Access Denied. (2019, November 9). California Air Quality: Mapping the Progress. usnews. Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-11-06/california-air-quality-mapping-the-progress     

California is currently in a conflict with the Trump administration over the states longlasting authority to create its own standards for emissions. Since the issues are so extreme and unique in California, the administration has moved to revoke a waiver that allows the state to create stricter restrictions than the federal government imposes. Although California has seen some of the greatest improvements in air quality, there is still more to be done. 

Ed Avol, a professor of clinical preventive medicine at USC,  is pushing for these changes as he knows that the problems with air pollution go far beyond the visual side. It creates problems in health such as watering eyes, respiratory issues, and cancer. These problems are so severe due to California’s large population, warm climate, car culture, wind patterns, and geography.  His studies have found that people over 20 y/o have experienced 20% less smog related asthma incidents. With the huge improvements made to the pollution issue, California still has five areas that register for the highest levels of ozone pollution in the nation. I would have liked to see some possible, specific solutions to these issues throughout the article. 

Barboza, T. (2020, January 3). Port ships are massive L.A. polluters. Will California force a cleanup? Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-03/port-ships-are-becoming-la-worst-polluters-regulators-plug-in  

Port ships are emerging as the top source of smog-causing pollution. Air quality officials are currently looking to expand the number of ships that turn off their auxiliary engines and connect to shore power or clean their exhausts using a special tool. Many are complaining that the California Air Resources Board is not working fast enough to reduce the amount of pollution coming from these ports. The same group of people also fear that the ports will use their popularity and influence to weaken some restrictions that may be put in place in the near future. 

The port of Los Angeles accounts for 40% of the United States’ imports, and is very expensive to perform these changes. The issue is currently greater than ever as the shipments moving through the port have nearly tripled since 1990. There are many complaints about this port because the people living near it have the highest cancer and asthma risk from air pollution in comparison with the rest of the state. There have been state regulations put in place that require some cargo ships to be plug in or connect to emission controls. These regulations still do not apply to 8,000 ocean vessels coming to California’s ports each year. The Air Resources commission plans to expand the amount of regulated ships from 43% to 71% by 2029. I like how the article included information about possible solutions and how the city plans to apply them. 

California Institute of Technology and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. (2019, December 24). Untangling links between nitrogen oxides and airborne sulfates helps tackle hazy air pollution. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 8, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191224085713.htm 

A research team has unveiled a first-in-kind study of nitrogen oxides and its role in the rise and fall of airborne sulfates in hazy air pollution, offering policymakers new insights into ways to tackle smoggy weather. In collaboration with the California Institute of Technology, the HKUST found out the role of nitrogen oxide plays in the production of sulfate, a common source of air pollution that causes hazy skies. This is a huge issue in places with high amounts of humidity.  

The researchers found that there is no way to directly reduce the sulfate as it is produced atmospherically. They realized that they would have to look towards the precursors, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. This study is necessary as this hazy air leads to health problems and acidification of aquatic environments. Another big issue is that the haziness will block the sun and hurt plant growth and the services they provide for the world. This article makes me wonder how they are going to attempt to attack the sulfate by handling the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. I would have liked to see them list a few possible ways in which they would attempt to approach the precursors. 

Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. (2019, November 6). Solar and wind energy preserve groundwater for drought, agriculture: California’s switch to solar, wind energy reduced reliance on hydropower, natural gas. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 8, 2020 from 

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191106083624.htm 

A new study is among the first to show that  solar and wind energy, that are usually used for air pollution mitigation and carbon emission reduction, is also an aid in groundwater sustainability. Researchers used California as a case study. Researchers have been trying to find a way to use these kinds of energy to now improve groundwater sustainability, and maximize the agricultural income.   

The researchers have found that using solar and wind energy, and adding regulations to groundwater can increase the overall benefit. The issue with groundwater becomes even more severe in California as there are periods of long-lasting droughts. I found this article interesting because it showed many benefits for using these alternative energy sources that were previously known to provide the main benefit of cleaning up the air. I feel like this article could improve by adding more information on how they would like to follow through with the plan on creating regulation on the scarce groundwater in California.  

University of California – Davis. (2019, November 5). Are students getting enough air? Many California classrooms don’t have sufficient ventilation. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 6, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191105152650.htm 

Approximately 85 percent of HVAC systems installed recently into K-12 classrooms in California have been found to not provide adequate ventilation according to a study done by UC Davis. 104 classrooms in 11 different schools were visited for this investigation. The improper installment of any air conditioning system can cause damage to student health and learning. These systems help air out indoor air pollutants such as formaldehyde. This toxin comes from building materials, finishes, and furniture. 

There are certain rules and expectations for ventilation systems, which require for there to be a balance between indoor air quality and energy efficiency. These rules have been set by ASHRAE, a global professional society which creates standards for building property. Their standards are similar to that of the 2016 building energy efficiency standards put into place in California, called Title 24. Each classroom is required to have a ventilation system that functions at a rate of 15 cubic feet per minute per person. Without these systems, the classrooms have higher temperatures which led to 60% of students calling it an extreme distraction. From this article, I was really satisfied with how they included solutions to help prevent ventilation issues. 

University of Texas at San Antonio. (2019, October 2). Carbon emissions soar as tourism reaches new heights. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191002121719.htm  

Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has found that flight routes for tourist destinations have impacted the pollution in the air. Aircrafts release a great amount of carbon emissions. Data was taken for flights to ten of the most populated metropolitan areas and thirteen tourist destinations located in the Sunbelt or Western regions of the United States. The experiment was also to see how different the effects where based on whether the flight was direct or connecting. 

The difference in emissions between connecting flights and direct flights was that direct flights created a lot more emissions. It is stated that the direct flight produced the amount of emissions equivalent to an operating refrigerator that has been operating for a year over the connecting flight. These results are important because they help innovation for the future. Airline companies are trying to construct planes that are just as efficient, if not more efficient, while reducing carbon emissions. On top of this, the experiment may also influence a change in pricing for the fuel in planes. I feel like this experiment was truly important because it put into perspective how much pollution aircrafts can create through the image that the difference in the emissions between types of flights was releasing as much as a refrigerator does in an entire year.  

Colorado State University. (2019, October 3). Exposure to air pollution increases violent crime rates. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191003114007.htm  

A set of studies done by Colorado State University researchers has found that breathing polluted air can not only make you sick, but it can also make you more aggressive. The team found strong links between short-term exposure to air pollution and aggressive behavior, in the form of aggravated assaults and other violent crimes across the United States. The results are collected by analyzing data from three separate studies that link up criminal behavior and air pollution/air quality.   

The first dataset analyzed was the daily criminal activity from the National-Based Reporting System which is managed by the FBI. The second was county-level air pollution from 2006-2013 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The final dataset was wildfire smoke plumes from satellite imagery from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hazard Mapping System. Researchers also found that a 0.01 parts-per-million increase in same-day exposure to ozone is associated with a 0.97 percent increase in violent crime, and a 1.15 percent increase in assaults. I feel like there were a few flaws in this experiment because it did not say they took into account the weather, heat waves, or other crucial factors. 

Georgia Institute of Technology. (2019, October 25). Energy regulation rollbacks threaten progress against harmful ozone. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191025113017.htm 

The movement to reduce harmful ozone is under legal danger. This study models the future losses in the fight to drive down respiratory-damaging ozone if the regulations go away. Pollutants from coal-fired power plants help make ground-level ozone, and a fast warming world fuels it. Recent setbacks in U.S. energy regulations may speed climate change, increase pollutants in the air, and delay the fight against harmful ozone. Currently, 30 percent of the U.S. population lives with ozone levels that are far past what is stated to be healthy by the government.  

The increase in ozone directly causes an increase in respiratory illness and cost of reaching ozone level targets. In the last three years, there have been many energy policies that have been loosened which led to a large increase in carbon dioxide emissions and a greater pile up of even more ozone. The prevention of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) and the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) plan going into effect makes it easier to burn fossil fuels. A model was made where there was one area where there was strict regulation and one area where regulation was loose. The results showed that the area with loose regulation would be in a zone that is past the health regulations by 2050. I found it a bit confusing why some policies were not put into effect when they presented benefits.  

Stanford University. (2019, October 25). Study casts doubt on carbon capture. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191025170810.htm 

According to new research, current approaches to carbon capture can increase air pollution and are not efficient at reducing carbon in the atmosphere. One proposed method for reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere,  and reducing the risk of climate change, is to capture carbon from the air or prevent it from getting there in the first place. Research done by Mark Z. Jacobson at Stanford University claim that there are more harmful effects than positive effects in these methods. 

After 20 years of studying this topic, Jacobson found that due to the amount of fossil fuels it takes to operate the carbon capture systems only capture about 10 percent of the amount of carbon they release. He also found that there was a rise in risk of health problems through these systems, as well as a higher economic cost. Jacobson concluded that the best solution to the issue was to use renewable electricity such as wind or solar energy. I found it interesting that Jacobson was able to give an actual better solution. Many articles talk about certain issues but don’t give clear solutions to deal with the situations.   

University of Utah. (2019, September 12). ‘Fire inversions’ lock smoke in valleys. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2019 from  www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190912134354.htm 

There is currently a study being conducted in Utah on an atmospheric feedback loop that is that traps smoke in valleys. This is very similar to the way temperature inversions prevent smog and other pollutants from leaving the Salt Lake Valley in Utah each winter. This research can help scientists predict future issues with smoke in the valleys as a way to assist residents and firefighters. The current patrons of the project are the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NASA. 

The problem began in 2015 when firefighters noticed that the smoke continued to build up in the valleys with no escape when fighting fires in northern California. The situation got so bad to the point where supporting flights had to be cancelled, slowing down the firefighting process.  Dr. Kochanski of the University of Utah and his colleagues began by observing the temperature above and below the smoke and found that the air above was warmer than the air below. They found out that what they were observing was an inversion, the reversal of air cooling with altitude. They knew that warm air rises, cold air sinks, and that the inversion puts a warm lid over a valley, trapping all the valley air below. The smoke strengthens the severity of the inversion. Although fires are still a threat, researchers can make more accurate smoke forecasts. I’m glad that this study was done because California has had several major problems with fires and the research will be able to lessen the intensity of future fires.