1 / 21

Air Quality in Central Valley

Air Quality in Central Valley. This presentation is brought to you by Garrett John Anderson, Mehnaz Hassan, Fue Robert Her, Symone Monique Lowery-Hughes, and Jenney Choua Moua. Good versus poor air quality. Good Air Quality. Poor Air Quality. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of :

galeno
Download Presentation

Air Quality in Central Valley

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Air Quality in Central Valley This presentation is brought to you by Garrett John Anderson, Mehnaz Hassan, Fue Robert Her, Symone Monique Lowery-Hughes, and Jenney Choua Moua

  2. Good versus poor air quality Good Air Quality Poor Air Quality • Earth’s atmosphere is composed of : • 78% Nitrogen (N2) • 21% Oxygen (O2) • 1% other gas • Ozone is present in the stratosphere. • Ozone (O3) at ground level • Microscopic dust particles • Ashes at lower atmospheric level

  3. What is poor air quality? • Poor air quality can affect the health of those with lung or heart diseases. • Poor air quality can be defined as the air quality at the level of the unhealthy colors shown at the bottom of the following picture. Refer to: http://www.epa.gov/aging/solutions/01paq.htm

  4. Air Quality Index (AQI) Refer to the following website to find the current AQI for a certain city: http://airnow.gov/

  5. Relating to Social Justice • Breathing clean air is vital for the health of every human being. Every human being deserves and desires clean air to breath. • Being affected by poor air quality kills tens of thousands. • Tens of billions of dollars are spent each year to reduce the amount of air pollution. • Cities in the Central Valley ranked in the top 5 for poor air quality. Refer to http://www.oar.noaa.gov/weather/t_understanding.html

  6. What is an air pollutant? • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to assert the National Ambient Air Quality Standards to address the six common air pollutants by the Clean Air Act. • The six common air pollutants include: • Ozone (Ground-level) • Particulate Matter (Particle Pollution) • Carbon Monoxide • Nitrogen Oxides • Sulfur Dioxide • Lead Refer to http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/

  7. Health Concerns • According to the WHO(World Health Organization) 2.4million people die each year from causes directly related to air pollution. • Health effects of air pollution can include wheezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, and aggravation of already existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. • One economic study showed that more than 3,800 people die prematurely each year in the Los Angeles Basin and the San Joaquin Valley due to high air pollution levels.

  8. Health Concerns • Minor Lung Illness • Lung Infections • Asthma • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) • Lung Cancer • Heart Failure

  9. Health Concerns

  10. Health Concerns • Children living in areas with high levels of air pollution are more susceptible to developing asthma, pneumonia, and other lower reparatory infections. • The health effects cause by air pollution mostly effect the reparatory system and cardiovascular system. • Individual reactions to air pollution vary depending on type of pollution, the duration to which you are exposed to it, and the individual’s genetics and health status

  11. Why Does the Air Get Trapped?

  12. Some Causes… • Los Angeles Sludge Dumping into Kern County • Commercial trucks, passenger vehicles, tractors and construction equipment account for about 80% of NO2 emission in the San Joaquin Valley. • Emissions of the Agriculture Industry

  13. In Relation to the Rest of the World • World Health Organization • 1 in every 5 people live in urban areas where air is unhealthy to breathe • 375 cities listed from the United States, 36 exceed the standard 20 μm of particles per cubic meter • Of the top 10 worst cities, 5 are of the Central Valley

  14. The Causes • Geography • Motor Vehicle Emissions • Agriculture • Others

  15. Geography • What can we do? • Spread awareness • Trees • Artificial Rain (Dubai)

  16. Solutions for Motor Vehicle • Carpool • Fuel efficient cars • Electric/solar cars • Drive less • Maintain vehicle • Avoid having the car idling

  17. Solutions for Agriculture • Strict laws and regulation (CARB) • Water Trucks

  18. Others • Driving on paved roads • Conserve energy • Use less and prevent open fires • Insulate homes

  19. Causes • Chemical emissions from vechicles and fires resulting in compounds we refer to as SMOG (Smoke + Fog) • Agriculture • Burning crops • Ashes • Geographic location • Valley

  20. Issues Related to Polluted Air • Health problems • Asthma • # of patients • Health Care Costs • $125 million

  21. Conclusion • Ill work on it once I receive everything

More Related