Singh, Rajesh Kumar. “India’s Deadly Air Pollution Keeps Getting Worse Not Better.” Bloomberg.com, 10 January 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-11/india-s-deadly-air-pollution-keeps-getting-worse-not-better. Accessed 6 February 2022.

This article was about India not meeting goals set to reduce air pollution, leaving them at dangerous levels of pollution affecting 90% of its population. In 2019, 1.67 million people died yet due to limited funding, slow progress of adding monitoring stations for emissions, and “extending pressure” has resulted in India still failing to improve its toxicity. The program originally set in place was the National Clean Air Programme. However, today the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air reports that India needs to start responding at a “war scale”. Coming from the metal smelters and oil refineries, the smog and particulate matter is visibly toxic, especially in the winter and overall in New Delhi. Although not many cities and authorities in India have “delivered action plants” the new plan for decreasing pollution is to reduce particulate matter emissions by 30% by 2024. 

I found this article to be very worrisome. Understanding that the pollution is affecting and killing people is frightening for an increasing air pollution index around the world. An interesting point they brought up at the end of the article was that they are planning to speed up work on studies surrounding the issue, specifically located in India. This relates to environmental science because by studying the environment and air pollution, that very understanding and discovery is what will educate humans as being a part of the environment. I am really happy I found this article because it shows the urgency and importance of holding to promises to the earth. A cheesy incentive, but very true at this point in time as we continue to see increasing pollutant levels in our air quality. 

Lee, Geonhui. “Air quality improvements from COVID lockdowns confirmed.” UN News, 3 September 2021, https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099092. Accessed 6 February 2022.

This article is synthesizing data from the Air Quality and Climate Bulletin from 2020 lockdown going into 2021; the main focus being on PM2.5 concentrations. This harmful airborne pollutant is caused by “traffic” and “energy production”, or in simpler terms, human practice. During the pandemic, people were secluded to their homes, with little travel being allotted. South East Asia for example saq a 40% decrease in PM2.5 concentrations. This reduction was good because it “left the path clear for naturally occurring ozone,” says Dr Oksana Tarasova. Additionally, other countries like Europe and North America had, “emissions reductions and improved air quality during the pandemic’s first year.” However, this data can be misleading because in the midst of 2020 and 2021 there were severe environmental changes being presented in wildfires and dust clouds. This devastation affected the air quality and ultimately increased pollutants in some places around the world like some Spanish Cities. When looking at the overall consensus of 2020-2021 air pollution studies, you can still see Sulfur dioxide concentrations lowering by 25% – 60% based on lifestyle changes. 

Reading this article got me thinking about how I spent my lockdown time. It feels like most of my time was spent consuming energy on my computer, television, and lights being on all the time for being at home all day. I remember reading during the early to mid pandemic that air pollution was lower and positively affecting the environments in European countries specifically. Then again I can not forget staying inside for the reason that the air quality was unhealthy due to the nearby wildfires as well. This article didn’t pose solutions or problems really, it mostly synthesized current and past data which was interesting to compare to our present environment interactions. This is related to environmental science because as we see changes in our behaviors, we can study switches in our environment and see how positively different, or negatively it connects. This article was a little more pleasant to read because it had positive feedback and hope for change. 

“Dhaka suffers record PM2.5 in 2021.” IQAir, 3 August 2021, https://www.iqair.com/blog/air-quality/dhaka-suffers-record-air-pollution-2021. Accessed 6 February 2022.

Danka, Bangladesh has the most polluted air on record. During the Covid 19 pandemic, there was a long time period to assess our respiratory health, which involved air pollution. Because of the construction and brick kiln activity concentrated in Danka, there is a large emission of PM2.5, a microscopic pollutant that is able to penetrate deep into lungs and bloodstream. There has been evidence recorded as well that resulted in health complications including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory infection, stroke, heart attack, and even death. Having the winter months in Danka be the most polluted out of the year, where the PM2.5 concentration is 118.0 μg/m3, there is a large focus placed on winter emissions. In Danka, there are efforts to regulate and control sources of this specific pollutant. 

Reading this article, it never occurred to me that making concrete was one of the most polluting sources. There recently was construction on the road in front of Menlo Atherton Highschool which I now realize had tremendous environmental impacts. Understanding the full extent of a polluted environment makes me even more grateful to live in such an area that has safe air quality, however it is also realizing that we are not separated from this study of our environment. I agree that regulations are vital for change and that narrowing down on specific pollutants can be beneficial for motivation. I find it hard to believe that hearing about places like Danka that are so polluted can lead to ignorance. This affects the world because the atmosphere is universal and not compartmentalized. 

“New WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines aim to save millions of lives from air pollution.” WHO | World Health Organization, 22 September 2021, https://www.who.int/news/item/22-09-2021-new-who-global-air-quality-guidelines-aim-to-save-millions-of-lives-from-air-pollution. Accessed 6 February 2022.

WHO, the World Health Organization has concluded that air pollution affects human health at a lower concentration than previously determined in 2005. Killing 7 million people every year, they have adjusted almost all the AQGs levels downwards to create safer breathing air people in all parts of the world, but mostly in low- and middle-income countries. This includes the pollutants particulate matter (PM), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO). To reach these goals WHO has established “interim targets” to insure a gradual improvement in air quality and health. 

When reading this article I found the number of deaths per year to be overwhelming and surprising in some aspects. While I was aware that air pollution can and does affect human health, it didn’t occur to me that a majority of these deaths are premature. I identify air pollution as a contributor to the environment in the sense that it worsens the greenhouse effect, but after reading this article I understand that humans are a large part of the environment. Environmental science is the study of the environment and addressing human effects is important to that field. Having narrowed down the six pollutants, I think that moving forward organizations like WHO will be able to effectively methodize. Especially living in an area that experienced a bad air quality index during fire season, while my understanding is from small periods, when the air clears there is a sense of relief. I can’t help but feel hopeful that these current goals will be effective and improve air quality.

Lung Association Report finds Californians’ Health at Risk Due to Air Pollution and Climate Change Impacts. (2021, April 21). American Lung Association. https://www.lung.org/media/press-releases/sota21-california 

The American Lung Association specifically dives into the reason behind California’s struggling climate. Unfortunately California faces the most challenges in the United States as a whole when it comes to looking at the air quality with particle pollution and ozone. Health has become a major concern when looking at the current and future climate for Californians. Past wildfires, repeating annually, have had major impacts on the ozone and already detrimental contributor, climate change. Instilled policies to protect have helped some, but not dramatically enough. We see systemic racism posing a threat to communities during this time and many low income communities as well. Air pollution reports note that with current environments, air pollution is continuing to worsen. 

This article discusses the unfortunate environmental concerns with the air pollution in the state of California. Understanding the environmental factors contributing to this pollution is explained in light of residents’ health and overall solution. As anyone would be alarmed by the truth of the matter, my reaction was worry as a resident of California. With the education and understanding provided in this article, discussing mainly the health concerns regarding the lungs, brings a call to action reaction. 

Kearney, L. (2021, July 21). Northern California Requires Oil Refiners to Slash Air Pollution. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/northern-california-air-board-requires-oil-refiners-slash-pollution-2021-07-21/ 

Two of the state’s largest oil refineries installed policies to get rid of the particulate air pollution contribution from local refineries. It is a costly modification, but necessary with the amounts of pollution and processed fuel being emitted. This will lead to health issues for many residents in surrounding areas. One argument is this modification could cause other climate issues such as excessive water usage with the additions of wet scrubbers. Professionals also determined that they would improve the air.

This article dives into the solutions combatting the environmental struggles faced with the increasing pollution of the air quality. Understanding the issue and developing these policies is a great example of environmental science in our climate today. When looking at the two sides to this step, my reaction is slightly confused, however this article takes into account the outcomes of the solution to decreasing emissions of particulate air pollution and explains clearly how the future of our health and climate will turn out. 

Wisckol, M. (2021, March 17). Wildfires Made California Air Quality Among Worst in the World, Even During Pandemic. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/17/wildfires-made-california-air-quality-among-worst-in-the-world-even-during-pandemic/ 

In the time period during the pandemic where many other countries improved their air quality, the United States worsened. More so, the continuous wildfires in California have hurt the air quality more than any state in the United States. Southern California has the worst in the country even with air-quality policies. Overall, California has been ranked the worst when it comes to air pollution. 

This article compares the air pollution in California to other environments, showing the understanding of the extremes that California has reached. This relates to environmental science because of the topic of discussion being understanding all factors contributing to this struggle and developing continuous solutions. In my opinion, this article was most informative because of the comparison and detail of California’s worsening air pollution and environment, and how the worsening only makes the problem harder to combat.

Hayes, R. (2021, April 22). Los Angeles Has Nation’s Worst Air Quality; SoCal Counties Get F Grades for Ozone Pollution. Eyewitness News. https://abc7.com/la-pollution-california-los-angeles-air-ozone/10535612/

According to the American Lung Association annual State of the Air report, areas including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and areas surrounding have the worst air pollution. These areas being some of the most populated cities in California demonstrate the Californians environmental impacts on air pollution. The health impacts can only be as worse as the air with long term lung and heart issues. The air pollution poses a potential bigger issue of subsequent wildfires and heat waves; both of which contribute to the statewide problem. 

Population factors are indirectly brought to light in this article. Information on the air pollution in highly populated areas showcases the environmental science behind certain severities. The South Coast Air Quality Management District claims to understand the pollution at which they have regulated, being very bad, but also recognizes the efforts they have made to improve the issue. One wonders the obvious being what is the solution, but I wonder if the issue is population or overuse? I imagine they go hand in hand, but in that case what is the solution if such so far haven’t dramatically had effects. With a changing environment, would these solutions change?