Air Pollution: Occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes or odour in harmful amounts

International Pollution

Current Conditions: Air pollution is said to become a bigger global killer than dirty water. The OECD report says pollution will become biggest cause of premature death, killing an estimated 3.6 million people a year by 2050.

 

Top 10 Countries for air pollution: 

  1. China
  2. United States of America
  3. Russia
  4. India
  5. Japan
  6. Germany
  7. Canada
  8. United Kingdom
  9. South Korea
  10. Iran

 

 

Patter of Human Behavior: Population growth has contributed to air pollution. China’s population stands at 1.3 billion people. The transportation industry causes air pollution because China uses oil fuels for good productions. Industrialization is causing air pollution. China stated that, “There was a time, maybe ten years ago, when people were almost proud of smog because it meant we were industrializing, and becoming a real country”. China has also been dependent on coal because coal is cheap and plentiful. Canada has pollution because of the mining industry. The mining process release great amount of carbon dioxide gas, nitrous oxides, and sulfur oxides. All of these gases cause global warming.

 

Policies/Alternative Resources/Changes: Many of these countries do not have current polices on controlling air pollution. Until recently, China showed no signs of trying to reduce gas emissions. Yet, this September of 2013, they announced targets to reduce coal consumption and have been investing in alternative energy, public transportation, and electric cars. The Russian government said it will reduce its gas emissions by 25%, but only if China, US, and other countries promise to do the same thing. Then Mexico nearly 20 years ago adopted a program called “Hoy No Circula”, which bans most drivers from using their vehicles.

 

 

United States Pollution

Current Conditions: The United States is ranked second in the world for having the worse pollution.

 

Top United States Cities with the worse Air Pollution: 

Visalia, California

Los Angeles,  California

Phoenix Arizona

Hanford, California

Pittsburg, California

Birmingham, Alabama

Cincinnati, Ohio

Louisville, Kentucky

Modesto, California

 
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California

Pattern of human behavior: Agriculture in Bakersfield stirs up a lot of dust, pesticides, and fertilizers. North of Los Angeles has the second-highest level of ozone pollution in the US because the mountains surround the valley on three sides, creating inversion layers that trap pollution, with little wind to carry it. Fine particles emitted by vehicles (especially diesel-powered ones) coal-fired power plants, and burning wood contribute to high ozone levels. The population, amount of cars, factories and shipping ports in Los Angeles are the reason for pollution.

 

Policies: Congress established the Clean Air Act in 1970, and made major in 1977 and 1990. The revisions were designed to improve its effectiveness and to target newly recognized air pollution problems such as acid rain and damage to the stratospheric ozone layer. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to establish national ambient air quality standards for certain common and widespread pollutants. States are required to adopt enforceable plans to achieve and maintain air quality meeting the air quality standards. State plans also must control emissions that drift across state lines and harm air quality in downwind states.

 

Alternative resources availability: Across America they use other sources to try and reduce air pollution. They use renewable energy, which is energy from the sun, wind, plants, heat from the earth, or other sources that do not harm the environment. 

 

Arizona Pollution

Current condition: Arizona is listed in the top 11 cities in America that have the worse pollution. The most effected area is Phoenix. The valley air carries bits of dirt, toxic metals, ammonia from farm fertilizer, ozone that irritates nasal tissues. The freeways spew a mix of  exhaust and dust, putting those who live nearby at risk.

 

Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona

Patter of hunan behavior: Arizona has a major problem with air pollution because of the amount of people and tourist Phoenix gets. Also the design of the desert contributes to the high levels of air pollution. At night, an inversion layer forms over the Valley. As with any desert, the air closer to the ground cools faster than the air above. However, unlike most other deserts, cool air then moves in on top of the warm air westward from the surrounding mountains.

As a result, the air trapped closer to the ground in the Valley, the air containing the majority of the pollutants in the area, spreads. As the desert floor heats up during the day, the particulates rise forming a visible haze that expands as the day progresses.

Throughout the day, air shifts in the Valley cause variances in the Brown Cloud. From mid-day on, the cloud is pushed to the east. With every sunset, the cycle starts all over again.

Policies

Clean Burning Fireplaces: Maricopa County has implemented a Residential Wood-burning Restriction Ordinance prohibiting residential wood-burning in a non-approved device on days forecasted to be high pollution.

 

Clean Burning Gasoline

 

Clean Cities Coalition: This is a voluntary, locally based government/industry partnership to expand the use of alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuel.

 

Fugitive Dust Control

 

Diesel Idling Ordinance: Requires countries containing portions of certain areas to implement and enforce ordinances limiting maximum idling time for Heavy Duty Diesel Vehicles weighing over 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating. 

Travel Reduction Programs: To reduce automobile emissions from commuting to work places and schools. These programs require employers to assist their employees with the use of alternatives to single-occupant-vehicle commuting.

 

References:

Victoria, E. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/air/aq4kids/pollution.asp

 

Wong, E. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/world/asia/air-pollution-linked-to-1-2-million-deaths-in-china.html?_r=0

 

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/15/air-pollution-biggest-killer-water

 

Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=12

 

Davis, L. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.rff.org/Publications/WPC/Pages/08_15_08_Driving Restrictions and Air Quality in Mexico City.aspx

http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-11/china-does-180-air-pollution-policy-combat-its-deadly-smog

http://the10mostknown.com/top-10-worlds-air-polluted-countries/

Peeples, L. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20490855_last,00.html

http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/requirements.html

http://www.ecologyfund.com/ecology/info_pol_green.html

McKinnon, S. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.azcentral.com/news/air-quality/

Eastwood, S. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://phoenix.about.com/od/weather/a/browncloud.htm

http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/air/prevent/pcp.html#cbf

By: Daniella Tountas

Land pollution: is the destruction of Earth's land surfaces through misuse of land resources by human actions.

What is the problem with land pollution?

 Land pollution can affect wildlife, plants, and humans in a number of ways, such as: Cause problems in the respiratory system, Lead to birth defects, Cause various kinds of cancers, The toxic materials that pollute the soil can get into the human body directly by:  Coming into contact with the skin, Being washed into water sources like reservoirs and rivers, Eating fruits and vegetables that have been grown in polluted soil, and breathing in polluted dust or particles

Global

The amount of waste produced by human society is increasing. Profitable and domestic solid waste is a great problem for many local governments. Industrial wastes are usually much smaller in volume but are more likely to contain hazardous materials, such as toxic chemicals and flammable liquids. Although the total amount is less, the disposal of hazardous industrial waste is a greater concern than of domestic waste because of the perceived hazard to health and the risk of environmental contamination. Having these toxic wastes that are difficult to dispose of that are all around the world are making it difficult to keep from polluting the land globally. 

Top 10 countries for land pollution:

  1. Peru
  2. Pakistan
  3. Kuwait
  4. Saudi Arabia
  5. Ethiopia
  6. Russia
  7. Indonesia
  8. India
  9. China
  10. United States

http://crunkish.com/top-10-pollution-causes/ 

 

United States

“According the United Nations, the United States disposes more than half of its solid waste in landfills. This amounts to over 110 million tons of waste per year and makes the US one of the top contributors to worldwide landfill waste".http://poopy.org/land-pollution/land-pollution-facts/ 

Arizona/Phoenix

Most sources of pollution around the world are due to human interaction with the environment surrounding them. There are various types of pollution in the Sonoran Desert, such as gas from vehicles, construction-related dust, power plant waste, exhaust from gas-powered lawn mowers, and exhaust from leaf blowers, which all contribute to the "brown cloud," a cloud literally made brown from pollution. This vast amount of pollution can have various effects on the Sonoran environment. For example, the pollution provides a great breeding ground for diseases and germs. These are especially harmful to the health of the environment and its wildlife because frequent dust and sandstorms can easily carry unhealthy germs across a wide amount of land, including the city of Phoenix. These storms could spread deadly disease-infested dirt through the air and far around the desert, endangering the health of all species in the desert in Phoenix, including humans in the city.

 

Solutions: Like any major challenge, the best way to solve a problem is to simply understand it. Learning about the issues can be the best step forward in solving the issue. So making the public aware of things they can do to help prevent so much land pollution can help decrease. Following these simple three steps of reduce, recycle, and reuse can help in the decrease of major land pollution. Personal litter should be disposed properly. We can separate household waste at home for recycling. More than half of our household waste could be recycled or re-used but once it is mixed up, it becomes more difficult to separate different components for recycling.  

Policies: According to the Maricopa county regulations page, Maricopa County Environmental Services provides crucial, regional environmental services seeking to prevent and remove environmental health risks for the residents of Arizona. The Department’s Environmental Health Specialists and Field Technicians are in the community every day making sure that among other things, food in all the eating and drinking establishments in the state is protected from contamination, that water supplies throughout the County is safe to drink, and that health illnesses and risks are minimized to the public. 

http://www.maricopa.gov/regulations/ 

 

References:

N.A. (2008, January 5). Top 10 Most Polluted Countries. Crunkish.com. Retrieved November 27, 2013 from http://crunkish.com/top-10-pollution-causes/ 

 

 Kevin. (2012, September 4). Land Pollution Facts. Poopy.org. Retreived November 28, 2013 from http://poopy.org/land-pollution/land-pollution-facts/ 

 

http://www.maricopa.gov/regulations/ 

By: Shelby Mayberry

Welcome!

This site is an ongoing project of Dr. Perla A. Vargas and her students in Environmental Psychology at New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University, AY 2013-2014.

 

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