Category: Air Pollution

The impact that humans have on the environment includes changes to biophysical environments and ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans, including global warming, environmental degradation (such as ocean acidification, mass extinction and biodiversity loss, ecological crises, and ecological collapse. Humans use up more resources and the amount and nature can’t replenish those resources fast enough to supply our needs.

People, plants, and animals living under the ozone hole are harmed by the solar radiation now reaching the Earth’s surface where it causes health problems, from eye damage to skin cancer. The ozone is primarily created at tropical latitudes large-scale air circulation patterns in the lower stratosphere move ozone toward the poles, where the concentration of the ozone builds up. The ozone is a high level layer of gas in the stratosphere as it helps to keep out harmful ultraviolet rays that cause sunburn to human skin and damage to plants. In able for humans to conserve natural resources simple things such as water should not be wasted or use to much. Polluting the air should be stopped because it is harmful to human health, animals, and plants and so on.

There are ways we can conserve the natural resources we need such reusing and recycling, conserve water and energy those simple task should help in conserving our natural resources. The protection of key elements of our environment is important for human health. “The ability to breathe clean air, to have a supply of wholesome drinking water and to be protected against the harmful effects of things like waste and noise are fundamental to our well being”. In addition to the EPA’s role in helping the environment the United States also has a role in it as well in working with other nations to help protect the global environment.

Most of the air pollution is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline to produce electricity and power our vehicles. Carbon dioxide is also another good indicator to let us know how much fossil fuel is being burned and how much of other pollutants are emitted as a result. When the fuels are being transported from the mine or well can cause air pollution and lead to serious accidents and spills. When the fuels are burned, they emit toxins and global warming emissions. Habitat loss is also a huge problem in the marine environment. Destructive fishing, using deep trawlers and dynamiting coral reefs destroy entire ecosystems. Destroying a habitat is more likely not pollution but extinction to a certain species of the animal kingdom. Take for example, destroying a honey badgers natural habitat and everything that surrounds it such as plants, trees and means that extinction to that animal will happen.

Pollution of the environment can be classified into various forms; air pollution, visual pollution, soil contamination, radioactive contamination, thermal pollution, noise pollution and water pollution. All these different forms of pollution contribute to health predicaments and also lower the quality of someone’s life. For example excessive noise pollution can lead to hearing loss. In addition, pollution contributes to climate change, depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. Water pollution refers to liquid spills, surface runoff, leakage into groundwater and discharge of waste water into the water sources by industries and institutions. Air pollution is the discharge of particles and chemicals that are harmful to the living things into the atmosphere. Soil contamination occurs when toxins and chemicals are spilled on the surface of the earth or when the storage tanks that are in the underground leak. When solid waste is poorly managed, it can lead to water pollution and air pollution; water pollution occurs when the waste is carried into the water sources by the rains or water runoff. Air pollution due to poor waste management occurs due to accumulation of waste for along time and decomposition, results to poor odours.

The maintenance of a quality environment in northern North America has remained a great problem. This is because most of the settlers lack adequate means of solid waste and liquid waste disposal and a satisfactory system of quality water supply. In this case study, the area of study was Fairbanks which is situated in Alaska State in the United States. The city of Fairbanks is located in the Tanana Valley and is enclosed by hills to the east, west and north (Pearson & Smith, n.d, p.2). The main objective of this study was to assess the environmental quality of the Fairbanks city majoring on the solid waste disposal. The specific objectives were to identify the challenges encountered during solid waste management and determine the consequences of the poor solid waste disposal. Solid waste management has six components; generation, collection, transportation, segregation, treatment, disposal and recycling of the usable waste (Kathmandu, 1996, par.2).

The data was collected from the secondary sources. This case study was centered on two areas of solid waste management or control; the availability of solid waste products on buildings, the method of collection and the system used for refuse disposal. Data from the municipal council department of solid waste management showed that 20% of the collected waste was non-decomposable, 19% represented uncollected rejects and 10% represented abandoned motor vehicles. In the Fairbanks city, there are five systems used to collect solid waste; the University of Alaska, Fort Wainwright, residential areas in the city and two other privately owned systems which are used for commercial organizations within the city and both residential and commercial places in the outcast of the city (Pearson & Smith, n.d, p.9). The highest percentage in this case being that of the non-decomposable waste (20%) shows that this is a soil contamination which affects the growth of vegetation since it hinders the aeration of soil.

The above systems used in the Fairbanks to collect solid waste, dispose the waste into the city landfill which acts as the disposal site for the city. This disposal site is located near the Tanana River and it is in the southern side of the Fairbanks city. In this disposal site, the level of the ground water table is very near to the surface. Therefore, when solid waste is disposed in this site chances of polluting the groundwater are very high due to the solid waste compaction cells which get filled quickly by water. Due to the rising population growth the damping site is not adequate to accommodate all the solid waste collected from Fairbanks areas. In addition, the waste is damped and left open since there is very little soil and ash which is used to cover that waste. This is one of the challenges that face the municipal council of Fairbanks in solid waste management (Pearson & Smith, n.d, p.10).

One of the contributing factors towards poor solid waste management is the rapid urbanization growth which the government has not been in a position to meet the rising demands of solid waste management. (Narayana, 2008, par.2). This has led to poor sanitation due to garbage being disposed and scattered in the footpaths and streets of the city. Generally, management of solid waste is very poor and this is a health risk to the public. The five systems which are used to collect solid waste in the Fairbanks are not enough to serve the whole population. The Fairbanks city municipality only covers a small part of the total waste generated; the rest of the waste is left out and it piles up in different places of the settlements, opens areas and towns. People who reside near the roads throw their waste beside the road and those who are far away from the roads throw the waste into open areas. This leads to accumulation of waste which is unsightly to look at, obstruction to the movement of people and can cause water pollution which increases the chances of disease transmission. The solid waste which is left uncovered in the Fairbanks disposal site act as conducive breeding environment for pests, vermin, rodents, vectors and snakes which are likely to cause diseases. According to the studies most the diseases in this city are due to poor solid waste disposal and some of these diseases are scabies, dysentery, diarrhea, eye problems, skin diseases, intestinal problems and typhoid among others (Buckminister fuller Institute, 2008, par.1). The open waste also leads to air pollution because of the presence of foul smell after the decomposition of waste. Moreover, a landfill which is not managed properly produces methane gas through anaerobic decomposition and methane gas is a pollutant and a nuisance to the residents near the disposal site. This type of landfill where the waste is left open can transmit diseases especially where we have broken bottles and glasses. They may both collect water and become good breeding sites for mosquitoes which can transmit disease or the broken glasses may cut individuals leading to wounds.

Disposal of solid waste has led to environmental degradation in Fairbanks because the waste which is damped near the Tanana River leads to contamination of ground and surface water through the leachates. The production of the leachates by the seepage of rainwater contains organic and inorganic materials which contaminate the soil, ground and surface water.. This can only be determined through monitoring of specific sites to obtain the concentration of the potential pollutants. This can be represented by the presence of nitrates, sulphates, chlorides, dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and total hardness of water. Therefore, this clearly indicates that all landfills which are located near the water sources should be monitored regularly and any water source which is situated near a highly populated area should also be monitored on regular basis. In addition, surface and groundwater which are around or in the landfill sites should not be consumed unless it has been treated and met the mandatory standards (Vasanthi, Kaliappan & Srinivasaraghavan, 2007,par1).If the polluted water is consumed without treatment it can pose a great risk to the health of an individual. When the solid wastes get its way into the water source, it can also be detrimental to the life of aquatic species. It can lead to the death of species like the fish, moreover, when the chemicals bioaccumulate in the fish and later the fish is eaten by someone, it can lead to health effects.

Improper solid waste disposal especially one which is not covered like in the case of Fairbanks, is dangerous to the atmosphere. It affects the atmosphere by destroying the ozone layer and this may lead to occurrence of diseases like cancer. Formation of acid rain may also occur due to air pollution and this is harmful to the vegetation because it speeds up the deletion of soil fertility from the ground.

The rapid environmental pollution which occurs due to poor solid waste disposal can be collected by use of bioremediation technology. Bioremediation refers to any process which utilizes micro-organisms to restore the initial nature of the environment which had been changed back to its original status. This micro-organisms feed on the contaminants in the air, soils, surface and ground waters. These contaminants are eaten, digested, metabolized and changed into inert byproducts (salts, carbon monoxide and water) and humus. This technology has been effective in degrading many contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, wood-preserving chemicals, petroleum products, solvents and explosives. The main objective of bioremediation is to restore the disposal site back to its uncontaminated status that includes growth of vegetation which stabilizes the soil. (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d, p.1). In the year 1990, the US Environmental Protection Agency started the use the bioremediation technology to treat hazardous waste and sites that were contaminated. Currently there are nine disposal sites which apply the bioremediation technology in the US, Fairbanks being one of them (National Service Center for Environmental Publications, 2009, p.1).

The technology presents an effective, safe and secure environment and solution to on-site disposal methods to many of the hazardous waste and contaminated sites, though there is no technology which has been said to fully decontaminate the soil (Husain & Hejazi, 2004, par.1). The damping site of Fairbanks, Alaska used the bioremediation technology to evaluate the practicability of using the technology to remediate in impure/polluted sites. Advantages of the technology are; it is easy to apply because it does not need any personal protective clothing, it is a sophisticated technology in that it is easy to use, it is friendly to the environment, it is cost effective and it is a lasting solution to the environment and ecosystem (Bioworld Products, 2007, par.1). The following are the bioremediation technological services used by the Fairbanks in North America; Two-Step Static System, the Biosite system and bio- In-A-Box services. TOSS (Two-Step Static system is a bioremediation technology which involves two stages which are both aerobic and anaerobic treatment stages. The first stage involves the combination of explosives- contaminated soil with carbon source, vitamins, water and inoculums in order to attain anaerobic conditions (treatment of solid waste in absence of oxygen). The end product is made into a pile to speed up the chemical diminution of nitramine and nitroaromatic explosives. During the second stage, the soil that is treated anaerobically is mixed with compost waste and formed into an aerated biopile. The biopile is aerated either by turning the pile with an equipment called compost turner or air is forced through perforated pipes that located beneath the pile. This method has been associated with 99% removal effectiveness (Waste management, 2009, par.3).

The second bioremediation technology service is the BioSite System which is used in large scale soils that are contaminated with petrochemicals (alcohols, benzene, acetone, ethylbenzene, methyl isobutyl ketone, methyl ethyl ketone and petroleum hydrocarbons). Other contaminants may include pesticides, chemical manufacturing wastes, aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons and used molecular from packing tower (Waste management, 2009, par.4). The last but not least method used has similar principles as those of BioSite and TOSS is the Bio-In-A-Box. However, this service is intended for indoors use on a small-scale set-up. The contaminated soil in this case is moisturized and combined with custom grown microbes and nutrients and later it is laid in a container which is closed for incubation purposes. The container may be connected to an aeration and void pipes and after a few weeks, the treated of decontaminated soil can be taken back into the landfill (Waste management, 2009, par.5).

North America being one of the areas that generates a lot of waste has embraced the idea of using the bioremediation technologies especially in Fairbanks where the population growth rate is rapid (Waste management, 2009, par.1). Bioremediation technology is cost-effective and has a less environmental impact when compared to chemical and physical ways of managing waste (Takahata, Hironori & Takamichi, 2005, par.1). Poor or ignorance disposing of waste has detrimental effects both to human beings and the environment. It is associated with diseases which can be prevented if the waste is properly managed.

1. Introduction

Pollution is when a harmful substance is introduced to the environment causing damage to living beings. Pollution can be found in many aspects of life such as marine, air, and soil pollution; with air pollution posing a great health risk to humans (Kampa and Castanas, 2007). Air pollution has numerous causes and effects. According to Kampa and Castanas (2007), the main natural sources of air pollution are volcanoes and fire in general and the unnatural source is Industrial Facilities. Humans are exposed to air pollutants primarily via inhalation and ingestion as they do not only directly enter the human body through breathing but also indirectly through food that has been polluted through the air. People exposed to air pollution are usually associated with higher mortality and frequent hospital admissions (Brunekreef and Holgate S.T 2002). These humans usually suffer from health effects varying from nausea and skin irritation to cancer as well as birth defects for pregnant women. Air pollution is a dangerous threat to humans and all living creatures alike, to mitigate its effects, action has to be taken. Thus, this report aims to identify the effects of air pollution on humans and the ecosystem along with methods for the mitigation of these effects.

1.1. Research Question

What are the effects of air pollution? And how to overcome and endure them?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Effects of air pollution on humans and animals

The dangers that air pollution poses to humans are countless and are not to be ignored. On a daily basis, humans encounter air pollution in many forms and from multiple sources; from vehicles in traffic or in the form of emissions from factories to volcanoes and other activities that include the incomplete combustion of fuels. Fuels are not only what is used to run vehicles; anything that gives off energy when burnt is considered to be a fuel and incomplete combustion is when combustion results in the emission of carbon monoxide in the air which is known to cause suffocation if introduced at a large rate. Other types of air pollutants would be methane which can be produced even from the feces of livestock and has a huge role to play in global warming along with carbon dioxide. Air pollution always finds a way into the human body and its effects are more lethal than normally perceived. “Studies have consistently demonstrated that long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity “(Chuan, Yan, Chiu & Cheng, 2017, p.1). These studies show how much air pollution affects elderly people who are known to be more prone to heart diseases which means that it is indirectly reducing the average life expectancy of humans. Inhaling these toxins is inevitable and there is no escaping from pollution, causing diseases such as lung cancer and mutations on a genetic level which does not only affect the current generation directly but also the generations that are yet to come indirectly.

Air pollution does not only target humans, it also equally targets other living organisms in an even more harmful manner which then results in a deteriorated ecosystem that further limits and damages humans, animals, and plants in an endless cycle that only bears the fruits of extinction. Pollution is found to be one of the main causes of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders in both animals and humans as well as findings prove similar alterations in the central nervous system in addition to increased oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, (Costa et al., 2014). The neurodegenerative disorder is a term that covers multiple conditions that include the degeneration of neurons in a body while neurodevelopmental disorder is a term that is used to refer to the disturbance and mutation in the process of development in the nervous system. Air pollution plays a major role in aiding these disorders in both humans and animals alike and not only do they affect the sufferers but can also be passed on to their offspring through genetic inheritance. Isaksson (2010) confirms that animals that live in more polluted environments have a much higher oxidative stress than animals that live in cleaner environments. “Oxidative Stress is the ultimate culprit in the development of many diseases”(Isakasson, 2010). A study by Laurance and Useche(2009) confirms the relationship between pollution and wildlife animals’ survival rates (as cited in Isakasson, 2010). The ecosystem suffers from the damage caused to animals and plants due to the constant danger of extinction which greatly disturbs the food chain. That damage is a result of many reasons such as forest fires which directly attack plants and also put a lot of animals in danger due to the decrease in the chances of finding their optimum habitat or direct pollution transmitted through the air.

2.2. Effects of air pollution on the ecosystem

The ecosystem has always been damaged by the effects of air pollution, be it through direct effects such as harming living organisms and potentially threatening the existence of some species or indirect effects such as global warming. The terms air pollution and global warming have always been mentioned together due to how much they complement each other. Global Warming has defined the rise in the average temperature of the earth’s climate system. According to D’Amato et. al.(2010), global warming was considered a catalyst for respiratory diseases caused by air pollution noting how the occurrence of respiratory diseases and bronchial asthma has been proportional to the increase in global warming over the years on a worldwide scale and especially in Urban areas that may include polluting sources such as factories and vehicles. They also referred to studies that confirmed the relation between air pollution and the rise of temperature during a time span of 30 years stating that the rise in global warming caused by greenhouse gas has been over 70% between 1970 and 2004. “Many species have experienced pollution events that have caused death or a threat to their habitat. Some species have been pushed to extinction.” (Armstrong, 2017). Extinction of species is not something that happens without consequences. Every species has a role to play in the ecosystem, an extinction of one species can lead to the extinction of another species depending on how fast the other species can adapt to that extinction.

2.3. Actions to be taken to mitigate the effects of air pollution

Mitigating the effects of air pollution might not be the easiest of tasks but is inevitable for the survival of all creatures. Pollution is everywhere and that is a result of years of accumulation, so an absolute ending to pollution is not an option for the short term, however, actions can be taken for the long term to ensure a better future. The Guardian (2019) suggested multiple policies that can be considered when it comes to reducing air pollution, among them is moving from using unclean sources in power stations; a system should be put in place that includes the usage of clean and renewable power sources such as solar and wind. They also noted the importance of greeneries when fighting pollution, simple as that note may sound the fact that plants have always protected other creatures from pollution generally, air pollution specifically so an increase in the green spaces can prove to be among the best solutions since it is not as pressured as other solutions in expense-wise nor will it take as much effort as other solutions may. European Environmental Agency(2012) stated that “in one year, the mature tree will take about 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and in exchange release oxygen. Each year, 1.3 million trees are estimated to remove more than 2500 tonnes of pollutants from the air”. Bara(2018) affirms that governments should give more attention to the management of landfills and encourage the usage of cleaner power sources for both transportation and power generation in general. Overcoming the effects of air pollution is not an option in the current situation, however, in the long term, it can be possible after committing to the solutions despite how costly their price may be in terms of time and money.

3. Discussion

Having focused on identifying the effects of air pollution and methods to endure these effects, many sources of air pollution were discussed, with traffic being a repeatedly mentioned source in different studies due to the frequency of exposure of humans to it on recurring occasions. The effects of air pollution provided by the sources were focused on the damage caused by inhalation. These effects ranged from organ-oriented damage to genetic-level damage. However, no information was given regarding the damage caused to the outer body such as the skin and the eyes.

The solutions suggested are limited and usually inefficient in the short term. The solution suggested by The Guardian(2019) concerning the prioritization and installation of clean sources would require agreements from multiple governments as well as its dependency on a revolution in the industry of vehicles all around the world in order to be of a significant result. Studies, plans, and optimal systems have to be set in action in order to maintain the same level of efficiency and a stable economical state which would be rather time and money-consuming. Air pollution is a part of the atmosphere of every country, Implanting more greeneries would be forgiving money-wise, however inefficient on the large scale if it was not considered worldwide and generously set in action, but still has almost no serious effect on the short term. The request in Bara(2018) for the governments to pay more attention to landfills and upgrade available systems to use cleaner power sources may be one of the fastest solutions that can be set in action. Despite the high cost and effort of installing these systems and ideas, the danger and threat of air pollution to the nature and ecosystem makes the idea seem much more forgiving compared to a disruption in the chain of food that might end with the extinction of an entire species.

It is recommended to apply multiple plans and solutions that can help in the future with a potential further limitation of air pollution using more advanced technologies. It is expected for multiple production processes that pollute the air to be replaced with advanced methods and techniques that reduce the emission of harmful pollutants. With actions taken now to decrease the amount of pollution that exists in the global atmosphere and future development to reduce the emissions of pollutants; the effects of air pollution will be almost insignificant and the maintenance of humans and other creatures’ welfare will be much easier after neglecting these effects.

4. Conclusion

The report includes a study of the effects of air pollution from multiple perspectives as well as discussed solutions and recommendations to mitigate these effects. Air Pollution has caused too much damage to nature, damage that might not be reversible. The effects of air pollution targets humans on daily basis in direct and indirect ways however, these effects do not stop at only harming humans but all living organisms ways which put some species in the danger zone of extinction and that can be a threat to all other species due to the gap that it will leave in the food chain causing a furthermore disruption in the ecosystem, effects can vary from directly causing and increasing the chance of lung diseases and cancer to indirect effects such as global warming which makes earth not inhabitable for some species endangering their existence. Despite the fact that the damage caused over the years will not be completely fixed, it can be stopped and that is as good as a beginner can be in this critical situation. Many solutions were suggested to mitigate the effects of air pollution, however, nothing consistent was presented for the short term and that is due to the length of time this issue was ignored, On the other hand, suitable solutions were suggested for the long term which may not take an immediate effect and will take time, effort and expenses to accomplish.

Reference list.

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There is a major air pollution problem in California, especially in major cities such as Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Bakersfield. Los Angeles has the worst smog by far, affecting millions with over 600,000 of them being children. The smog is so awful that it is destroying the ozone layer, which is the only thing that saves us from the sun’s rays and the radiation. The planet will start to die off, if we do not solve this issue.

Los Angeles has been named the smoggiest city in the United States 19 times for the past 20 years. The smog is not clearing up as fast as it used to, and it is visible. The worst part is that it is only getting worse. In 2016, there was around 111 unhealthy days of smog, and in 2017 there was 119 days. Most of the smog is coming from diesel engines, cars, and major industrial factories. These are the main sources of the polluted air, which contains tiny particles of the ozone layer and dust. With this toxic air all over Los Angeles, everybody is forced to breathe this air, which can cause health problems for many people. Symptoms can be a cough, irritated throat, asthma and the ozone layer can cause serious damage to your lungs if you inhale a large amount. This makes the air pollution issue worse now that it is starting to affect the lives of people. There are about 1,300 people who die every year from smog in Los Angeles alone. With this amount of people dying, it makes it a very important issue that needs to be solved before it is too late.

Los Angeles is one of the most populated cities in the world. With this many people on the road, the smog from all the cars builds up daily. Cars are not the only thing causing all the air pollution, but also major factories, and mining operations. The biggest cause, is through the major factories burning fossil fuels. When the major factories burn fossil fuels, they release air pollutants that can contain harmful products. Fossil fuel is a dangerous gas that can contain tiny toxic particles. This can damage plant life in the area and be harmful for anybody or any animal to breathe. If this trend continues to happen, we will kill off the whole ozone layer, and make the Earth impossible to live on.

Another issue that can arise due to major factories and their air pollution is acid rain. When the toxins in the air mix with water, it can create rain that is acidic and create even more health problems and possibly even kill someone. It has no benefit at all and does serious damage to plant life. It can get into the ground and kill off all the nutrients the plants need to survive. Not only does it affect trees and forests, but it can also cause pH levels in rivers and lakes to be much lower. With acidic water in streams, it makes it hard for any type of sea life to live, and it becomes a harmful substance for us to drink from. Acid rain is a big problem, especially during times of heavy rain. When there is a large amount of acidic rain, it creates rivers and streams with extremely high pH levels which can make the water toxic and create even more issues if someone consumed the water.

There are ways we can fix this issue. One step, is going towards electric cars. Electric cars are the best way to start to clean up the air. If everybody were to use electric cars, there would be way less smog because there would be no engine cars to release toxins into the air. Carpooling is another good way to help clean up the sky. Having less cars on the street means that cars will not be stuck in traffic as much, and just stay still burning off the gas and creating smog. Other ways we can help is by burning less trash or any type of waste and creating a better way to get rid of waste other than burning it. Burning trash is the most harmful way to get rid of it, because of the toxic air it can create.

In conclusion, air pollution and smog is a problem that needs to be fixed soon. If we do not solve this issue, then the planet will be destroyed. It kills plant life, infects bodies of water, and can affect humans in a negative way. We need to start cleaning up the air, and figure out ways to get rid of waste in a more environmentally friendly way. If we manage to do this, then the Earth will be a much cleaner and people will be able to enjoy the crisp, clean air.

References

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Los Angeles, California air pollution dilemma stems from the 1940’s, specifically on October 14, 1947, when the first air pollution control program was established, the Los Angeles County Air Pollution District (AQMD, 2019). Beginning in the early 1940’s, numerous gas attacks descended on Los Angeles, California streets. Several gas companies shut down due to the detrimental effects of the smog evading people’s eyes and irritating their throats. In the 1970’s, the catalytic converter was required for all vehicles to reduce tailpipe emissions (AQMD, 2019). The converters significantly reduced vehicle gas emissions. In the 1990’s, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), created several low and zero-emission technologies to combat the air pollution problem in Los Angeles, California: fuel cells, electric vehicles, zero-VOC paints and solvents, and reformulation of barbeque products (AQMD, 2019). Clearly, AQMD has made a great effort at minimizing the air pollution problem; nevertheless, air pollution caused by vehicle emissions is having substantial harmful health impacts on minorities residing near freeways in Los Angeles, California.

Minorities are the most at risk for breathing toxic air pollutants because they live near freeways. In the journal article, ‘Structural Disparities of Urban Traffic in Southern California: Implications for Vehicle-Related Air Pollution Exposure in Minority and High-Poverty Neighborhoods’, by Houston et al., the researchers concluded that minority neighborhoods are congested with twice the traffic density level compared to the rest of Southern California; as a result, they are exposed to more vehicle-related pollutants (Houston et al, 2004). In another article, ‘Is Los Angeles’ Terrible Traffic Poisoning Communities Near Freeways’, by Aviva Shen, Shen reports that approximately 1 million minorities live within 300 feet of a freeway in Los Angeles, California and pollution concentrations are 10 times higher than anywhere else in the city. Hence, with minorities living near freeways and minority neighborhoods being congested with twice amount of traffic density than anywhere else in the city, they are inhaling a great amount of air pollution. Consequently, the residential property near freeways is notable cheaper. According to Zillow, a leading real estate online database company, Los Angeles, California homes located near freeways, in comparison to those located away from freeways, are approximately $200,000 cheaper (Air, 2019). Living near freeways and high traffic areas is much more affordable; therefore, even though there is a high concentration of air pollution, people who are on a limited income choose to purchase or rent available homes near the freeway. Following affordable residential homes in high density air pollution areas such as freeways, the most dangerous vehicle-related pollutant is specifically nitric oxide. It is the number one cause for respiratory issues. According to the National library of Medicine, nitrogen oxides are compounds made up of nitrogen and oxide; the most hazardous oxides are nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide (Nitrogen, 2019). Nitrous oxide is one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and pollution is diffused from vehicle smog (Nitrogen, 2019). Nitrous oxide is a toxic pollutant that mainly comes from vehicle pollution and wreaks havoc on our health.

According to the South Coast Air Basin, the air pollution cost is $1,250 per person per year (Air, 2019). The costs include respiratory hospital admissions, asthma attacks, emergency room visits, days of school absences, and mortality. Long term exposure to nitrogen oxides can yield asthma. Minorities who live near freeways and high traffic areas are exposed to an enormous amount of nitrogen oxides every day. The congested traffic emitting nitrogen oxide every day is having a detrimental health impact on the people that live nearby. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nitrogen oxide has been closely associated with asthma, a respiratory disease affecting more than 23 million Americans (The Links, 2018). Asthma cases cost the United States economy a striking amount of money. According to the American Thoracic Society, based on a 2008-2013 study, 15.4 million people in the United States had treated asthma each year, over the course of five years, the total cost for asthma cases in the United States was $81.9 billion. In the same study, the annual cost for asthma per-person was $3,266. Of the $3,266, $1,830 accounted for prescriptions, $640 for office visits, $529 for hospitalizations, $176 for hospital outpatient visits, and $105 for emergency room care (Asthma, 2018). Altogether, the medical care cost for asthma cases related to vehicle-emission smog is burdening the United States economy because as more people are inhaling nitrogen oxide on a daily basis, more money is being spent on healthcare.

California has implemented clean vehicle programs to combat this air pollution dilemma; however, everyone is not eligible for these programs. If programs were made available for everyone, then more people will likely purchase an electrical vehicle. Furthermore, with an increase in electric vehicle sales, this will dramatically decrease the dangerous greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from polluting vehicles. While there are many clean vehicle programs available that provide rebates for electric vehicles, there is one in particular that is making a difference, Clean Vehicle Assistance Program (CVAP). The CVAP is a grant program that helps low-income California residents purchase an electric vehicle (About, 2019). The program is funded by Beneficial State Foundation and California Climate Investments (CCI). Benefit State Foundation is a non-profit shareholder and invests their finances into local, disadvantaged communities. The CCI is an initiative that uses money from the California Air Resources Board cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gases and provide a safe and healthy environment. The application process for the CVAP begins with verifying eligibility, for a household of 2 (including yourself, spouse and dependents), the maximum annual income is $65,840 to qualify for this program. The next step is finding a loan with a 16% interest rate or lower to be eligible for a grant. The last step is choosing a vehicle, out of the total selection of five, using the grant given. The vehicle selection includes cars that are eight years old with at least 75,000 miles. The Clean Vehicle Assistant Program is making a difference by supplying grants for electrical vehicle purchases.

Policy Analysis

Currently, we have many clean air vehicle programs. There are many rebate programs and incentives associated with purchasing a clean air vehicle. Some of the programs are Clean Cars 4 All, Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, Drive Clean in the San Joaquin, and California Clean Vehicle Rebate Program. The Cars 4 All program provides incentives to low-income California residents to trade their high-polluting care for a zero-emission car (California, 2019). The program focuses on low-income and disadvantaged communities. The program offers grants up to $9,500 to replace an old vehicle for a hybrid car and provides $2,000 for purchasing and installing an electric vehicle charging system (California, 2019). Another option is receiving a $7,500 VISA card for public transportation purposes (California, 2019). To be eligible for this program, one must replace an older vehicle for an electric one. In the same manner, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project offers rebates up to $7,000 when purchasing or leasing a plug-in electric vehicle (About, 2018). The Center for Sustainable Energy leads the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project for the California Air Resources Board (About, 2018). With California leading the country for electric vehicle sales, many programs are targeted towards replacing older polluting vehicles with zero or low-emission cars. In addition, the Drive Clean in the San Joaquin program is aimed at motivating car buyers in the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District to purchase electric vehicles by funding the replacement of older vehicles for low-emission ones. In order to qualify for this program, one’s household income must be at or below the 400 percent of federal poverty level, and if living in a low-income community, one may receive more funding for purchasing a low-emission car (Drive, 2019). With the Drive Clean in San Joaquin program, more minorities and low-income California residents are more likely to purchase an electric car because they can afford it. Clearly, effective programs are targeting low-income neighborhoods to mitigate the air pollution dilemma.

One alternative to Los Angeles, California vehicle emission pollution dilemma is to expand the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program. Currently, the program only serves California residents whose annual income follows the income cap eligibility criteria and possess a 16% interest loan. By changing the income cap, many more people will qualify for this program and more likely purchase an electric vehicle over a fuel car.

Cost-Effectiveness and Political Feasibility Analysis

By analyzing the benefits and costs of this program, using the following criteria – costs for asthma medications, office visits, hospitalizations, hospital outpatient visits, and emergency department care – the estimated total benefit per person is $36,080.

The following are supporters for this alternative: Beneficial State Foundation, California Climate Investments, California Air Resources Board, CalCars, PHEV Research Center, RechargeIT. The supporter’s list is also fighting against vehicle gas emissions by offering rebates and tax incentives with the purchase of a clean air vehicle. The following are opposers for this alternative: Exxon Mobil, Koch, American Petroleum Institute, California New Car Dealers Association. The main reason for the opposition is that high-income oil industries do not want to lose money. If everyone drives a clean air vehicle, the large oil industries will lose money and their businesses will terminate.

Final Recommendation

In support of my findings, I recommend the status quo because it is already making an impact on the vehicle emission dilemma in Los Angeles, California. The Clean Vehicle Assistance Program focuses primarily on low-income residents by ensuring an income cap and granting a free loan that does not need to be repaid. In the same manner, the California residents who are being exposed to a high concentration of pollution are low-income, so this program is directly targeted at decreasing pollution in low-income neighborhoods. Although many people may not qualify for the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program because of the income cap, there are many other clean vehicle programs that they may apply for and inquire: Clean Cars 4 All, Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, Drive Clean in the San Joaquin, and California Clean Vehicle Rebate Program. All programs offer grants and other incentives when purchasing a clean air vehicle. Choosing to drive a clean air vehicle not only affects the air quality now, but it has an effect on climate change too. Los Angeles, California can benefit tremendously from the air pollution dilemma. The $81.9 billion costs, over the course of five years, can be redirected to the city’s most burdening communities to help with employment, infrastructure, and education.

The essay presents the environmental injustice of the man-made air pollution in one of the world’s most air polluted city in the Delhi. The scale of injustice in the populous South-Asian cities are massively different than some of the know environmental injustice, the Flint Water crisis, the disaster of 100,000 people in the city of Flint. In contrary, 600,000 people die annually in Delhi due to air pollution related health hazard. Air pollution kills more people annually in the world than the combined death from HIV, malaria and influenza, the major fraction of deaths are in the cities

The essay had presented how and why the environmental injustice has occurred.

So, Delhi air pollution level is like every citizen smoking two packs of cigarette daily (Vijay paper) – what an injustice, we are restricing smoking in all public building, but no real effort to stop breathing breathing polluted air, 10-times higher pollued than the standard of WHO.

WHO estimates about 600,000 annual death in India from air pollution and reports that in the rush hour, the air in the capital city Delhi is most polluted in the world. In an urgent and emergency act, the government of Delhi has laid the policy of restricting private vehicle movement – odd and even numbered license plate car to run in the city on the alternate days.

The worst hit from this air pollution is the poorer section of the population. There are estimates, they spend on average 7 hour a day outside, while the oligarchy and the affluent section of the population responsible for this pollution, spend almost no hour outside. They live in air conditioned property and travel in air codition cars and thus come rarely in contact with the pollution in roads. Concentration of hazardous particles at rod surface levels have been found eight time higher than at higher elevations, e.g., on the roof tops. Thus, slum dwellers, traffic polices, auto-rickshaw pullers, school chidren are the worst victim of this pollution.

-Delhi has worst air quality among 1600 cities in the world (WHO, 2014). In December 2017, during the cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and India, some players from both side vomited from harmful pollutants in the air, 12 times higher than the safe limit of WHO (Gardian). Main reasons of air pollution are dusty air from the Gulf (40%), dust from all kind of construction and road dust (38%), and from road vehicles (10%). . During last several years, the PM2.5 was 10-times higher than the limit of WHO. Air quality index (AOI), in the scale between 1 and 500, for Delhi was recorded 486 recorded on 9 November 2017 (Mishra, 2019). Cardiovascular, neurological, sever breathing trouble who has underlying Asthma. Delhi government ordered closures of all public and private schools during December, 2017. In general measures taken to control pollution are emergency and short-term measures, like school cloures, reduction of rail and metr fare encouraging people to travel by train, and control of by odd and even number plate cars on odd and even dates. World’s 99% biomass fuel is used for domestic purposes in developing countries, which is also a main source of air pollution.

Delhi air pollution is fully anthropogenic all human induced causes from emissions from road traffic vehicle, agriculture stubble burning and biomass fuel. When India called nationwide lock down in March-April 2020, during the month, the fine particulate matter PM2.5 dropped between 40 to 70%, mainly for the vehicle was off the road.

The pollution of Delhi is most toxic; 70% is caused by emission from road vehicles. And people at outdoor are most affected two in every five residents in Delhi surfer from breathing and respiratory illness, and can lead to lung cancer . Four in every five household suffer.

India’s economy is growing fast, about 7% GDP growth rate, mainly due to relaxation in regulations attracting foreign investment. Business in Europe and America are outsourcing their business to India in their megacities including Delhi; 66% of world’s total call centre is located in India. This has created a new middle class with changes in life style and has let to more vehicle in the road Consumption by this new middle class is 39%, and is predicted to increase to 70% by 2025. A car is as cheap as USD 3000, and car into the road can increase by 65%.

In 2001, the government passed the regulation of converting all public owned transport from diesel to compressed natural gas, which resulted in 60% improvement of air quality in Delhi by 2005 relative to the condition in 1994. Diesel vehicle is the worst source of pollution emitting smokes, articles and nitrous oxide. In contrary, from 1997 to 2006, the number of registered vehicle in Delhi has increased from 1.5 to 4.5 million. Everyday in Delhi, 963 private cars enter into the road of Delhi. And, so, the air quality is again going backwards to the similar condition back in 1990s. So, it remains with the government to incentivise the private vehicle owner to switch from diesel to petrol, whose pollution is 15th less than diesel. Converting to petrol, although, still not perfection as it will keep on emitting greenhouse gas.

In world’s largest democracy, the election season drives the new regulations and also their implementation. In 1990, government’s plan to relocate heavy industrial plant causing hishest pollution did not materialise. In 1997, government wanted to remove all cars more than 15 years old from the street. None of this materialised due to election season. Implemeting a new regulation is a much bigger challenge than passing a new regulation in the parliament mainly due to large scale corruption in policing (who will implement rules) and in government agencies. The government though has toughened up the vehicle certification, but again much more difficult to implement due to corruption in the implementing aganecies.

While this is great news for economy and has contributed in GD,P but coming at the cost of environmental degradation and poorer section of the people has been the victim the case for the air pollution, not only in Delhi, in other Indian cities too.

Patrticulate material in the air, of the size 2.5 micrometres, is not safe in any amount according to WHO. And Delhi has it 10 to 15 times higher than the limit and can reach to human lungs. As of 2016, Delhi has the highest PM2.5 materails in the air among 1600 cities in the world surveyed by WHO, and the concentration level found was 122 µgm-3, 12 times higher than WHO’s standard of 10 µgm-3 (Subramania, 2016; WHO, 2016 ). Cold weather in the winter season traps PM2.5 particuate close the ground at rod level and PM2.5 concentration was recorded to 600 µgm-3, 60 times higher than the standard of WHO. The Delhi court declared the capital as a gas chanmber. The polluted air causes 16,000 death and 6 million asthma attack annually (Guttikunda et al. 2014) and reduces life expectancy by 6 years in the city dwellers (Ghude et al. 2016).

Delhi’s air pollution varies between season, and varies over the day with temperature. It also varies between areas (called districts) within the city.

Delhi Metro opened its first lane in 2002 and initiated to improve public transportation. Except two, all power plants in Delhi were converted from coal powered to natural gas around the same year. The brick kilns were relocated away from Delhi’s geographic boundary.

However, population of Delhi has doubled since 2000, and number of vehicles has increased from 3 million to 9 million.

Delhi’s pollution is caused by various reasons some are continuous ad some causes are only seasonal (Sharma and Dikshit, 2016)). Continues round the year pollution is caused by road vehicles, dust from public and private construction and from roads, and burning of biomass domestic and commercial purposes. Seasonal pollution is caused by dust coming via wind from the Gulf and desserts during drier months, burning of agricultural stubble and fireworks during Diwali festival in November.

Even trial of even and odd number licensed cars running on alternate day for two weeks in January 2016 did not do much; the concentration level of PM2.5 remain far too high, 184 µgm-3. This odd and even policy got attracted support from the public, but it was too little given the scale of the problem, 10 to 20 times higher P2.5 level than WHO’s standard.

Vehicles contribute 25% of the total PM2.5 particulate, and half of this is contributed by the heavy trucks carrying goods and thousands of them run through the city everyday (Goel and Pant, 2016).

Research by IIT Kanpur suggests (Sharma and Dikshit, 2016) suggests that one-third of Delhi’s pollution travel from outside the city. On the other hand, the half of the top 20 polluted cities, listed by WHO are in this region. Therefore, to improve the air pollution in Delhi, the the cities and towns in the region of Delhi will also need improvement.

Delhi has 25 million people (Bhatnagar, 2016), approximately 5 times bigger population than Denmark.In November 2016, the pollution level went 15 times higher than the limit by WHO. Delhi government ordered school closure, shutdown of all construction sites, sprayed water in the streets, banned all diesel run generator except in hospitals. In November and December 2017, the Supreme Court banned selling of all fireworks for Diwali festival. The ban remains only in paper. The air-pollution again back to 25 times higher than allowed limit (). Both Sri Lankan and Indian cricket players playing in Delhi vomited in the field and were escorted off the field. IN present tie, the Delhi air is twice polluted than it was in 1990s ( WHO identifies airpollution as the major cause of cancer and lung disease and reports 3 million annual death (2016), and most of them are in developing countries.,

So, it is a collective failure, by the governments and its institutes who were give responsibility: the central and the state government and their policy makers, the court (although they continuously tried), the medical practitioners, the police and the industries who continually polluting. Despite the staggering number of annual death including children, has anyone been charged no!! Has anyone been compensated No.Main causes: Vehicular and industrial emissions, dust from construction, emission from brick kilns, biomass burning, diesel driver generators are the main polluting agents. Inadequate infrastructures and massive unrbnisation and deforestation has simply multiplied the problem. Public behaviour are also responsible, like fireworks, private cars, open construiction, uncotrooled domestic waste disposal and many other reasons. Delhi was never ahead of this problem during the last three decades despite repated control and improvement measures, but all were either emergency or very short-term measures.

Personal-level causes were divided into eight categories: Using diesel generators, burningbiomass or waste, emissions from personal vehicles, increased number of individual automobiles, roaddust due to traffic, emissions from cooking stoves, burning firecrackers, and infrastructure projects (seeTable 1 for details).Societal-level causes for Delhi air pollution were also divided into eight categories: emissionsfrom power or thermal plants, pollution from a neighboring state or country, industrial emissions,exhaust from commercial vehicles, resuspension of traffic dust, establishment of new industry, weatherconditions, and public transportTable 5 for societal level responsibilityWrong aapproach actually. The news papers blame private cars and auto-richksahws, but then advise the legislator and court to control , rather than setting standard practice by the individual. So, the bottom ocietal line is, they frame idividaul behaviour, but then propose societal solution, which simpley do not work. There s a societal link to this. Cars are onwed by higer and middle class and they contribute to GDP, while the lower class and the poorer section do not wn any car and the worst victim. Thus, solution mostly come as a societal solution than individual behaviour changes.Transport sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to rise from 5.6 to 6.4% by 2050 in this fast growing economy.

Robert Orben once said, “There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.” Air pollution comes from many places. The smokestack in a factory, car exhaust, gas from paint, and producing plastic are only a few of the many ways air pollution can be caused. There is no doubt that we need air to breathe. Our lives depend on it. Having said that, society takes advantage of it, and with that, air pollution comes into play. Air pollution is becoming quite a big problem in society today.

Pollution destroys the living environment and threatens human existence on earth. It is no secret that we are causing the pollution that is harming us. Air pollution contributes to many negative effects in society such as the health of humans, the damage of crops and soil, and global warming. While it is mostly our fault, we have a choice and a chance to make it right.

The first way air pollution negatively affects society is through the health of humans. As humans, we need air to breathe. We breathe “between 12 to 20 times a minute, perhaps 20,000 times a day, millions of times a year, over and over and over again from the first cry of birth until the very last minute of life…” (Gardiner). However, when that air we breathe is not pure, sicknesses, diseases, and even deaths can occur. According to an article, “air pollution is equivalent… to smoking 0.4 to 1.6 cigarettes per day,’ (Santoni). That being said, it is clear how big an effect air pollution has on us. An effect it has on us is giving diseases.

One disease that can become more severe with air pollution is asthma. More than 25 million Americans have asthma, which is 1 in 13 people (AAFA). With air pollution comes ozone and airborne particles. Ozone is a gas that contributes to smog. Like ozone gas, airborne particles trigger asthma as its extremely irritating to the lungs and airways. Not only that but it also reduces lung function. With asthma attacks comes many many emergency room visits. According to an article by Steven Reinberg, “For each increase in the ozone of 20 parts per billion, emergency room visits for breathing problems increased nearly 2 percent among children, 5 percent among adults under 65 and 3 percent among adults over 65, they reported” (Reinberg).

With that being said, one can only imagine how crazy emergency rooms can get. There are countless amounts of hospitals that do not have enough employees. If hospitals are understaffed, the workload of the employees can increase substantially which can cause mental or physical problems for them. Not only that but if there are not enough nurses or doctors to care for the patients, the chance of a patient not getting the medicine they need or their needs being forgotten or not prioritized well can increase. And if someone is diagnosed with asthma, then they are going to need medicine.

It is a well-known fact that medicine costs money, but if people can not afford that medicine, then that too becomes a problem. If people diagnosed with asthma do not get the necessary medicine or supplies needed to deal with it, then they are not getting the help they need and that can put them at an even bigger risk than before. Having said that, if people do not get help, then that is when deaths occur. According to an article, “Air pollution is one of the world’s largest killers, responsible for 6.4 million deaths per year (1 in 9 deaths), of which 600,000 are children” (Health Impacts of Air Pollution).

Air is supposed to keep people alive. That is its purpose. So when the one thing keeping us alive starts killing us, how do we stop it?The second way air pollution negatively affects society is through the damaging of crops and soil. Although some may not realize it, crops are a big part of our lives seeing as we get our food from them. That being said if our crops and soil are being affected poorly by the air, then we will not get that kind of food. Air pollution can substantially hurt the quality of the soil. When we pollute the air, we are also polluting the precipitation that falls into the soil. “Acid precipitation can alter the chemistry of the soil, which, in turn, can affect plant growth and water quality in a number of ways” (Air pollution: effects on soil and water).

That being said, if the soil becomes acidic, its ability to preserve many essential nutrients, minerals, and elements decrease. This, in turn, leads to those same nutrients, minerals, and elements to be transported by water that flows through the soil, making it less available for land creatures to use. Consequently, when that happens, crops can also become affected. According to an article, “Crops can be injured when exposed to high concentrations of various air pollutants” (Griffiths). The effects of those air pollutants can range from visible markings to reduced growth, to premature deaths.

The injuries of these crops typically depend on how much concentration of pollutants there is, along with another variety of things. Now with all that being said, it is no shock that this is affecting food production as well. Ozone emissions, such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, are the most concerning for global food security as they react to form ground-level ozone. This, in turn, pierces into the plant structure and harms its ability to develop. An article titled “Air Pollution and Food Production” mentions that “ozone was estimated to cause relative global crop losses for soy 6-16%, wheat 7-12%, and [corn] 3-5%” (Air Pollution and Food Production). If there is a decrease in food production due to air pollution and food starts becoming scarce, this growing population of ours is going to suffer. With food production decreasing, but the demand for it is increasing, the price for said food will be increased as well. Those who cannot even afford food now are going to be at an even bigger disadvantage, and those who are barely making it by right now are going to fall into the lower category. If people are not getting the nutrition they so very need, then that can lead to deaths.

However, if the crops become polluted and unsafe to eat, there is a good chance that those handling the crops will serve and or send out the crops to be distributed anyway. Having said that, “…air pollution from corn production in the U.S. causes 4,300 premature deaths every year… growing corn causes annual damages to human health of approximately $39 billion dollars” (Baise). People are going to be dying from not getting food as well as getting it. In that case, no one will feel safe.The last way air pollution negatively affects society is through global warming. Global warming itself is a huge issue in the world today. It has many causes, the biggest of them all being able to fit in the category of air pollution. Air pollution includes greenhouse gases.

Some examples of these gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide. Greenhouse gases cause global warming by trapping heat from the Sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. They are a natural part of Earth’s atmosphere, but the amount in our atmosphere has increased. The increase comes from car exhaust and pollutants released from smokestacks at factories and power plants. With greenhouse gases come greenhouse effects. Without this effect, the earth would be below freezing. When heat is being radiated into the earth’s atmosphere, it is being warmed by sunlight. As the heat leaves back to space, the greenhouse gases absorb most of it in the atmosphere. Another air pollution particle that causes global warming is aerosols.

According to an article, “Tiny atmospheric particles – aerosols – are a subset of air pollution that is suspended in our atmosphere” (Does Air Pollution-Specifically Tiny Atmospheric Particles (Aerosols)-Affect Global Warming?). The article goes on to mention that these particles can reflect energy from the sun and or absorb it. The aerosol particles that came to be by human activities instead of natural activities have led to a loss of solar energy at the ground “by as much as 8 percent in densely populated areas over the past few decades” (Does Air Pollution-Specifically Tiny Atmospheric Particles (Aerosols)-Affect Global Warming?). In view of all this, the effects of these causes of global warming can become harmful.

The loss of mountain glaciers is one of the biggest ones. These glaciers are storing less water and melting more rapidly. In the future, sufficient water may not be available for an expanding human population and it would increase demand for food and potable water. Not only that but land subsidence is also a big one. With land subsidence, transport infrastructure, electricity supply, water and sewage mains, oil and gas pipelines, and buildings and bridges are at risk. Land subsidence is also likely to cause damage to the environment. Another effect of this would be an increase in natural disasters. Droughts, which affect farm life and habitat and therefore food production, and wildfires, which affect those same things along with risking the lives of humans, can increase significantly. All in all, no matter who you are, no matter where you are, air pollution is going to affect you in some way. Air pollution causes negative effects in society such as the health of humans, the damage of crops and soil, and global warming.

Air pollution can be caused by many things, most of those things having been done by us. Pollution can kill, and it has, but that does not mean it has to keep doing it. We as humans need this earth to survive, but if we continue to treat it the way we have been, it is not going to be around for much longer. At some point, the earth is going to become unlivable, but if we try and try to keep it as clean and healthy as humanly possible for as long as possible, we just might lengthen our time with it.

The air pollution solution I will be talking about today is the Paris Agreement. As Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the director of WHO said: “The Paris Agreement is potentially the strongest health agreement of this century”. The goal of the Paris Agreement is to make our “response to climate change stronger”. They will do this by “keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”As the World Health Organization says.

They also want to challenge the goal every 5 years and push it higher so they can achieve more. The Paris Agreement was officially started on December 12, 2015. So far 194 parties have signed the Paris Agreement and 185 of the parties have ratified. Recently the US pulled out which is very bad for us considering they contribute the most to making air pollution. Some people think the Paris Agreement is bad because it costs a lot and it’s bad for the economy. But we have to spend money on the stuff we have damaged.

Also, Donald Trump The president of America once said that “the accord would cost the U.S. economy $3 trillion by 2040 and $2.7 million jobs by 2025, making us- less competitive against China and India”. Which is actually false. Research shows that the cost of climate change is way more expensive than reducing carbon pollution, Stated by www.nrdc.org think someone needs to do their research. We have damaged our planet and it costs a lot of money to fix it, but it won’t cost as much as climate change does. Now we will be talking about the impact the Paris agreement has had and what has been done to fulfil this goal, but we will be focusing on the actions they have taken to solve air pollution. According to climatenexus “on April 6 quarter of European countries completely quit the use of coal. May 13, the Uk energy from coal falls to zero for the first time in over a century. On July 25 studies find that China’s reached its coal peak.

On April 10 $8 billion economic boosts in Israel from carbon cuts. On May 10, more electric car charge points than gas stations in Japan. On March 25, renewable energy investments expand to twice that of coal and gas. On March 23 Rockefeller Family fund begins divesting fully from fossil fuels. On April 14 Norway wealth fund banned 52 coal-linked firms. Copenhagen city council agrees to divest from oil, gas and coal on April 28. On September 5 Sydney council divests from fossil fuels .” This shows we have already taken so much action and this was only in the year 2015. We can do so much more before the runaway global warming cannot be stopped. In conclusion, the biggest solution to air pollution would be the Paris Agreement.

This Agreement could end up saving our lives and the next generations. If it does this project will be remembered throughout history. Thank you for listening I hope you learned something from this today, adios.

Air pollution is a key factor in the degradation of surfaces of historical buildings and monuments. The impact of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere on materials is enormous and often irreversible. Corrosion caused by chemicals and soiling caused by particles can lead to economic losses but, more importantly, to the destruction of our cultural heritage, an important component of our individual and collective identity.

A recent study led by the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the Institute for Conservation and Restoration of Heritage (ISCR) shows that in Rome about 3600 cultural heritage made of calcareous stone (limestone) and 60 cultural heritage objects made of bronze are at risk of deterioration. As a response to this threat, Italy has been engaged in the development of strategies and technologies to safeguard cultural heritage assets for many years.

The recent study finds that loss of material as a result of air pollution in Rome is estimated to be between 5.2 and 5.9 microns per year for marble and between 0.30 and 0.35 microns per year for bronze. Evaluations were made using the dose-response functions for corrosion developed in the frame of the International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Materials, including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention)

Recently, a study on five cultural monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage List located in different European cities shed some more light on corrosion of materials. While there has been an overall decrease by 50 per cent since 1987 as a result of improved air quality facilitated by the LRTAP Convention, changes over the most recent years have only been minor. In addition, with sulphur dioxide emissions having been reduced significantly, other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are playing a relatively more important role in determining current corrosion damage.

Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the largest island country in the world, with more than 17,000 islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres. With more than 261 million people, it is considered to be the fourth most populous country in the world. More than half of the country’s population lives in the island ‘Java’. As far as the government in Indonesia is concerned, it is a presidential, constitutional republic with an elected parliament. Jakarta is the country’s capital. The majority of the country’s population speaks Indonesian. Furthermore, 87% of the population belongs to Islam religion. ‘Indonesian rupiah’ is considered to be the official currency. According to the Human Development Index, Indonesia has obtained medium human development and it has been ranked 116th among 189 countries in 2018. Thus, this country is regarded as a developing country. Notwithstanding the country’s high population and densely populated areas, Indonesia is highly rich in the areas of wilderness which involve a higher level of biodiversity and it has been ranked 3rd the Earth’s most biodiverse countries. As far as economic status of this country is concerned, it is the largest economy in Southeast Asia.

In moving on to environmental issues, they simply mean harmful aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment such as deforestation, air and water pollution, soil erosion, destruction of biodiversity, ozone layer depletion and so forth. As far as the environmental issues faced by Indonesia are concerned, it is suffering a wide variety of environmental issues such as deforestation, water pollution, air pollution, overfishing, serious threats to biodiversity, waste problems, natural disasters, etc.. Most of those issues normally result from the country’s higher population density, rapid industrialization, urbanization, poor social infrastructure such as water supply and sewerage systems and so forth. Now, let’s pay attention to the above mentioned environmental issues separately. Deforestation in Indonesia mainly takes place because of rapidly growing population and the resultant demand for arable land, timber as well as firewood. Furthermore, more destructive wildfires also have caused deforestation to some degree. The most affected regions can be identified as the mountainous regions of Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra. As a notable incident, in 1983, nearly 30,000 square kilometres of tropical forest were badly damaged in a wildfire in Kalimantan Timur Province. According to the magazine ‘Time’, Indonesia has recorded the highest rate of deforestation in the world recently outstripping Brazil. The country has lost more than 6 million hectares of forest between 2000 and 2012. The use of fires to clear land for agricultural activities has been conducive for Indonesia to becoming the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Finally, deforestation in the country has resulted in severe soil erosion too.

As far as water pollution is concerned, Indonesia has been ranked among the largest water polluters in the world. The lack of sewerage facilities and illegal as well as improper gold mining practices using mercury has led to this issue to a significant degree. The city ‘Jakarta’s waste substances are usually discharged into private septic tanks or directly into rivers as well as canals. In rural areas, run-off from growing use of pesticide and fertilizer has been conducive to increased levels of toxicity in the water supply, inordinate accumulation of algae in river beds, and the resultant damage to marine life. Off the coast of the country, there are rivers containing raw sewage that spread for miles and miles. For example, Citarum river in West Java is considered to one of the most polluted rivers in the world. A large number of people and factories dump a great amount of industrial and household waste including lead, manganese, arsenic, mercury and plastic directly into this river on a daily basis. Water pollution in the country is not limited only to river water. It has happened to sea water too. Some oil leakages from supertankers have contributed to the pollution of coastal waters around Indonesia to a significant degree. For example, the pollution of the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra due to oil leakage from the Japanese supertanker ‘Showa Maru’ in 1975 can be cited as an unforgettable incident. Such kinds of water pollution have resulted in dead fish in many areas.

In paying attention to air pollution, urban areas in Indonesia are being affected by severe air pollution. For example, ‘The Jakarta Post’ had reported that the capital city ‘Jakarta’ ranked among the world’s most polluted cities in terms of air pollution in 2018. Air pollution usually takes place as a result of industry, growing levels of motor vehicle emissions as well as forest fires related to palm oil plantation development. As a notable incident, forest fires in Kalimantan during 1997-1998 produced a thick, smoky haze that spread to much of Southeast Asia, leading to closed schools and businesses, deaths as well as health problems in the form of disorders in eyes, respiratory systems and skin. The polluted air normally includes particles of soot, organic hazardous material, heavy metals, acid aerosols as well as dust.

As far as overfishing is concerned, Indonesia is suffering this issue too. Fish are a crucial part of the marine ecosystem in the country. They contribute to the food chain and the overall well-being of the ocean. In addition, fish are also prominent for Indonesians as food or source of livelihood. Unluckily, it ultimately lead to overfishing. Some major causes of overfishing in Indonesia are associated with large population, harmful fishing methods, improved technological capacity for catching fish, unregulated fishing, lack of knowledge, subsidies to large fishing industries, etc. Eventually, overfishing has resulted in declining fish stocks in the waters belonging to Indonesia.

In focusing on the threats to biodiversity in Indonesia, it has become a serious issue. Indonesia is undoubtedly considered to be one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is really amazing that this country possesses over 25,000 species of flowering plants, 515 species of mammals, 781 species of reptiles, 1592 species of birds as well as 270 species of amphibians. Unfortunately, a significant number of those species have been jeopardized by various reasons such as deforestation, climate change, illegal wildlife trade and hunting. Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, spiny turtle, Sumatran rhinoceros, etc can be regarded as some endangered species in the country.

Another environmental issue encountered by Indonesia is waste problem. Waste except for hazardous and toxic waste produced by factories is transferred to waste collection companies, and after valuable substances have been sorted and collected, it is put into landfills or completely burnt. However, open piling is usually done at landfills without covering it with soil. Sometimes, the waste is washed into the surrounding areas when it rains. Furthermore, household waste is dumped without being treated on unoccupied land or into areas of water because the household waste contains only small quantities of valuable substances. Though waste substances have proliferated in large quantities due to rapid economic expansion in Indonesia, the infrastructure for waste treatment has not progressed at a sufficient pace.

As far as natural disasters are concerned, Indonesia is considered to be highly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis because it is situated along a volatile seismic strip called the ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Pacific Ocean. For example, the tsunami disaster on the 26th of December 2004 killed an estimated number of 227,898 people including 167,540 Indonesian people. As the latest incident, more than 400 people were reported dead after a tsunami happened on the 22th of December 2018. This tsunami case was believed to had been caused by undersea landslides in the Sunda Strait following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano. In addition to the above mentioned natural disasters, the country normally encounters floods, landslides, droughts and forest fires as well. Finally, various human actions can help cause or aggravate all these disasters.

However, Indonesia has adopted some solutions for coping with environmental issues. In order to reduce deforestation, the country has implemented a number of solutions such as corporate zero-deforestation commitments and a moratorium with Norway on new logging concessions. In addressing water pollution, revitalization of the country’s 13 main river basins which are categorized as heavily polluted, expanding access to clean water for the poor, efforts to clean up the Citarum River, introducing reforms of water resource management, establishing water quality monitoring systems, etc. can be regarded as several solutions adopted by the country in order to deal with water pollution. As far as dealing with air pollution is concerned, Indonesia has applied various solutions such as setting emission standards, promotion of the use of low-sulphur fuel and unleaded gasoline, installation of exhaust gas processing units and catalytic converters to motor vehicles, development of motor vehicle emission measurement stations, etc.. As far as dealing with overfishing is concerned, overfishing by Japanese and American ‘floating factory’ fishing boats was officially restricted in Indonesia. Furthermore, in an attempt to conserve biodiversity, the country has adopted a number of solutions such as in situ conservation outside protected areas including forest and wetland, ex situ conservation through gene and seed banks, breeding programmes, enactment of laws supporting the conservation of biodiversity, enhancing public awareness of forest and wildlife conservation through education, conservation of coastal and marine resources, etc.. Finally, in an attempt to reduce waste problems, the country has taken certain actions such as encouraging those who discharge hazardous and toxic waste to treat the waste themselves or to deliver it to a treatment company, prohibiting the import of hazardous and toxic waste, cleaning beaches by activists and community groups, recycling of waste, producing energy from waste, enhancing public awareness of waste management, strengthening the legal framework facilitating waste management, etc..

In addition to the above mentioned solutions, I also would like to make some suggestions for solving those environmental issues. Firstly, deforestation can be reduced through extensive planting of trees, proper regulation of logging, imposing strict restrictions on the use of fires to clear forest for agriculture, discouraging use of paper, enhancing public awareness of forest conservation, etc.. Secondly, water pollution can be alleviated by educational programmes on conservation and management of water, wastewater treatment, organic farming, encouraging green-oriented companies, imposing regulations on disposal of waste substances into the sources of water and proper enforcement of such regulations, improving facilities for the disposal of sewage, etc.. Thirdly, air pollution can be reduced through encouraging public transport, cycling or walking instead of using motor vehicles as much as possible, proper maintenance of motor vehicles, promotion of alternative energy sources such as solar power, planting trees in large quantities, restrictions on emission of harmful gases by factories, etc.. Fourthly, overfishing can be mitigated by prohibition on using trawl nets, creation of more protected areas in waters, stopping subsidies to large fishing industries, proper regulation of fishing, developing awareness of conservation of the resource of fish among fishermen, promotion of sustainable seafood, etc.. Furthermore, biodiversity loss can be mitigated through creation of wildlife reserves, identification and development of the species that are resistant to climate change, monitoring species, evaluation of the vulnerability of various ecosystems, etc.. Finally, waste problems can be solved by composting, reduction in and reuse of non-biodegradable items such as plastic and polythene, regulation of the disposal of solid waste substances and so forth.

As a brief conclusion to this essay, Indonesia is a developing country in Southeast Asia with higher vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami. This country is facing a range of environmental issues such as deforestation, water pollution, air pollution, overfishing, serious threats to biodiversity, waste problems, natural disasters. So, the country has already adopted various solutions in an attempt to mitigate those environmental issues. In addition, I also have made several suggestions for mitigating the environmental issues, at the latter part of the essay. Ultimately, the extent to which the environmental issues faced by Indonesia are solved will depend on how good and effective the implementation of all the solutions is.