causing problems such as asthma and other respiratory problems for those who have no choice but to breathe in the air. However, there are several different types of air pollution, some of which are actually invisible to the naked eye. Some air pollutants are responsible for global warming such as carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and sulfur dioxide, just to name a few. According to a National Geographic article dated November 8th, 2013, air pollutants have been found to cause lung cancer, which has even happened to an eight year old child in China (Brink 2013). According to an article from Businessweek dated March 27th, 2014, the World Health Organization was able to link 7 million deaths worldwide in 2012 to air pollution alone, making it the “world’s largest single environmental health risk” (Larson 2014). In other words, one out of eight deaths in 2012 were attributed to air pollution (Larson 2014). According to an article from The Guardian, roughly half of Americans (approximately 148 million individuals) are currently living with dangerous levels of air pollution (Goldenberg 2014). Due to the threats that air pollution poses to individuals, or, rather, the Earth and everything living in it as a whole, several states and municipalities have attempted to implement policies reduce air pollution with varying results. This paper will examine the efforts of two regions: New York State and the municipality of Houston, Texas.…