Smog : The Greatest Ecological Issue Facing The United States

Figure 1: Photochemical smogs in London (in 1952, (University of Edinburgh n.d.) and New Delhi (in 2015, Burke 2015a).

The ozone layer is a naturally occurring gas that acts like a blanket filtering out the Suns UV radiation. The ozone layer has a hole in it which allows UV radiation to reach the earth's surface. Causing skin cancer, cataracts, and weaker immune systems. The hole in the ozone layer is caused by chlorofluorocarbons. Commonly found in aerosols, refrigerators, air conditioners and cars. In the documentary An inconvenient truth, Al Gore stated that they fix the hole in the ozone layer.

There is also type of smog called photochemical smog which was recently discovered in the 1950’s. Aus-e-tute’s The Chemistry of Photochemical Smog refers to photochemical smog as, “a type of air pollution produced when sunlight acts upon motor vehicle exhaust gases to form harmful substances such as ozone (O3), aldehydes and peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN).” When some see this they think, wow, all the carbon being released from the burning of fossil fuels in cars can lead to these toxic chemicals. That is where they are wrong. Aus-e-tute also sets apart the type of gasses from cars that cause these chemicals. They explain that, “Motor vehicles produce exhaust gases containing oxides of nitrogen such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO).” Again no carbon was the effect of a potentially harmful chemical byproduct.

Another big problem in polluting places and things is air pollution which can make air foggy, unbreathable, and toxic. According to “34 Facts about Pollution”, the text states breathing the air in Mumbai, India, for just one day is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes. One of the things that can cause air pollution is releasing factory fuels and fossil fuels into the air. We also cause it from burning certain things like plastic, chemicals, and other

Since human’s activity, pollution becomes a big problem in the world. There are a lot of part of pollutions include water pollution, light pollution and air pollution. Air pollution is happened in our life. The United States is also a victim of air pollution. In 1943, Los Angeles photochemical smog event occurred. The whole of Los Angeles was covered with smoke. There are about 400 people died and a lot of fruits in orchards began to wither.

Did you know many upper respiratory diseases such as asthma and others diseases like cataracts and skin cancer are aggravated by air pollution. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) states that “the following air pollutants are common triggers of asthma, ground level ozone, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxide.” Air pollution is the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.

Arizona is on the rise as one of the fastest metropolitan areas in the United States of America. In fact, in 2015 Forbes Magazine ranks Phoenix, Arizona as the 11th fastest growing city in the U.S.1 This growth is due the unprecedented resources and growing opportunities in the state of Arizona. With all of these opportunities come more production, which means more emissions from various industries and cars, more fossil fuels burned, and household and farming chemicals added to the sky. All of these are examples of pollution; which is one the sacrifices that comes with being a large city that is emerging. Pollution is defined as the action or process of making land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use.2 We understand that Phoenix is a rapidly growing city, but they should be able to grow without being a detriment to the environment and health of their citizens. The purpose of my report is to examine the problem of air pollution in Phoenix, Arizona and look at solutions to fix this problem.

The ozone layer is in the Earth’s stratosphere and the necessity of this layer is to protect the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation rays. “Since the late 1970s, an ozone hole has formed over Antarctica each austral spring (September / October), in which up to 66 percent of the total ozone is depleted” (Ozone Layer Protection). What directly causes holes in ozone are Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), which rapidly damage the ozone layer. However, with the rising global warming temperature the CFCs’ process is catalysed, further damaging the ozone layer. “According to the estimates made by Dasgupta and Bhaumik (1995), it is likely that 10% decrease in ozone will lead to 20% increase in UV irradiance” (Gangul and Iyer 2006). Once an uncontrolled amount of UV radiation is exposed to lifeforms, especially to humans, “According to the estimates made by Vander Leun and De Gruijl (1993), 1% decrease in total stratospheric columnar ozone (SCO) will lead to 2.3% increase in non-melanoma skin cancer, 2% increase in cutaneous melanoma and 0.5% increase in the incidence of cataracts” (Gangul and Iyer 2006). More devastating effects from the depleting ozone layer are more destruction to agricultural fields, warming of oceans and increased acidity which is diminishing the amounts of phytoplankton, which can immensely affect the stability of the food chain. Therefore, the depletion of

In recent years, California’s Central Valley has gone from being America’s breadbasket to a near-dystopian wasteland—a landscape beset with air pollution with strikingly diverse causes. Five of the ten most polluted American cities can be found in this region (Wheeler, Morris and Gordon). This is not surprising given the host of actual and potential causes of air pollution problem in the heart of California. Ground level ozone is a major type of pollution in the Valley that primarily causes summertime “smog,” produced through the photochemical or sunlight-induced reactions between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) (San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District 3). The other type of pollution, particulate matter (PM), refers to small solid or liquid particles that form in the atmosphere through gases or photochemical reactions. While the causes of air pollution in the Central Valley are undoubtedly manifold, the region’s agricultural practices still count as the most substantial factors for this environmental problem; in any case, the Valley’s unique meteorological and topographical conditions exacerbate the level of air pollution.

A controversy issue in the United States is whether or not we should be involved in the controlling international pollution. Pollution is problem world-wide. Many would like to be involved in pollution while others would not. I believe that the United States should not be involved in the controlling of international pollution.

The large majority of todays cars and trucks travel by using internal combustion engines that burn fossil fuels and gasoline. A variety of emissions are polluted into the atmosphere when burning gasoline to power cars and trucks. Emissions that are released directly from cars and trucks into the atmosphere are the primary cause of car pollution but it still causes pollution the air during the manufacturing and refueling processes. Primary pollution from motor vehicles is pollution that is emitted directly into the atmosphere where as secondary pollution is caused from chemical reactions between pollutants after they have been released into the air at least 92 million Americans still live in areas with chronic smog problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency predicts that by 2010, even with pollution controls more than 93 million people will live in areas that violate health standards for ozone (urban smog) and more than 55 million Americans will suffer from hazardous levels of fine particle pollution, which is especially dangerous to children and senior citizens.

One of the reasons that cause air pollution in the United States is combustion of fossil fuels. United states known as the developed countries. For big countries, there will have many moving vehicles. Burning oil from fossil fuels such as diesel is burnt in moving vehicles cause air pollution. When the oil is burned, dangerous gases released into air and the environment. From that, if the people overuse of fossil fuel, its will kill the environment as dangerous gases are polluting the environment and harm the habitat. Because of our selfishness, other must face hardship cause of air pollution that is produced from the environment also from the human. From the source that was found, according to Rakesh from Conserve Energy Future (CEF), dangerous

Most times, when Californians drive through the freeways around Downtown Los Angeles, instead of seeing the clear blue sky, dark gray masses of CO2 emissions fill the air. From the time of the Industrial Revolution till now, the levels of pollution in the world, including California has been dramatically rising. Air pollution results in alarming consequences to both the environment and the people. Professors Bradley Bereitschaft and Keith Debbage explored relationships of air pollution and its effects in U.S Metropolitan areas. Their studies have shown that emissions of air pollutants, such as CO2, affect human health and are responsible for over one million premature deaths. They also talk about greenhouse gasses, such as CO2 that are a major

Ultraviolet radiation is invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the sun. For example; Ultraviolet radiation can burn the skin, such as a sunburn and cause skin cancer (Medicinenet). The ozone layer is a layer of ozone (a colorless unstable toxic gas) in the upper atmosphere that prevents dangerous radiation from the Sun from reaching the surface of the Earth (Merriam-Webster). In correlation of the two together, we need the ozone layer to protect or animals and our plants from the ultraviolet radiation. Without the ozone layer being there it could damage the immune system to animals and humans, leaving many with skin cancer and eye cataracts (eco-action). The ozone layer is also important because it will have a negative

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s): CFC’s are lowering the average concentration of ozone in the stratosphere. “Since 1978 the use of CFC’s in aerosol cans has been banned in the United States, Canada and most Scandinavian countries. Aerosols are still used around the world and accounts for 25% of global CFC’s use”. (Miller 448). Spray cans discarded or leaking refrigerator and air conditioning equipment and the burning plastic foam products release the CFC’s into the atmosphere. Depending on the type, CFC’s stay in the atmosphere from 22 to 111 years.” Chlorofluorocarbons move up to the stratosphere gradually over several decades. Under high energy ultra violet (UV) radiation break them down and release chlorine atoms, which speed up the breakdown of ozone (O3) into oxygen (O2). Chlorofluorocarbons, also known as Freons, are green house gas that contributes to global warming. Photochemical air pollution is commonly referred to as “smog”. Smog is the contraction of the words smoke and fog, smog has been caused by water condensing on smoke particles, usually from burning coal. With the introduction of petroleum to replace coal economies in countries, photochemical smog has become predominant in many cities, which are located in sunny warm and dry climates with many motor vehicles. The worst episodes of