Los Angeles Pollution: Causes And Concerns

Los Angeles, California, is known for its celebrity residents, Hollywood, and famous beaches. However, it has also gained a reputation for its poor air quality, which has serious implications for the climate and the health of its residents. The leading cause of air pollution in LA is vehicle emissions, with 4 million people in the city and 6 million in the surrounding county relying on cars as their primary mode of transportation. Other factors contributing to LA's air pollution include manufacturing, wildfires, and fertilized land. The unique geography of LA's basin also traps ozone pollution, keeping it in the city.

Vehicle emissions

The basin-like shape of LA also plays a role in the city's poor air quality. The low-lying nature of the land traps ozone pollution, keeping it in the atmosphere. The ''bad'' ground-level ozone is manmade and extremely harmful to humans, causing a range of health issues from minor irritations to asthma attacks, and even contributing to heart attacks, strokes, and premature death.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to study the impact of vehicles on LA's air quality. During the early weeks of the pandemic, there was a dramatic drop in transportation, and a subsequent boost in air quality. Studies showed that the reduction in traffic was directly responsible for a 30% decrease in nitrogen oxides. However, when restrictions loosened, and traffic rebounded, the gains were quickly lost.

The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are the two busiest container ports in the United States, and the shipping industry is a huge part of the city's economic structure. This further contributes to the heavy vehicular emissions and traffic congestion in the city.

To improve air quality, there are a number of practical steps that can be taken. These include expanding and improving public transportation systems, increasing the use of fuel-efficient vehicles, and utilising renewable energy sources.

Industrial emissions

Los Angeles, California, is known for its poor air quality, which has sparked widespread concern. While levels of outdoor air pollutants have decreased significantly in California over the last 30 years, Los Angeles County remains one of the most polluted regions in the United States. The city's basin-like shape traps ozone pollution, and its position as the third most economically powerful city in the world means that its shipping industry contributes heavily to emissions.

Motor vehicles represent the leading source of city-wide PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide, an ozone precursor pollutant. Nitrogen dioxide is a key ingredient of smog, which is a major issue in LA. Carbon monoxide is another harmful gas that forms when fossil fuels are burned, and motor vehicles are the single largest source of carbon monoxide emissions. In cities like Los Angeles, where traffic density is high, their contribution to emissions is even greater.

To combat this, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority can continue to use more fuel-efficient vehicles and adopt renewable energy and facilities. With the overwhelming number of motor vehicles in Los Angeles County, expanding and improving public transportation systems, while making them accessible to all residents, is a crucial solution to improving air quality.

Wildfires

Los Angeles, California, is known for its poor air quality, despite improvements in recent decades. The region has become well-known for its worsening air pollution, which has caused serious issues for the climate and the health of the people living there.

The relationship between air pollution, climate change, and wildfires is a vicious cycle. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels, transportation, and industrial processes release greenhouse gases and black carbon emissions, which fuel climate change and increase the likelihood of wildfires. Wildfires, in turn, release large quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, further perpetuating the cycle of climate change and extreme weather events.

To reduce the impact of wildfires on air pollution in Los Angeles, it is crucial to address the underlying causes of climate change and implement measures to prevent and control wildfires. This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving land and forest management, and adapting to the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires.

Storm water pollution

Stormwater pollution is a major environmental and public health issue in Los Angeles. The county's storm water drainage system was constructed to concentrate drainage in central waterways, allowing the rest of the area to be developed. This led to a reduction in green spaces and an increase in impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt.

The system is now unable to cope with the large volume of contaminated water and debris that drain through it each day. In fact, approximately 100 million gallons of contaminated water and debris flow through the storm drain system on dry days, increasing to 10 billion gallons on rainy days. This water mixes with trash, cigarette butts, animal waste, pesticides, motor oil, chemicals, hard metals, and bacteria, creating a toxic mixture that flows untreated into local creeks, rivers, and the ocean.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services has issued a rain advisory, recommending that beachgoers avoid contact with ocean water, especially near flowing storm drains, creeks, and rivers for three days after rainfall. This is because stormwater pollution increases health risks, such as viral infections and earaches, for people swimming or fishing in the Santa Monica or San Pedro Bay.

The problem is further exacerbated by the region's geography and weather conditions, which make it difficult for the air and water pollution to disperse. The basin-like shape of LA's landscape traps the pollution, keeping it in the region.

To address this issue, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works has implemented an online appointment system for Environmental Programs queries. They can be contacted via email at sw@pw.lacounty.gov or by mail at Los Angeles County Public Works Environmental Programs Division 900 S. Fremont Ave Alhambra, CA 91803.

Fertilized land

Los Angeles, the largest city in California, is known for its entertainment businesses, Hollywood, and the American film industry. However, despite improvements in recent decades, the region has gained notoriety for its poor air quality. LA's basin, a dip in the Earth's surface, traps ozone pollution, which is extremely harmful to humans and causes serious health issues, including asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing, and even heart attacks, strokes, and premature death.

While vehicles and manufacturers are significant contributors to LA's poor air quality, fertilized land also plays a crucial role. A recent study by the Los Angeles Times revealed that fertilized soil is a major driver of smog-forming pollution near the Salton Sea in LA. The wet, heavily fertilized soil creates ideal conditions for soil bacteria to thrive and release smog-forming pollution. This includes nitrogen oxides, a key ingredient in smog and fine particles that negatively impact air quality.

The use of fertilizers in the region, known for vegetable farming and extreme heat, has increased significantly since 1991. The combination of high temperatures and soil moisture can lead to "pulsing events," where soil bacteria are reactivated and release large amounts of pollution. These events typically last one to two days, which may explain why regulators had not previously considered soil emissions a significant pollution source.

The findings highlight the need for better transparency around fertilizer application and irrigation practices. While food production is essential, there is a growing recognition that more environmentally friendly methods are needed. The impact of agricultural land management on regional air quality is an area that requires further investigation to develop strategies that reduce pollution without compromising food production.

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