Air Quality and Its Impact
Air quality is one of the greatest determinants of the origin of life in the universe. Existence underpinned not only by oxygen but also by other non-life events, such as burning, was affected by air pollution. The air quality is measured by the composition of the ambient gasses at any given point in time.
Case Study Improvement in Air Quality: Case Studies from New York State
The case study "Improvement in Air Quality: Case Studies from New York State" contrasts patterns in air quality in five of the largest cities in New York State. The cities to be included are Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Buffalo, and New York City. The authors suggest that national air emissions have declined dramatically. The authors, thus, argue that assessment of historical data on air pollution can be utilized to design and implement mitigation factors that are aimed at controlling air pollution and improving air quality especially in developing countries where the burden of pollution is currently affecting the areas. The present essay is an abstract of Buckley and Mitchell (93-106) case study on air quality improvement in New York State.
Case Summary
The levels of air quality fluctuate based on regions depending on the various factors such as meteorology, proximity to sources of various elements, and on local conditions like topography as well as artificial activities in an area. The Northeast of the USA in which New York State is located is subjected to air pollution from sources such as local inputs and from the Mid-West that are transferred by the wind as well as other meteorological effects and patterns (Buckley and Mitchell 94). The study utilized the data obtained from the New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation from which the Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance provided the required information on the observed trends on air quality.
Efforts to Improve Air Quality in the USA
The authors report that the efforts to improve the quality of air in the USA began in 1970 when the Clean Air Act (CAA) was passed by the Congress to oversee the protection of the atmosphere from air pollutants (Buckley and Mitchell 94). Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed during the same period to enforce and support the efforts towards protecting the environment. CAA requires control of air pollution at their sources. The control at the source is aimed at reducing emissions by using appropriate technologies to avert potential problems that may arise due to the emission of gas pollutants. The methods and technologies employed are also aimed to comply with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). NAAQS sets primary and secondary standards. The primary standards are aimed at protecting the environment against the adverse effects on human health, while the secondary standards protect against the adverse effects on public welfare. Six components (pollutants) are chosen as the criteria for determining the levels of air quality. The pollutants are particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and lead (Pb). The criteria above were designed by NAAQS to offer particular levels to which amount of the respective components should reach (Buckley and Mitchell 105). Despite the enforcement of the efforts put in place to curb air pollution, it is reported that the attainment of the threshold levels of the air composition has been a major challenge, especially in urban areas.
Challenges and Future Implications
High levels of air pollutants are said to cause a wide range of environmental and health problems with further reports indicating that despite the successes associated with the reduction of pollutant levels the future of a number of pollutants are likely to be affected by climate change. Increased emissions from vehicles and industries are also another factor that is reported to put the efforts aimed at reducing air pollution at risk. The pollution transported from other parts of the developing world is also reported as a potential source of contamination. The authors recognize that to assess the effects of the various factors on the air pollution, it is necessary to document the recent trends as observed in the atmospheric pollution by the varying concentration of air pollutants. Urban areas are associated with elevated levels of air pollutants due to the high population density and sources such as traffic and industries. The authors estimate that 95% of all the air pollution in urban areas comes from the combustion of internal engines.
Air Quality in Developing Nations
Even though the developed countries have been significantly successful in reducing the levels of pollutants in the atmosphere, the developing nations are facing a similar problem of dealing with atmospheric pollution. A similar pattern is reported as the developed nations were at one during the course of their development faced the problem of dealing with elevated levels of air pollutants. The authors established a relationship between income and the air quality with low income associated with poor quality while high income-earning countries are associated with improved and better quality of air. The authors, thus, recommend that the developing nations can learn lessons from the developed world on how to reduce and manage the sources of pollution with the aim of improving air quality. Such lessons can be applied on controlling air contamination in rapidly developing urban centers.
Historical Trends in Air Quality
In examining the historical air quality trends regarding the six criteria in Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Buffalo, and New York City the authors assessed trends in the criteria pollutants from 1980 to 2007 and made comparisons with other NYS cities (Buckley and Mitchell 100). Further comparisons were done with the nationwide trends regarding the criteria. In all the five cities examined, the authors demonstrated significantly decreasing trends in all the six criteria. Further data indicated that the decrease in the levels varied with the particular cities. New York City, for instance, is reported to have shown greatest decrease in the levels of gas contaminants. On the other hand, Albany is reported not to have any significant decreasing trends.
Conclusion
The discussed paper asserts that air pollution can have a negative impact both on human health and the environment. It is, thus, necessary that constant efforts are made to control, monitor, and manage the factors that influence the levels of air contaminants and, hence influencing the quality of air. Nationwide air pollutants have decreased significantly as such the assessment of historical data on air pollution can be utilized to design and implement mitigation factors. The authors hold that levels of air pollutants vary depending on several factors such as meteorological dynamics among others. The stance of the present paper is that the authors have sufficiently addressed the issue of air pollution with such discussions coming at an appropriate time when the world is experiencing widespread environmental challenges. The case studies provided can be useful for the developing countries which are struggling to control the constantly elevating levels of air contaminants.
Work Cited
Buckley, Shannon M. and Myron J. Mitchell. "Improvements in urban air quality: Case studies from New York State, USA." Water, Air, & Soil Pollution. Springer, 2010, pp. 93-106.
