Cities such as Bakersfield, Modesto, and Fresno anchor California's Central Valley. These are the state's and the country's agricultural centers. It is made up of eight counties that produce half of the fruits and vegetables grown in the United States. This is owing to the area's geographical location, which is a large valley. Nonetheless, the valley has been identified as the primary source of air pollution in this area. It has been termed as the underlying cause of the persistent problems that have always been raised over the years.
In the recent past, the World Health Organization started measuring the quality of air in the cities around the world. This activity was carried out through determination of particles measuring 10 micrometers or even less. They were also particles that were likely to get into the bloodstream and cause chronic diseases.
The United States has 375 cities 36 of which exceed the quality of air recommended by the World Health Organization. Some towns have at least 20 micrograms of the particles per cubic meter. That is a great thing but out of the ten worst performing cities, five come from California Central Valley.
The dreaded valley is surrounded by mountain ranges, therefore, acting as a pool of all pollutants emitted in the area. The estimated number of residents residing in this city is approximately 3.5 million most of who are absorbed in the agricultural activities and the industries around the area. The industries located in this area emit pollutants which are collectively trapped in the valley by an inversion layer composed of warm air. According to the California Air Resources Board, the state has had smog problems for over four decades. The Central Valley is feeling the impact of air pollution. Additionally, the valley is recording an upward trend in the population rate due to its unique meteorological and geographic conditions. The Fresno County registered a population growth of at least 16 percent between 2000 and 2010. Today, the county houses more than 4 million people. Moreover, there are more cars in the area due to the population (Rory Carroll, 2016).
Today, one of the most significant challenges that the state is dealing with is the ratio of 1 to 2 of the people and distance traveled by vehicles in the area. The mobile sources are seen as one of the causes of air pollution in this area, but they are not the primary sources. The regions agricultural activities are considered to be more responsible for air pollution in the region. A few years ago, the farmers used to burn both the cuttings and brushes every end of the season. The burning resulted in the creation of a massive source of particulate matter in the air. In 2004, a state law was enforced, and the problem was decreasing. As indicated, the issue of air pollution is getting better, but it is not solved by any means. Furthermore, the burn-offs of agriculture continue to decrease as the quality of air is set to improve. However, the disadvantage stands at the meteorological and geographical position of this valley and the activities it supports (Nate Berg, 2011).
In summary, there are three leading causes of air pollution in California. The high population in this area translates to the high rate of population. Day after day, many people are involved in personal and business activities based on one place to another. Although the pollution made by one person might be small, the cumulative amount of the 3.5 million people results in the high rate of contamination in the valley.
Automobiles in the area which burn petroleum-based products result to pollution in the area. Additionally, fuels such as wood are counted among the pollutants. Some of the air pollutions include sources include gasoline and diesel motor vehicles such as boats, trains, and cars. Due to the presence of agricultural activities in the area, the state has established several industries that process farm produce. For this reason, these industries amount to a large percentage of pollution due to the emissions they produce. Moreover, fireplaces and power plants release emissions as they aim to provide energy. Many of these pollutants are emitted through evaporation.
California's topography and the sunny climate provides a perfect trap of pollutants. Moreover, most of the cities in California State are built in the valley and plains which are at large bounded by ranges. The ranges act as bowls which trap contamination and prevent circulation of air. In other case, there are temperature inversions (when air gets close to the ground surface and becomes cooler than the above air). The cooler air acts as a trap for pollutants which stay close to the ground. For this reason, no vertical mixing takes place, therefore, no scattering of contaminants. During sunny days, contaminations are released by the industries and mobile sources resulting to reaction with each other forming the ozone layer which is the main element for smog. Furthermore, during the cold season, temperature inversions trap both smoke particles and depleted fumes from automobiles and anything else that burns fuels. As a result, pollution is kept to the ground where human beings are exposed.
Despite there being an aggressive search of clean air around Fresno, the quality of air is still lagging behind. The poor quality of air results in affecting the health of its residents. Today, the cost of health-related effects result to $1.7 billion annually in Fresno. Moreover, the entire California area amounts to $6 billion every year (Dr. Blaz, 2017). According to these facts, it shows that Fresno amounts to almost a third of the total health-related costs in the area. It also implies that more funds are being used in treating and controlling diseases which arise from the poor conditions of air in Fresno.
Fresno records the highest rate of asthma in childhood. This is attributed to the poor quality of air which attacks membranes in the respiratory parts. Ozone has also contributed to inflammation and irritation in lungs. Furthermore, ozone contributes to exacerbation of asthma and other ailments too. Other effects of ozone include premature deaths, development, and reproductive harm, coughing and sneezing and someone can also be susceptible to other infections. The fine particles of matter can quickly go into the respiratory body parts leading to cardiac problems and bronchitis.
Since 2000, more research has been done concerning health effects in California. Research on Children's Health Study was completed in 2004. It was a prospective study involving 6,000 children hailing from 12 communities in California. Its primary purpose was to determine whether pollution of the air could cause chronic health effects. Moreover, there was the Fresno Asthmatic Children's Environment Study which aimed at finding how particulate matter caused air pollution.
Air pollutants have also been seen to affect the immunity of the human body. Pollutants with Nitrogen dioxide do not affect the production of macrophage cells. However, exposure to Nitrogen oxide caused lung damage due to toxic chemicals which cause inflammation.
California's Central Valley might have the country's worst pollution of air, but many officials still hope that Trump's administration will help fight the Clean Air Act. Today, the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) aims at promoting and protecting the health and biological resources by the decrease of air contaminants as well as identifying and ensuring positive effects in the economy. The board aims at providing technical expertise in controlling air pollution while still providing a policy context which will review the technical issues and see how they are working.
The government also introduced a Clean Air Act in 1970 which was later amended in 1990. This law forms the basis of national air pollution control effort. In California, the bill aims at standardizing air pollution measures while checking the stratospheric ozone protection as well as enforcement provisions present. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokeswoman gave an update saying that they will work closely with California as well as other states, air quality officials and federal agencies to identify both the non-regulatory and regulatory emission control solutions (Jo Anna, K, 2016).
ARB and EPA continue to adopt harsh regulations which aim at limiting emission from vehicles; a step which is seen to reduce substantially and is still decreasing air pollution. Furthermore, there are recent regulations which have compliance with dates extending up to 20 or 30 years. As the ARB and air districts continue to work and reduce pollution in industries, the impact of proximity is also seen to decrease. Since ARB realized that the unhealthful levels of air pollution are a long-term challenge, the board is now funding research to identify technologies which will reduce emissions in vehicles.
As the state aims to increase development, the potential effects on health will need to be put into consideration. Infill development will help reduce urban sprawl as it contributes positively to the environment. This strategy also has the potential to increase traffic pollution because of infill areas close to the traffic routes.
More research is being done to ensure that pollution reduces in the central valley more so the Fresno area. Enhancement of outdoor and indoor air monitoring of ultrafine and fine particles in California is taking place. Today, California is building ultrafine particles in schoolrooms and homes. Moreover, research such as the Cleaning Agents and Indoor Chemistry which was completed in 2006 was also done while its primary aim was the measurement of toxic emissions from indoor reactions and cleaning agents between the ozone and emissions (CARB, 2017).
If no control measures are undertaken to mitigate the release of harmful gases into the Valley, more health hazards and more deaths will be experienced causing Fresno to be an unsafe place to live. Some of the measures that could be taken include law enforcement as well as stringent measures to curb the problem.
Congress should continue supporting the Clean Air Act. The act needs each state and EPA to make effort in protecting health and cleaning the air in the public sector by reducing the rate of air pollution. Congress should also aim at making the act remain strong and continue being enforced in the right manner. The steps which are outlined will aid in reducing the emission levels which pollute the air not only in Fresno but other counties of the California state. The rate of carbon pollution should be drastically reduced through enforcement of clean power plans. This idea can help reduce the levels of carbon in 2030 by up to at least 30%. However, it can only be achieved by improving efficiency of energy and ensuring cleaner sources of energy for the present utilities. Moreover, Fresno should also relate with other areas to mutually benefit in reduction of pollution of the air. The Fresno County should clean all emissions released by heavy equipment and automobiles which use diesel. Monitoring of air pollution should also be embraced in a great way around the central valley. This will make sure that the amount of polluted air is measured in the right way.
Collectively, residents in Fresno can help in reducing air pollution by standing up for their health rights. They can also aim at consuming less energy by using energy-efficient machinery as well as drive less and avoid using trash and wood for energy. If the health and living standards of residents are improved, emissions will get reduced in a significant way. In response, the county will be a more attractive place to live in attracting more industries and develop the economic standards of the area.
For each region, there are varying magnitudes of benefits and harsh effects which can be changed depending on the level of modification done in the area. Due to such issues, there are no generic factors which bring a distinction between one area and the other. The Urban Surface Modification is also being used as a potential ozone air-quality improvement plan around Fresno. The modification strategies are seen to increase surface albedo as evaluated in the mesoscale. The simulation suggests that there are beneficial impacts from improved air quality (Haider, 2008).
The pollutants in irrigation return flow are usually found in intensive agricultural regions such as the Fresno County. In this case, constructed wetlands have been used as a form of mitigation option including pesticides composed of the tailwater (Robert, Anthony, Kean, Jay & Svetlana, 2009). The wetlands cause water to flow at a reduced rate. In many cases, when it's sunny, evaporation of water composed of insecticides cause air pollution both in the air that people breathe as well as what they eat. When hydrophobic pesticides are reduced in irrigation water, the air quality is going to improve the rates of evaporated chemicals will reduce.
Despite the federal laws and mitigation strategies, the situation is seen to improve though it's not getting solved in the right manner. Since agriculture is the main activity in the area, the government and involved boards have to strike a balance between favoring the agricultural sector as well as controlling the air quality. If the air pollution situation is harnessed, there will be a relief when it comes to health-related costs and the quality of air in the region.
Works Cited
Rory Carroll. “Life in San Joaquin Valley, the place with the worst air pollution in America”. The Guardian, May 13, 2016. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/california-san-joaquin-valley-porterville-pollution-poverty. Accessed 4 Jan, 2018.
Nate Berg. “Why Does California’s Central Valley Have Such Bad Air Pollution?” Citylab, Sept 28, 2011. Available at: https://www.citylab.com/environment/2011/09/behind-pollution-californias-central-valley/207/ . Accessed 4 Jan, 2018.
Dr Baz. “Fresno Air Quality”. Bazzallergy, Jun 14, 2016. Available at: http://bazallergy.com/fresno-air-quality/. Accessed 4 Jan, 2018.
Jo Anna Kroeker. “Valley air district seeks stricter truck train regulations”. Fresnobee, Jun 22, 2016. Available at: http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article85426497.html Accessed 4 Jan, 2018.
Robert Budd, Anthony Geen, Kean Goh, Jay Gan & Svetlana Bondarenko. “Efficacy of Constructed Wetlands in Pesticide Removal from Tailwaters in Central Valley, California. Environ. Sci. Technology, 2009, 43(8), pp. 2925-2930
Haider Taha. ”Urban Surface Modification as a Potential Ozone Air-quality Improvement Strategy in California: A mesoscale Modelling Study, Springer Link , May 2008, Volume 127, Issue 2, pp. 219-239
California Air Resources Board. “Health, Research, Indoor Air Quality & Exposure”. Ca.gov, Oct, 2017. Available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/research/research-health-effects-air-pollution. Accessed 4 Jan, 2018.
