Essay on Air Pollution in San Joaquin Valley

Introduction:

The San Joaquin Valley is an agricultural area that supplies agricultural goods all around the globe. The weather patterns in the area consist of cool winters and dry hot summers. The San Joaquin Valley is surrounded by mountain ranges, such as the Coastal Mountain range, Sierra Nevada range, and Tehachapi Mountains (Lewis 2010). These geographical conditions allow the central valley to encase itself like a bowl and allow the trapping and accumulation of pollutants.

It is important to address air quality as it can lead to increasingly rising temperatures and health harm to its inhabitants. Although emissions have dropped by 10% in comparison to the 1900 level, California is still very vulnerable to climate change caused by geographical conditions and meteorological conditions (Zhao 2010). The Central Valley has the highest concentration of ozone concentrations worldwide. High levels of ozone concentrations damage ecosystems and plants. The effects are also seen as Fresno County has 194 orange days, 50 red days, and 2 purple days in a year (Borrell 2018). All of these levels are dangerous for sensitive people and there are even days where air quality levels are hazardous for everyone. These rising pollutants lead to smog in the morning which causes visibility problems, as haze and visibility problems are caused by light scattering on gas and particles in the air (Borrell 2018).

Objectives:

In this paper, I will discuss why the Central Valley has such bad air quality. I will address the consequences that the residents of the Central Valley go through caused by air quality. Finally, I will include what California is doing to address this issue and what more can be done.

Methods:

I have conducted research by reading peer-reviewed articles. I did not personally conduct any laboratory tests. I have collected key results from various articles.

Discussion of Results:

A major factor in the quantity of air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley is geographical and water conditions. During the summer, the weather is categorized as hot and dry, while during fall and winter, the weather is categorized as low wind speeds, increased secondary particle formation, and accumulation of particle matter (Lewis 2010). Many in the valley burn fires for warmth and comfort, and in California, there are fire seasons, which further increase the amount of air pollutants. These fires further increase the amount of days where air quality is dangerous to sensitive residents, or all people in general. Temperature inversions allow for aerosols and pollutants to remain concentrated in the valley. The surrounding of the mountains allows for particle matter to get trapped. This same effect is seen during the summer when there are elevated temperatures and little to no rainfall. The increased dryness allows for the soil to be dry and allows for more dust formation. Car emissions increase during the summer. The drainage winds in the mountains allow for pollutants to keep circulating throughout the valley instead of exiting and mixing with clean air at higher elevations (Lewis 2010). Geographical and weather conditions increase the Central Valley’s tendency to encase air pollutants.

Another reason the Central Valley has bad air quality is the growth of agriculture. The San Joaquin Valley is a major produce supplier around the world. In California, we see the industrialization of agriculture, where there is mass farming to supply produce around the world. The great amount of irrigation causes an increase in airborne particulate matter from minerals and organic dust (Clausinitzer 2000). Pesticides also contribute to this, as they can travel through the air, and have been found increasingly in indoor air (Lee 2002). As the population in the Central Valley continues to grow, more people have to live near these farms.

The increased dust in the central leads to skin and eye irritation, respiratory disorders, and an increased risk of lung and skin cancers. We see effects in long-term exposure to these particles in the lungs during normal gas exchange processes. (Clausinitzer 2000). Asthma is prevalent along the whole state of California, but Assembly District 29, found in the Central Valley has the highest rate of asthma for children and adults ages 18-64. According to the ALA, 1,300 premature deaths are caused by the air in the valley, and it is estimated that as much as one in six children in the valley suffers from asthma (Borrell 2018).

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Visible impairment is a notable way in which air pollution levels become hyper-displayed in the San Joaquin Valley. The particle matter in the air causes light to scatter, leading to visual impairment. According to a study conducted by the California Air Resources Board, the causes and ratios of daylight visual impairment are as follows: 28% animal ammonia sources, 18% diesel engines, 13% IC/BC, 9% gasoline engines, 9% other anthropogenic sources, and 7% wood smoke (Chen 2009). According to this data, animal ammonia sources contribute the most to visual impairment. These increased levels of ammonia caused by livestock also lead to increases in asthma, especially among children. Those living in a community where livestock is prevalent, like the Central Valley, have ammonia and sulfide levels that exceed EPA and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry recommendations (Donham 2007). Children attending schools within 3 miles of swine ammonia sources have a higher prevalence of wheezing. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) also affect mental health, as they can lead to more cases of depression and anxiety (Donham 2007).

With the issue of air pollution, we see environmental injustice, people of lower class and people of color tend to live near these large livestock areas and near farms where particle matter levels are higher. The poor and minorities face the biggest consequences in this area. Those living in urban areas live near environmentally hazardous facilities and in neighborhoods of high pollution. People of color and poor people have the highest rates of cancer and asthma in the San Joaquin Valley area.

California is using new next-generation community air quality sensors to better evaluate and quantify air pollution episodes (Seto 2019). It allows for more real-time analysis. This is under the California Environmental Health Tracking Program working to create the community steering committee (Seto 2019). This new technology allows for light-scattering optical particle counters that are lower in cost and allow for better measurements (Seto 2019). With this new research UCLA, is leading in educating the public on the health effects of air pollution (Seto 2019). This technology is real-time and allows people to see when air quality is sensitive or dangerous for particular groups. This technology has been used in the Imperial Valley in California where the sensors were set up in areas vulnerable to bad air quality (Seto 2019). These sensors were used over two years, and the data showed significantly higher levels of air quality issues than the government monitoring network (Seto 2019). The numbers were different as the community sensors were more localized and the government sensors were more far-reaching (Seto 2019). This project involved local scientists who had more knowledge of their specific region and had more locals involved (Seto 2019). This program allows for more pinpointed data.

California has two sets of policies that target different issues about air pollution and climate change. Mitigation policy aims to reduce greenhouse gases by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which sets goals to reduce emissions and evaluate efforts as they affect public health. The state uses a cap-and-trade system that generates funds to be used on projects to reduce emissions. SB 535 was passed in 2012, which requires that 25% of the funds generated be used in disadvantaged communities (Ganesh 2018). This is important at many times disadvantaged areas face environmental inequalities and face the worst consequences.

California uses an adaption policy to better respond to inevitable environmental changes caused by the environment. The state has created a Climate adaptation strategy that works with the California Department of Public Health, builds awareness, and documents climate change efforts (Ganesh 2018). This strategy aims to work closer with communities. However, this strategy is not as well developed as the mitigation policy.

Conclusion/ Recommendations:

As discussed earlier, using community-based sensors allows for the collection of different data. It does not negate the government data already collected but instead adds to it. This project allowed for community professionals to get involved. They already have background information on their area, and having better data allows for a more comprehensive view. It allows for community members to be more aware and more involved. Educating community members is an important step to change as they can make better-informed decisions in their everyday day on how they impact the air quality and allows them to vote and understand bills that come their way on issues around air pollution. Allowing for more community-based sensors to be used throughout California, or at least in the San Juaquin Valley where there is a high prevalence of air quality issues, allows for a more accurate look at the situation and opens the way for more comprehensive ways of tackling this problem. Since these sensors are portable, they can be stationed near highways, farms, or railroads to gauge how much air pollutants they are releasing and lead to better policies.

The US EPA has set regulations on centralized animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to manage animal emissions and the other effects they have on those around these massive livestock operations. The issue is that about 60% of CAFOs remain unmanaged and the federal government does not oversee that states are meeting these regulations (Donham 2007). Manure is managed under these regulations to reduce emissions and reduce water pollution. Some permits are required for large operations of manure management. The issue is that to be granted a permit, CAFOs are required to create a manure management plan, but since there is not enough monitoring many do without or do not follow the plan in place (Donham 2007). This step in managing animal ammonia emissions is important as these emissions do cause a lot of issues in the San Joaquin Valley. There is needed more enforcement of the laws and regulations that are already in place, especially here in the valley where there are many large livestock farms.

To better effectively make strides in the San Juaquin Valley in air pollutants, it is important to merge both strategies of mitigation and adaptation. This way, the community is more involved, and strategies can be developed to meet both the needs of reducing greenhouse gases and also adapting to changes that are happening as a result of inevitable climate changes. The issue surrounding the air quality in the San Juaquin is complicated as many factors go into causing this problem, to address these issues, we need more comprehensive policies and plans.