Air Pollution

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PBF Shares Tumble 10% on New California Air Pollution Regulation

Nair, A. S. (2021, July 22). PBF Shares Tumble 10% on New California Air Pollution Regulation. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pbf-shares-tumble-new-n-california-air-pollution-regulation-2021-07-22/   

 

Air pollution in California has reached an unprecedented level. Companies like PBF Energy Inc. and Chevron Corp’s faced economic struggles when being required to follow mandatory regulations to reduce the pollution matter emissions. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District predicts emissions in these plants will be cut by 70 percent. The costly factors that come with the modifications to the current technology backfires economically as understood by California air quality regulators. 

 

The article expresses despite costly challenges, with an understanding of the environmental issue that is air pollution in California, measures need to be taken in large emission plants. The article combats the challenges that come with making environmental decisions with a deeper knowledge of risks and economical sacrifices. As concluded in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, regulations are successful in reducing emissions. This article made me think about similar roots of air pollution in California that do not follow anti pollution requirements. I imagine that without widespread obedience, at the level of severity California has reached, changes will be shorter term. Also, when pondering the economical losses faced by companies discussed in the article, I wonder if California can fund the modification of these companies to provide a balance. This sustainability could reduce emissions even more. 

 

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Chinese Pollution Leaves Most Major Cities Failing On Air Quality

Gerken, J. (2015, February 3). Chinese Pollution Leaves Most Major Cities Failing On Air Quality. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/03/chinese-pollution-air-quality_n_6600934.html

 

The air quality in China’s major cities including Beijing has failed to meet basic standards last year according to China’s Environment Ministry.  The world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter pledged to stop the growth in its carbon emissions by 2030 and last year recorded its first drop in coal production since 2000 as it switches to cleaner sources.  Since the country also depend on coal for 80 percent of its electricity supply and about two-thirds of total energy, they limited the number of new cars on its roads and plans to cut coal usage by 75 percent by 2022.

 

China is definitely making progress by cutting the emissions coming from the country.  It will definitely help for the safety of the people living in the area.  Being the world’s biggest greenhouse gas, China will be an inspiration for the other countries who are experiencing the same type of situation of handling the pollution.  In addition, if China continue to make progress there is no way the other countries won’t do so as well.

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Clearing up Europe’s Air Pollution Hotspots

Clearing up Europe’s air pollution hotspots. (2015, February 19). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150219101645.htm

 

With air pollution hotspots still remaining in Eastern Europe, Southern Poland and major European cities such as Warsaw, Paris, and Milan, it has been making a major impact on human health, contributing to lung and heart disease.  In order to avoid the not-good environmental effect of these European cities, they would have to follow the WHO air quality guidelines.  Europe, however, will have to strictly control the emissions from coal and wood burning home heating, road traffic, and other sources such as industrial-scale factory farming.

 

The fact that the citizens are encountering such pollution in their area and are at risk of the possibility of having diseases such as lung cancer and heart problems, there aren’t that much choice for a substitute.  If Europe is really concerned about their environment, it should be just right to control the emissions of different types of gases including greenhouse gases.  Even if it is very strict, when it is for the better, there is nothing wrong of doing so.

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Cutting Through India’s Smog

Cutting Through India’s Smog. (2015, February 22). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/opinion/cutting-through-indias-smog.html?ref=topics&_r=0

 

Indians appear to be waking up to the dangers of the dirtiest energy sources including coal, diesel oil, and burning garbage in order to sustain economic growth and an exploding population.  Due to the country’s countless population that is more than 1.2 billion and the fact that it has been named the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, India has 13.  This explains how the country also has the highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases.  Despite all of this, however, according to Michael Bloomberg, since the country is worried about their economic issues, it won’t be fixed if they don’t focus on the environmental quality.

 

Bloomberg has a point of stating the fact that if the country doesn’t focus on its environmental quality, it won’t be able to survive its economy.  The reason being is with people dying from chronic respiratory diseases which could be anyone, whether they have money or not, there is a possibility of them having to ask financial aid and when they do, there will be lots of them.  The economy will grow even worse.  Health is very important, without people working or just living and paying for their expenses, the economy will die very soon.

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Walking vs. Riding

Riding in a car can expose you to 15x as much air pollution as walking on the street. (2014, September 24). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.naturalnews.com/046995_air_pollution_automobiles_walking.html

According to the scientists, riding through the city in a car exposed a person to air pollution that is 15 times greater than walking or riding a bike.  Black carbon levels in cabs travelling throughout the city were 15 times greater than levels recorded outside of City Hall.  Black carbon is a type of soot that’s formed as a result of burning of fossil fuels.  Cyclists and walkers seem to be less affected because of their continuous movement allows them to breathe fresh air.

The article provides one of the ways to reduce pollution and at the same time, to be healthy.  As I was reading the article, I was considering of maybe biking or walking to school because that is how persuasive the article is.  The information that was given is interesting that anyone who will read the article might have a different view of riding throughout the city.  I think if most of the people might able to do of what the article says, that will be one less problem to worry about in our environment.

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Obesity is Tied to Pollutants

Obesity Is Tied to Pollutants. (2014, November 17). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/obesity-is-tied-to-pollutants/

Exposure to secondhand smoke and roadway traffic may be tied to obesity.  Researchers found that compared to children that wasn’t exposed to any of the air pollution, B.M.I. was 2.15 higher in children that were exposed to both roadway traffic pollution and secondhand smoke.  A normal B.M.I. for adults is 18.5 to 24.9.  Higher that 25 is considered overweight and above 30 is obese.

This article was actually able to prove the study that air pollution causes obesity.  This is for the reason that statistics of the B.M.I. of children who were exposed to air pollution compared to the children who weren’t was shown.  My hope is that the people who might have read the article will have to do something in order to prevent the issue like I did when I read it.  For me, the best way to deal with this now is to encourage people not only to be more ecofriendly but social friendly as well.

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High Pollution equals Cardiac Arrest

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (2014, October 7). High-pollution days linked to increased risk of cardiac arrest. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 23, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141007091653.htm

Rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are elevated after days with high levels of our pollutants.  The study included 559 patient of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between the year of 2000 and 2010.  The data proposed that cardiac arrest rates were higher a few days after increased levels of several air pollutants.  There was a 40% increase in risk 72 to 96 hours after days with higher ozone levels.

I think for most of us as we read this story, it is not a surprise information but rather a fact.  As we all know, air pollutants can choke a person whether or not they have a problem with their heart.  If they do have a problem with their heart, having a cardiac arrest is an addition to the consequences of exposing themselves in a polluted air.

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Obese because of Air Pollution?

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (2014, September 8). Air pollution may affect levels of obesity-related hormone. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 23, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140908120012.htm

To figure out whether higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution cause higher levels of obesity-related hormone, Gregory A. Wellenius, ScD, of Brown University and his colleagues decided to investigate the issue.  They did this by measuring the traffic-related air pollution of Boston and the blood leptin levels of some of 765 adult people.  Although the result can’t prove any casual link of the issue, the link between the black carbon exposure and leptin levels might help.

It is reasonable to have a study of whether or not air pollution causes higher levels of obesity-related hormone.  Since there are numbers of consequences an air pollution is able to produce, the issue relating to the article is an addition.  In theory, this article and any other articles relating to air pollution interpret the fact that air pollutants are dangerous that if no immediate action was done, all the people will be having numerous diseases that results from air pollution.

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Chronic Kidney Disease can be due to Air Pollution

American Society of Nephrology (ASN). (2014, November 16). Air pollution associated with higher rates of chronic kidney disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 23, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141116094226.htm

There was a study that air pollution may play a role in the development of kidney disease which was presented by Jennifer Bragg-Gresham, PhD (University of Michigan) and her colleagues at ASN Kidney Week 2014.  They looked at the 2010 Medicare information of 1.1 million people as well as the air quality data for all US countries that were provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.  As a result, they found a link between the prevalence of chronic kidney disease and the county level of a particulate matter.

Since part of the study has been proven right due to the positive result that it was able to produce, immediate act must be done by not only the Environment Protection Agency but the Medicare as well.  These two organizations must step it up for the safety of the people.  However, the people themselves might as well help these organization in order for them to not do most of the work.  The main source of air pollution truly is the people, in this case, they are the ones who is causing themselves to be potential of having a chronic kidney disease.