air pollution

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E.P.A. Halts Coal Ash Deposits

Lydersen, Kari. “Coal Ash Crackdown Continues as EPA Denies Extensions for Six Power Plants.” Energy News Network, 26 Jan. 2023, https://energynews.us/2023/01/25/coal-ash-crackdown-continues-as-epa-denies-extensions-for-six-coal-plants/. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied an extension for six power plants to continue their coal ash deposits. Through a 2015 ruling, companies were to stop their coal ash deposits in unlined or poorly lined pits because of the water contamination that is of consequence. They were to stop the deposits by April of 2021, however, many companies have continued their practices due to a lack of enforcement. However, in January of 2023, the EPA denied six plants an extension to ash deposits so they are required to find other places to deposit the ash. The EPA has been carefully considering applications and testing waters and liners to make sure they are up to par. There is mass pushback from these companies who argue they do not have enough time to relocate their ash, however, the EPA is sticking to its initial ruling. 

 

I’m glad that the EPA is enforcing its regulations even when many large businesses are trying to avoid them. Ash deposits from these power plants are contaminating water and harming people and wildlife at an external cost. Considering that it has been eight years since this law has been put into effect, I do not feel remorse for the businesses that believed that they were above the law. I hope that the EPA continues to enforce its rules and does that job of protecting the environment. 

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What will be the future for Electronic-Waste?

UCI study finds 53 percent jump in e-waste greenhouse gas emissions between 2014, 2020. UCI News. (2022, November 1). Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://news.uci.edu/2022/10/26/uci-study-finds-53-percent-jump-in-e-waste-greenhouse-gas-emissions-between-2014-2020/  

As we continue to use electronics more each time, the greenhouse gas emissions that come from electronic waste have also increased. According to researchers from the University of California, ever since 2014 to 2020, emissions have increased by fifty three percent. It was said that approximately by the year of 2030 that 852 million metric tons of carbon dioxide will be emitted annually from just electronic waste. Theoretically this would occur without any regulations, showing what will happen if nothing is done about electronic waste. Reducing the electronic waste will not only help reduce climate change but also reduce child labor that operates in mines and avoid risking employees in waste management.  

Based on the research that the University of California conducted, electronic waste causes many issues apart from pollution. E-waste has contributed to the huge amounts of carbon dioxide that continues to be emitted in the atmosphere. This issue could be prevented by finding better ways to dispose of these waste. Minor factors that contribute to climate change which is a global issue that would be avoided. But E-waste does not only affect the environment but also many people. Due to all the E-waste that releases extremely dangerous toxins it puts people at risk who manage that waste. I think it’s important to consider this issue because often, many problems like this always lead to more. Implementing more regulations will help keep accountability for finding sustainable solutions to manage this waste.

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Risk of exposure of harmful chemicals due to improper disposal of Electronic-Waste.

The growing environmental risks of e-waste. Geneva Environment Network. (2022, Jun 22). Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/the-growing-environmental-risks-of-e-waste/

 

     Approximately, 57.4 million tons of E-Waste is produced globally. Due to the informal recycling process it releases emissions. The inefficient practices of recycling E-Waste negatively affect the environment and human health. The electronics that get discarded contain many toxic materials in these products that aren’t biodegradable and accumulate. The improper disposal of E-Waste is another factor contributing to climate change. 

 

     The article discusses the issue of improper practices when recycling E-Waste. Since the E-Waste is not disposed of properly, it damages the environment and endangers human health. Many of the workers who are part of these facilities that inefficiently recycle E-Waste, have their health at risk. The exposure of toxic chemicals from E-Waste aren’t biodegradable and remain in the environment, therefore increasing the risk of being exposed. Every device has a carbon footprint and when these devices are being “recycled” they release Co2, therefore, contributing to climate change. I find it concerning how this issue has escalated, especially now since the production of electronics is always increasing. 

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Why proper disposal of Electronic-Waste is important to our health and the environment.

Ruiz , A. (2022, July 18). 17 shocking e-waste statistics in 2022. The Roundup. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://theroundup.org/global-e-waste-statistics/#:~:text=There%20is%20over%20347%20Mt,highest%20e%2Dwaste%20recycling%20rates.

 

     Electronic waste (E-Waste) for the most part is disposed improperly. Many people discard that E-Waste needs to be disposed of separately. Since it’s uncommon for E-Waste to be disposed of properly, many natural resources go to waste because some can still be recycled. Nowadays, technology is constantly evolving and the demand for electronics increases more by the years. The more production, the more waste there will be especially if not correctly disposed of. Which affects the environment, human health and animals. 

 

     Arabella Ruiz shares information in her article based on the importance of disposing of E-Waste properly. A small percentage of the E-Waste hardly gets disposed of correctly. Therefore, this affects the environment, human health, and animals. The E-Waste that ends up in landfills releases toxins such as mercury and BFR plastics. These toxic materials have a negative effect if humans or animals come in contact with these toxins. For that reason, many of the E-Waste that ends up in landfills also release chemicals into the air, soil, or water. However, there are many natural resources going to waste that could’ve been recycled such as silver, gold, copper, and iron. After reading this article, my initial thoughts were that I never really thought about where the E-Waste goes. As well the importance of separately disposing the E-Waste due to it being hazardous or valuable. Ruiz mentioned that every individual can fix this issue by disposing of it correctly, however many people fail to do that either because they lack awareness or simply laziness. Especially now, since we constantly use electronics in our everyday lives. We should know how to properly dispose of it in order to take care of our environment. 

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Spatial analysis of COVID-19 and traffic-related air pollution in Los Angeles

Lipsitt, Jonah. (2021, March 22). “Spatial analysis of COVID-19 and traffic-related air pollution in Los Angeles.” PMC – NCBI. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7983457/

As Covid-19 has rattled our world in the past couple of years, many have begun to link some aspects of these numbers to the growing air pollution in these major cities. One being Los Angeles, which contains some of the most condensed and populated areas, especially within the gasoline vehicles and what they are emitting into our air. In California, 62% of nitrogen oxide emissions come from our vehicles. This pollution in our air, couples with the Covid-19 virus, has been studied and shown to increase mortality rates within those who have the virus. These findings were consistent throughout the studies and a direct correlation could be made between NO2 and Covid-19 case-fatality.

This article is very intriguing to me because I have recently seen the terrible population condensity that Los Angeles is currently experiencing within their city and highways. It is unbelievable how many people are there, and even worse, how many of them are using their gasoline cars to try and maneuver throughout the city. This will obviously do serious damage to the air surrounding them due to the massive amounts of NO2 each car is releasing. The Covid-19 relation is super interesting because oftentimes, Covid-19 causes shortness of breath and trouble breathing; that on top of breathing low quality air can definitely cause issues for those who contracted the virus in the city of Los Angeles. This is just an example, where our own pollution is actually starting to affect our air directly, to the point of raising mortality rates in those who are sick.

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A Narrative Review of Occupational Air Pollution and Respiratory Health in Farmworkers

Clarke, Kayan. (2021, April 13). “A Narrative Review of Occupational Air Pollution and Respiratory Health in Farmworkers.” Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/4097

 

Oftentimes, those working in the farms and agricultural areas are those of an ethnic minority with little access to sufficient health care. This is vital for them, as they work in areas with poor air quality and high air pollution from agricultural dust exposure. This has been directly linked to many respiratory illnesses that cause issues for a large majority of farmworkers. After doing several studies, they measured a number of air pollutants, from pollutants from dust to volatile organic compounds, and even bacteria and inhalable microorganisms were all found within the air of many agricultural areas where these individuals work. 

I believe that these farmland workers who are exposed to such pollutants should be granted free health care for their hard labor. If not this, I believe that we should not be growing these certain crops that are releasing such large amounts of pollution into our atmosphere. Many of these farmland workers have direct contact with these crops and are surrounded by this poor air at all hours while they work. This goes back to our biosequestration letters and how we must value our agricultural damages just as much as every other factor of climate change. It is not a  surprise that these workers are experiencing major illnesses and health problems surrounding their respiratory system.

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Human-Health Impacts of Controlling Secondary Air Pollution Precursors

 

Pye, O. T. Havala. (2022, January 10). “Human-Health Impacts of Controlling Secondary Air Pollution Precursors.” Anthropogenic Impacts, ACS Publications. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00798

 

The ongoing exposure of the toxic air pollutants, specifically, particulate matter (PM 2.5) and ozone (O3), are causing noticeable health issues for humans across the world. However, these pollutants are secondary in nature which means they are something that is originally produced by us but end up harming us in the air. These pollutants can also create more toxins like nitrous oxides and sulfur oxides. On top of these, VOCs also play a big role in these damages; By reducing these anthropogenic VOC emissions, we would be reducing twice as much air pollution damages within human health compared to the sulfur and nitrous oxides produced by O3 and PM2.5. This shows that we must be attacking the emissions of VOCs much more than we are currently.

This is astonishing because VOCs have not been talked about within these articles that I have been looking at. It seems to be the natural consensus that the ozone and particulate matter are the main pollutants that are mostly ibeings talking about. After doing more research on the VOCs, they are increasingly more damaging when in the air because they feed off of other pollutants that are also in the air. The fact that reading VOCs instead is twice as effective for our human health and the air’s health makes me think that it must be extremely difficult to do so, or else we would already be on it. 

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Short-term air pollution exposure and COVID-19 infection in the United States

Xu, Lei. (2022, January 1). “Short-term air pollution exposure and COVID-19 infection in the United States.” Environmental Pollution, ScienceDirect. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121019515

 

In this article, they created a nationwide study of air pollution to analyze the correlation of short-term air pollution and the Covid-19 virus cases. Within a four month span, they found 554 counties with PM2.5 and 670 counties for ozone (O3) out of 806 counties studied. With this, the short term exposure of PM2.5 and O3 and the relationship with Covid-19 cases was studied. They found that with every 10 μg/m3 increase in mean pollution concentration, the number of daily Covid-19 cases increased by 9.41% for PM2.5 and 2.42% for O3. This means that the exposure to these pollutants, especially PM2.5 will increase the spread of the Covid-19 virus worldwide.

This is very concerning for the sake of our future and humanity in general. While our air pollution is nowhere near coming to an end, we are merely making our living environments on this planet worse and worse. On top of that, as new viruses and Covid-19 variants come out, the pollutants and emissions within our air help these viruses spread even quicker. We are essentially fueling these viruses to become stronger and stronger, which in the end, hurts us as humans. This also makes me wonder about PM2.5 because we have not gone over that pollutant as much, since it is so obviously harmful. 

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Long-Term Association of Air Pollution and Hospital Admissions Among Medicare Participants Using a Doubly Robust Additive Model

Yazdi, Mahdieh. (2022, February 22). “Long-Term Association of Air Pollution and Hospital Admissions Among Medicare Participants Using a Doubly Robust Additive Model.” Circulation, Vol. 143, No.16. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050252

 

In this study, they examined the long-term exposure of particulate matter with the tropospheric ozone and NO2 within our air to hospital admissions where they studied the correlation to respiratory issues like strokes, atrial flutters, and pneumonia. They found that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter had a direct correlation to an increase in risk of strokes. They also found that the NO2 within our air also had the same direct correlation with strokes and the number of people being admitted into our hospitals for strokes. From this, we can conclude that long-term exposure to these air pollutants causes a significant risk to cardiovascular and respiratory health, especially amongst the elderly. 

This study and the results that come with it are not surprising at all. While searching for these articles, there seems to be a common trend among our damages of polluting the air to our health and growing health conditions across the country. This should be a serious worry for many because we do not know how long the pollutant-infested air has been causing damage to us. Imagine a child being born into the world in 2022; they would essentially be breathing in this poor air for the whole entire duration of their lives. I will not be surprised if the next generations see a decline in respiratory and cardiovascular health.

 

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New Stanford study links gas stoves to methane release into atmosphere.

A Stanford University Study that is focusing on the environmental impact of common household and commercial items linked the usage of gas stoves to methane released into the atmosphere. Eric Lebel Ph.D, who is the lead author of the study along with Senior Professor Rob Jackson conducted an experiment to prove their hypothesis using stoves with a range of ages and brands from homes in the California area. The Stanford team concluded that even in the process of turning it off and on, there is emission. The methane emissions come from when the stove was being used in the form of combusted methane, which is a co-conspirator to the impact of carbon on the atmosphere.

Stoves are an integral part of a lot of Califorians and Americans daily lives, so it is interesting that now we are looking at the environmental trade-offs. The article notes that it is “unburned methane” that is being released when the stove is turned on, which I would parallel to the methane released by cows and consider those emissions in California alone to be high. I also think of restaurants who also industrially emit methane through stoves. This also adds to the environmental impact of consuming food, since the practice of getting it emits methane or pollutes and cooking it emits methane.